In December 2019, just before the holiday season, Pontiac Hospital in Shawville, Que., not too far from the Ontario border, shut down its obstetric services for 21 days. It was the 10th closure of its obstetric services since September.

These closures meant that without specialized staff, women who were ready to give birth had to go to another hospital, over an hour's drive away. This came at a time when there is already a shortage of family doctors in the Outaouais region, which lies just north of Ottawa.