{"id":6983,"date":"2026-02-26T15:12:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:12:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?p=6983"},"modified":"2026-02-26T15:12:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:12:51","slug":"newsbrief-26-2-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"NewsBrief (26.2.2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>By Murray Sherriffs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Saturday, Quebec\u2019s Legault government\u2019s Bill 19 will come into play, replacing the very controversial Bill 2, and will see a half-million Quebecers gain access to a family doctor by June, using bonuses instead of penalties and giving doctors a 14.5% pay raise\u2014but specialist doctors with the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec are not onboard and are stepping up pressure tactics, as contract talks stall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 100 non-urgent surgeries at the Pierre-Boucher Hospital on Montreal\u2019s South Shore in Longueuil have been postponed because of equipment failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Three Montreal hospitals have again made Newsweek\u2019s <em>World\u2019s Best Hospitals<\/em> list: the Montreal General, the Jewish General and the Centre hospitalier de Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Montreal police say that assaults on Montreal&#8217;s Metro have reached a record high last year, with January being the most violent and the remaining 11 months relatively stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McGill University is looking to link up with Quebec businesses to lay out a plan to attract investment to Quebec. University President Deep Saini has told Montreal\u2019s Chamber of Commerce that a new sustainability research centre is in the works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CAQ government says that the opposition is looking to obstruct adoption of its proposed Quebec constitution and is reminding members they cannot cannot delay the work of Parliament, but opposition parties can use the Assembly\u2019s Rules of Procedure to prolong proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Pallas Data poll has determined that the Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois has lost some favour\u2014down four percentage points\u2014and that the Liberals are rising\u2014up 3 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new leader of the Quebec Liberal Party Charles Milliard is smiling, \u201c&#8230;if there was a bus from the \u2018No\u2018 camp to drive, the only person with a driver\u2019s license to lead that group safely and reliably is me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>22-year-old Dardy Lavard, a Montreal man who helped kill three people and wound two, in a drive-by shooting in Rivi\u00e8re-des-Prairies five years ago, when he was 17 years old, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A fire broke out early yesterday morning in a tent camp in Greenfield Park on Churchill near Taschereau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The S\u00fbret\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec&#8217;s organized crime squad that is working with the Cyber Crime unit, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs, has charged three men with drug trafficking and possession of a prohibited weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Islanders vs Habs \/ 7 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>=<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flurries + sun \/ -5\u00ba today<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sun + cloud \/ 0\u00ba tomorrow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Murray Sherriffs = On Saturday, Quebec\u2019s Legault government\u2019s Bill 19 will come into play, replacing the very controversial Bill 2, and will see a half-million Quebecers gain access to a family doctor by June, using bonuses instead of penalties and giving doctors a 14.5% pay raise\u2014but specialist doctors with the Federation of Medical Specialists<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NewsBrief (26.2.2026) - Newscoverage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NewsBrief (26.2.2026) - Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Murray Sherriffs = On Saturday, Quebec\u2019s Legault government\u2019s Bill 19 will come into play, replacing the very controversial Bill 2, and will see a half-million Quebecers gain access to a family doctor by June, using bonuses instead of penalties and giving doctors a 14.5% pay raise\u2014but specialist doctors with the Federation of Medical Specialists\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newscoverage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T15:12:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T15:12:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"editor robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"headline\":\"NewsBrief (26.2.2026)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T15:12:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T15:12:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":407,\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"NewsBrief (26.2.2026) - Newscoverage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T15:12:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T15:12:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/26\\\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NewsBrief (26.2.2026)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newscoverage\",\"description\":\"newscoverage.org\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3\",\"name\":\"editor robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"editor robert\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/robert.frank.90834\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/newscoverage.org\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/editor-robert\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NewsBrief (26.2.2026) - Newscoverage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NewsBrief (26.2.2026) - Newscoverage","og_description":"By Murray Sherriffs = On Saturday, Quebec\u2019s Legault government\u2019s Bill 19 will come into play, replacing the very controversial Bill 2, and will see a half-million Quebecers gain access to a family doctor by June, using bonuses instead of penalties and giving doctors a 14.5% pay raise\u2014but specialist doctors with the Federation of Medical Specialists","og_url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/","og_site_name":"Newscoverage","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T15:12:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-26T15:12:51+00:00","author":"editor robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"editor robert","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/"},"author":{"name":"editor robert","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"headline":"NewsBrief (26.2.2026)","datePublished":"2026-02-26T15:12:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-26T15:12:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/"},"wordCount":407,"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/","name":"NewsBrief (26.2.2026) - Newscoverage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-26T15:12:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-26T15:12:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/newsbrief-26-2-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NewsBrief (26.2.2026)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/","name":"Newscoverage","description":"newscoverage.org","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc82a2a747f4a72f7a4833658ab077a3","name":"editor robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8218f97425a88f0212b8636d21d09c56391445f892db32b08ed4f8e5613c37ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"editor robert"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robert.frank.90834"],"url":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/author\/editor-robert\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6984,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6983\/revisions\/6984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}