Hundreds of doctors in Quebec are protesting their pay raises, saying they already make too much money. More than 700 physicians, resid...
Hundreds of doctors in Quebec are protesting their pay
raises, saying they already make too much money.
More than 700 physicians, residents and medical students
from the Canadian province had signed an online petition asking for their pay
raises to be cancelled. A group named Médecins Québécois Pour le Régime Public
(MQRP), which represents Quebec doctors and advocates for public health,
started the petition Feb. 25.
“We, Quebec doctors who believe in a strong public system,
oppose the recent salary increases negotiated by our medical federations,” the
petition reads in French.
The physicians group said it could not in good conscience
accept pay raises when working conditions remained difficult for others in
their profession — including nurses and clerks — and while patients “live with
the lack of access to required services because of drastic cuts in recent
years.”
A physician in Canada is paid $260,924 ($339,000 Canadian)
for clinical services by the government's Ministry of Health per year on
average, according to a report from the Canadian Institute for Health
Information published in September 2017. On average, a family physician is paid
$211,717 ($275,000 Canadian) for clinical services and a surgical specialist is
paid $354,915 ($461,000 Canadian), according to the same report.
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