Press release

Public Hearings on Bill 63:
The FMSQ Brief

Montreal, February 13, 2008 – Dr. Gaétan Barrette, the President of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ), has presented a brief to the Québec National Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs which is holding public hearings on Bill 63, an Act to amend the Charter of human rights and freedoms.

The Federation supports passage of this Bill and urge all members of the Québec National Assembly to reaffirm the principle of equality between men and women.

Extracts from the FMSQ Brief

“Although giant steps have been made in recognizing the equality of men and women over the past few decades, women are still subject to discrimination in our society. Very fortunately, this phenomenon is now tending to become marginalized and even disappear. The paradox, however, is that a new form of discrimination is becoming increasingly evident in certain circumstances, affecting men as well as women and giving rise to excessive behaviour which is both unacceptable and intolerable.

“The discrimination we are talking about specifically affects male practitioners in certain medical specialties. A prime example of this is Obstetrics-Gynecology. The discrimination takes various forms and has become commonplace in some Montreal hospitals. It is directly attributable to the values and beliefs subscribed to by different communities. It involves undue pressure and requirements that go far beyond simple requests for rational, reasonable accommodation. It is contrary to the very foundation of medicine, the Code of Ethics that governs the medical profession and the Hippocratic Oath that is binding on all physicians at all times and in all circumstances.

“When, despite every effort, physicians on duty become the victims of verbal attacks, physical violence, repeated threats and intimidation, when it becomes impossible for them to practice their profession because their mere presence provokes the ire of a husband, when this type of attitude risks compromising the health and safety of patients, staff and physicians, the situation calls for serious consideration. When repeated occurrences of such discrimination towards male practitioners undermines the motivation of existing medical teams and creates undue pressure on the distribution of resources (which, it should be remembered, are already in short supply), when the working climate and break-up of teams give rise to situations where quality of care may be affected and, finally, when male members of the medical profession are undervalued, it is time to set matters straight”.

“Physicians cannot discriminate against their patients, and it is unacceptable that they themselves should be discriminated against by patients or others. The FMSQ is firmly convinced that reciprocity should be the basic rule dictating behaviour and relationships in a secular, civil society such as ours, and this is particularly true when it comes to health”.

The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec numbers more than 8,000 members in Québec, representing 35 medical specialties. The sole organization recognized by government with respect to negotiating medical specialists' collective agreements, the FMSQ is also consulted on all aspects of the organization of medical care in Québec.

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