Liberals’ deal with pharmacists fails to soothe rest of health-care network

QUEBEC CITY – Quebec Treasury Board President Martin Coiteux announced an unexpected agreement with pharmacists Monday

The timing couldn’t be better.

The Liberals took heat for tabling another so-called austerity budget Thursday.

READ MORE: By the numbers: Quebec’s 2015 budget

Now they say they’ve struck a win-win deal with pharmacists working in hospitals, renewing their bonuses at no additional cost for the government.

“We proved many times in the last months that it was possible to have negotiated agreements,” Coiteux told reporters.

However, the deal isn’t soothing the rest of the health-care network.

Nurses are asking for wage increases of 13.5% and better working conditions.

Doctors are contesting Bill 20 which would force them to respect patient quotas or risk losing 30% of their pay.

READ MORE: Bill 20 committee told patient quotas not the solution

On Monday, for the first time ever, students from the province’s four medical faculties joined forces and gathered in front of the National Assembly to protest the bill.

The students who hailed from medical schools at McGill University, University of Montreal, Laval University and University of Sherbrooke were decked out in lab coats and stethoscopes and chanted “We want to cure you, not count you”.

“McGill doesn’t protest very often, in fact this is the first time the faculty of medecine has ever protested,” said medical student Lee Harel-Sterling.

“People in my class have discussed if this bill passes into law they won’t want to go into family medecine and they might not want to stay in Quebec, it’s pushing students out.”

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Marie-Hélène Quesnel-Olivo said she is studying to become a family physician to Aboriginals.

“To work with this kind of communities, we won’t make it by taking 10 minutes with each of them, that will not change for real their health condition,” she told Global News.

Medical students insisted they are not part of the general anti-austerity student movement.

Still, Health Minister Gaétan Barrette said protesting and threatening to leave the province isn’t helping. Other provinces, he said, have their own challenges.

“They are saturated. Good luck if they want to go elsewhere in Canada. I’m sure there will be positions available in Nunavut but I’m not sure they’ll have positions in Toronto,” said Barrette.

Medical students were hoping to send a powerful message.

PQ interim leader Stéphane Bédard thinks they succeeded, and that Barrette is getting what he deserves.