No chance for arbitration, doctors told

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has no appetite at all for resolving a long-running dispute with physicians through binding arbitration.

"We're responsible to the people of the province to negotiate the deal, to spend their money wisely," Finance Minister Tom Marshall said in an interview.

"It's a responsibility that we take very seriously and we're going to do it rather than to slough it off on an arbitrator."

The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association asked for binding arbitration last month, and has insisted since it's the only way to hammer out a deal involving more than 1,100 general practitioners and specialists.

NLMA president Dr. Brendan Lewis said the association's bargaining team awaiting a response to a formal proposal it delivered on March 3.

"We still haven't received anything and we're getting close to six weeks now," Lewis said.

Indeed, the NLMA asked for binding arbitration after Premier Danny Williams lashed out at physicians' remuneration demands as "through the roof."

The association maintains that Williams and Health Minister Jerome Kennedy have hurt negotiations with critical remarks about doctors, including Kennedy's view that some St. John's pathologists were "childish."

In a statement Wednesday, the group said the government's negotiating style threatens to harm patient care.

"Beating the doctors into submission will give the government nothing but a hollow victory and will jeopardize our medical services for years to come," wrote NLMA executive director Robert Ritter.

Marshall, who is also president of Treasury Board, said government is working on a formal response to the NLMA proposal.

"That response will go forward when we're ready, that will go forward and hopefully then discussions will take place after they receive our response," Marshall told CBC News Tuesday.

The two sides have not met since last month, when the government abruptly pulled its negotiating team from a scheduled meeting.

While the NLMA said it was told talks were over, government has insisted that only one meeting was cancelled, in retaliation for a Liberal party news release about souring relations between the two sides.

Doctors are not optimistic they'll be able to reach a negotiated settlement with government.

"Unfortunately, the NLMA experience over the last 15 months has eroded our faith in reaching a fair and meaningful outcome," wrote Ritter.

His statement reiterates the association's call for binding arbitration.

"If the past 15 months have resulted in paralysis and acrimony, isn’t it time to try something different? The doctors feel that binding arbitration is the best alternative," wrote Ritter.

The NLMA says its proposal would bring salaries and fees for the province's doctors up to parity with peers in the rest of Atlantic Canada.

Spending estimates included in the latest Newfoundland and Labrador budget show the government expects to spend about 12 per cent more on physician services in the coming fiscal year.