DoctorsOntario Job Action FAQ

Q. 1 Why are Ontario doctors so upset with the Liberal Government?
A.  After a year of negotiating with the Ontario Medical Association, the Government has decided to
impose a deal on doctors, reducing fees significantly, and cutting some $580 million from our healthcare budget. To make matters worse, the Government is trying to imply that the reason they have to make these moves is because they've given doctors a 61% salary increase over the past decade. Doctors have received no such increase.
Q. 2 Why would the Government do that?
A. In a word, politics. The province's finances are out of control, and the Government has decided they
needed to find a scapegoat to blame this mess on. Doctors historically have always been an easy target.
Q. 3 Isn't it unfair to blame doctors for over-utilization of our healthcare resources?
A. Yes, it's very unfair. Ontario doctors have worked very hard over the past 10 years, making many personal sacrifices, so that waiting lists in five key areas could be reduced. We also helped the Government find family doctors for over one million Ontarians who didn't have one. And yet, after all this, the Government has chosen to turn around and blame us for going over their healthcare budget.
Q. 4 So we should really be blaming the Government for rationing our healthcare?
A. Yes, they're the ones who decided to impose a deal on doctors instead of negotiating one. Nowinstead of being able to co-manage our healthcare system along with the Government, doctors have been relegated to the sidelines, where we'll be forced to watch politicians who think they know it all really make a mess of things.
Q. 5 But isn't the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care a medical doctor too?
A. Yes, he is. Unfortunately, he's not calling the shots here. These harmful decisions are being made exclusively by Premier Kathleen Wynne and former Health Minister Deb Matthews, in her new role as Treasury Board President. Dr. Hoskins is merely their puppet.
Q. 6 So what do doctors intend to do about all this?
A. We plan on educating our patients as to what is really behind the Government's move to cut $580 million out of our healthcare system. We can't go on strike, nor would we, but we can engage in some rather creative job actions, which we intend to do for the foreseeable future.
Q. 7 Is that why you're timing these visits and faxing a form to the Government, asking if they can afford to pay for it?
A. Yes, we're concerned that because of these cuts, and the Government's inability to manage our healthcare system on their own, doctors may be forced to close their offices in March every year. We're also worried that there won't be enough money to keep some doctors—in particular, specialists— gainfully employed, which is why we're arranging a job fair for doctors this spring to help them find work in friendlier jurisdictions.
Q. 8 But won't that hurt patients?
A. Ontario doctors will never do anything to hurt our patients or put their healthcare at risk. That's why we're standing up and speaking out. Rolling over and accepting what the Government has done to our healthcare system is the worst thing we could do. Someone has to advocate on behalf of our patients and protect them from these ill-advised decisions.
Q. 9 Is there anything we, as your patients, can do to help?
A. Yes, you can contact your MPP (http://www.ontla.on.ca/lao/en/members/) and express your concerns.
Q. 10 Is there anything else we can do?
A. You can also join PatientsOntario, our new patient advocacy group, and get involved. For more information, please visit the DoctorsOntario website (http://www.doctorsontario.ca/).
test