When Ontario's physicians voted against a tentative agreement from the province that would have increased the overall pool for physicians' fees by 2.5 per cent, it wasn't about their own compensation, says the president of the Sudbury and District Medical Society.
“We're not asking for a raise at all, we're just asking to continually fund health care,” said Sudbury's Dr. Sanjiv Mathur.
While Mathur is the Ontario Medical Association's regional representative, he voted against the organization's executive council, and decided the reject the province's tentative agreement.
While only 55 per cent of Ontario Medical Association cast a ballot Friday, 63.1 per cent of those members voted to reject the agreement, and 36.9 per cent voted in favour of it.
Mathur said with the province's population growing every year – especially in southern Ontario – and continuing to age – especially in the north – a 2.5 per cent increase to cover physicians' fees would not be enough to meet growing demand for health-care services.
Mathur said he sides with the province's Financial Accountability Office, which has said the government must increase funding by 5.2 per cent to maintain the status quo for health-care services.
Mathur said many of the physicians who voted against the agreement have asked for an independent arbitrator to listen to both sides and come up with an agreement that would improve access to health-care services for Ontarians.
“Physicians will not knowingly agree to a cut in health care expenditures to patient care,” he said.
