(Jacob Serebrin/ The Canadian Press) — Montreal-based civil rights lawyer Julius Grey said Friday he will ask a judge next week to suspend Quebec’s system for determining how many family doctors can practise in a specific region of the province.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Christian Dubé reduced the number of new family doctors allowed to practise in Montreal and increased the number who can work in nearby suburbs, leading to calls of political interference from the Opposition.
Grey told reporters he will seek an interlocutory injunction to have the permit system — including Dubé’s changes — immediately suspended by a court, before his case goes to trial. The permit system, called plans régionaux d’effectifs médicaux, also known as PREM, is unconstitutional, he added.
“I hope, certainly, that they will set aside these administrative changes and that they will declare the system … inoperative,” he said. “I don’t think you can give (the government) much time because it’s so urgent.” (…)