Wakefield doctor says she was fired from ministry role for speaking out

A Quebec doctor says she was terminated from her ministry position after drawing attention to problems with legislation that changes how doctors are paid.

In 2023, Dr. Emmanuelle Britton was given a three-year contract as a physician consultant by Quebec’s Health Ministry to help create a new model of family medicine.

The family physician said it was a dream job.

“I was always involved in improving and organizing care,” she said.

Born and raised in Wakefield, Que., she attended McGill University’s medical school and did her residency in Toronto.

When the time came to put down roots, she decided to return to Wakefield with her young family and began working at Wakefield Medical Clinic.

Her Ministry of Health contract required four days a week, which came at a cost to her patients, but she said she was motivated to work within the system to make it better long-term.

Britton said many of her colleagues were caught off guard when Bill 106 was introduced in May 2025.

The law changes the way doctors are paid and how they are managed.

She raised some questions and concerns about the law and its implications at a health conference in Montreal on June 19.

The following day, she and her colleague, Martin Forgues, who worked with her on the project, were told their work at the ministry was terminated.

“Because I had raised questions, concerns, clarifications, and because Bill 106, in its current shape at that time, or the shape that it would evolve in over time, would not fit with my values or my convictions,” she said.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson from Quebec’s Health Ministry said, “There is no causal link between the work surrounding Bill 106 and the non-renewal of these contracts. The decisions taken in this context relate to organizational adjustments and the transformation of the MSSS.”

Britton said she was blindsided by the abrupt dismissal and had never had any problems with the Ministry before.

Her supervisor, Dr. Stephane Bergeron, gave her a letter of recommendation, obtained by CTV News, which praised her performance.

She said the dismissal came just as they were about to roll out a pilot project that would have changed the culture of family medicine in Quebec and would have better served patients through interdisciplinary teams.

Bill 106 changed everything, she said.

“We’ve taken a huge step back, and this will have to be recuperated and healed.”

Britton said this situation has been devastating, and she is now on leave.

Like many of her colleagues in Quebec, she is also reconsidering her future.

“My heart has always been to serve my community, and this really is my community from birth,” she said, adding that she has considered moving to Ontario to practice medicine there.