Health Minister Tyler Shandro must step down after doctors reject agreement, Opposition says

The settlement was rejected by 53 per cent of physicians who voted. The Alberta Medical Affiliation mentioned 59 per cent of eligible members weighed in on the deal. 

Edmonton-Metropolis Centre MLA David Shepherd, the NDP critic for well being, mentioned at a information convention Wednesday that physicians have misplaced religion in a well being minister as “unstable” as Shandro. 

Shepherd mentioned Kenney wants to call a brand new minister of well being who can attain an settlement with the AMA.

“Tyler Shandro has burned a lot goodwill,” Shepherd mentioned. “He has misplaced belief of physicians throughout this province. I don’t imagine he’s the one to take this ahead.”

Shandro and AMA president Dr. Paul Boucher didn’t make themselves accessible for questions on Wednesday. 

Medical doctors refusal to endorse a brand new take care of the Alberta authorities is an indication of the shortage of belief the province’s physicians have in Well being Minister Tyler Shandro, says the NDP 2:28

“Being the minister of well being is all the time the hardest job in any provincial authorities,” Kenney mentioned Tuesday at an unrelated information convention in Lethbridge. “That’s significantly the case throughout an historic pandemic of this nature.

“He is made super efforts to show flexibility.”

Kenney mentioned each side will take time to replicate on the result of the vote earlier than speaking once more. 

‘Harmful precedent’

Binding arbitration was included within the grasp settlement with the AMA that was unilaterally ended by Shandro in February 2020. As an alternative, the proposed settlement mentioned disagreements may very well be resolved by one among 4 government-appointed mediators however the selections wouldn’t be binding on both aspect.  

Dr. Christine Gibson, a household doctor in Calgary, mentioned she voted in opposition to the deal as a result of she was involved about privatization and the sustainability of household medical practices like her personal. 

Gibson can be involved in regards to the absence of the best to binding arbitration. She mentioned agreeing to a deal with out that measure would harm different public sector unions.

“For us to agree that we did not want (binding arbitration) would have set a precedent that no union required binding arbitration,” she mentioned.  “And that is a harmful precedent.”

Dr. Scott Seaside, president of the Calgary and Space Medical Employees Society, mentioned the federal government’s option to go along with mediation over binding arbitration was a think about his resolution to vote in opposition to the deal. 

He mentioned binding arbitration is a vital instrument for important employees like physicians who cannot go on strike. 

Acrimony with Shandro and the federal government was much less of an element within the rejection of the deal, he mentioned, than the phrases physicians have been requested to look at. 

“For some people, their wounds have been deep and maybe the emotion was one thing was troublesome to reconcile with, and rightly so,” Seaside mentioned.

“However for almost all that I spoke to, they have been capable of set that apart and actually look at the doc for what it had.”

Well being coverage skilled Lorian Hardcastle, an affiliate professor of regulation on the College of Calgary, mentioned the federal government might nonetheless attain an settlement with physicians.

Whereas negotiations with a brand new minister of well being would take away the acrimony between docs and the province, Hardcastle mentioned Shandro might attain a deal if he demonstrated a extra collaborative method. 

She mentioned the minister’s contrite actions over the previous two weeks, which included an open letter to the AMA membership, might assist in the event that they proceed.

“If he maintains that angle and that method going into the following spherical of negotiation, and has each an improved angle and maybe improved phrases within the settlement, I believe we might really see an settlement get achieved,” Hardcastle mentioned.