Province, medical society to meet in court Aug. 6

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By Mary Moszynski
Times & Transcript Staff

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FREDERICTON - New Brunswick's doctors have launched legal action against the provincial government over the two-year wage freeze announced by the Liberals earlier this year.

Dr. Ludger Blier, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, said both groups will meet in court on Aug. 6 in Saint John.

"We spent many days, weeks and months negotiating agreements on behalf of fee-for-service and salaried physicians that were signed off by both parties, the Medical Society and government," he said in a statement.

"Our members subsequently ratified the terms of the agreements and trusted the Shawn Graham government to live up to the commitment they made to New Brunswick physicians. It is clear to us now that our trust was misplaced.

"It is deeply regrettable that New Brunswick physicians are being forced to turn to the courts in an effort to salvage agreements that were negotiated in good faith."

A Health Department spokeswoman said Health Minister Mary Schryer is refusing to comment because the matter is before the courts.

The provincial government's response to the court action will be determined by Attorney General Mike Murphy, who served as the Liberal health minister when the wage dispute began.

The province's doctors threatened court action after the provincial government refused to honour a tentative agreement that would have given physicians a 3.75 per cent annual wage increase over the life of a four-year contract.

The province's fee-for-service doctors reached a tentative agreement with the provincial government in December. The physicians ratified the deal but government refused to sign the contract, saying it was too expensive given the economic situation.

The Liberals then introduced legislation to freeze physicians' wages for two years.

The legislation passed but has not yet been proclaimed into law.

All other public sector employees will also have their wages frozen for two years.

Murphy has said agreeing to the first two years of the tentative agreement would have cost the province roughly $36 million and warned government would be forced to close hospitals or community health centres as a result.

Because the doctors have been without a contract since last April, the doctors would have to go to April 2010 without a salary increase in order to fulfill the two-year wage freeze.

The doctors have said patients won't be impacted by their fight with the government.

However, Blier said the fight could impact government's effort to recruit physicians.

"Every other province in the country is recruiting and New Brunswick is the only province that has chosen to treat its doctors that way," he said.

Opposition leader David Alward said the premier should be making more of an effort to reach out to the province's doctors.

"It sends a very poor message that this government is not open for business when it comes to recruiting and wanting to keep our doctors," he said. "Our doctors are the most important asset that we have as a province."