By Stephen Skyvington
I remember it as if it were yesterday: Nov. 29, 1995. The infamous Bill 26, the Savings and Restructuring Act, had just been introduced in the Ontario legislature by then-finance minister Ernie Eves. Buried among its four sections dealing with health law was a curious provision that would've ended the Ontario Medical Association's role as chief negotiator for Ontario's doctors.
"OMA is toast," screamed the front-page headline in at least one major daily -- a proclamation that turned out to be premature, as the Harris government found out the hard way over the next few months just how tough it can be dealing with 25 or 30 different doctor groups.
While the OMA survived that scare and went on to negotiate all four contracts since Bill 26, history looks like it might well be about to repeat itself.
Rumours have been running wild for the past several weeks that things aren't going well at the bargaining table.
The natives, naturally, are getting restless. In the past month, the Coalition of Family Physicians and Specialists has put out a news release calling on the Liberal government to stop negotiating with the OMA and instead try to work out a deal with them. Meanwhile, some key players from the former Specialist Coalition of Ontario held a teleconference recently to discuss coming out of hibernation and approaching government directly about negotiating a new deal for specialists.
How did this happen? How did the OMA, which managed to negotiate four good to excellent contracts for Ontario doctors over the past 15 years, drop the ball so badly this time around?
Interestingly, the seeds were planted some three or four years ago, shortly after the negotiations for the last contract were completed. The OMA -- much like its teacher counterparts -- decided it could get more for its members by being friends with the McGuinty government, instead of enemies. The Harris years had been so combative for teachers and doctors, it seemed to make sense to try something different with the provincial Liberals. So the OMA embarked on a very big and very expensive advertising campaign.
Spending somewhere between $10 million and $20 million, the doctors' association ran a bunch of feel-good ads. The ads -- appearing under the tagline "Your life is our life's work" -- featured real doctors and real patients and ran in newspapers, magazines and on radio and television. The OMA even saw to it the ads appeared on bus shelters lining Queen's Park, so every MPP would get the message. Then they went one step further. In 2011, the OMA named a former deputy minister of health and long-term care as its new CEO.
It looked like a brilliant strategy. Portray doctors as good guys and position the OMA as partners with the Ontario government in managing our health-care system. Run a few ads, attend a few fundraisers, get the Health Ministry onside and . . . unfortunately for the OMA, a funny thing happened on the way to the next round of negotiations: the economy tanked, the Liberals were reduced to a minority, and someone, somewhere behind the scenes, decided to make an example out of doctors.
Like a deer caught in the headlights, the OMA tried to react to the arbitrary cuts imposed by Health Minister Deb Matthews of London. It began running a poorly executed and clumsy attack-ad campaign. It launched a legal action against the government, claiming doctors' constitutional rights had been violated. It tried to engage the public and the media, but to little avail.
Suddenly, almost without any warning, the OMA found itself between a rock and a hard place. Not wanting to put at risk the $30-plus million in annual dues extracted from its members by the Rand formula, it still had to appear to be willing to stand up for the doctors -- especially those groups who would be hit hardest by the minister's proposed cuts.
Now, six months later, the latest rumours have the OMA trying to put a deal before its membership sometime in November. In that scenario, a non-binding member referendum would be conducted over a one- to-two-week period, the results of which the OMA Council would take under advisement at a special meeting in December or January, as it now seems unlikely an agreement would be ready in time to be considered at the association's regularly scheduled council meeting Nov. 24-25 in Toronto.
Should that deal be turned down by a significant number of doctors -- 55% to 60% is probably the magic number -- then look for heads to roll. The CEO for sure. The executive director of public and corporate affairs, most likely.
If Ontario doctors are as smart as I think they are, they'll also demand the OMA rescind Rand, thus becoming a voluntary organization once again for the first time since 1996. The doctors will call on government to negotiate directly with family doctors and specialists separately. Finally, they'll insist the OMA begin acting more like a traditional union rather than continuing with the failed "lead from the middle" approach it's taken in the past few years.
Should any deal be turned down, the OMA will need to listen very closely to its members. Otherwise, it really will be toast.
Stephen Skyvington is president of PoliTrain Inc. Twitter.com/@SSkyvington.
© 2012 London Free Press