Doctors demand new Ontario Medical Association negotiators before talks resume

TORONTO — A group of doctors who led the fight against a new four-year fee agreement are demanding the Ontario Medical Association change its negotiating committee before resuming talks with the government.

More than 63 per cent of OMA members who cast ballots voted against the tentative deal, which would have raised the $11.5-billion physician services budget by 2.5 per cent a year, to $12.9 billion by 2020.

READ MORE: OMA wants new negotiating mandate after doctors reject tentative fee deal

The Coalition of Ontario Doctors, which represents several physician groups, says the “resounding rejection” of the fee agreement requires a change in the composition of the OMA’s committees responsible for negotiations.

The coalition says it’s concerned the OMA leadership is still ignoring “the will of its members by advocating for a similar agreement, a similar relations with government and a similar vision for the future of the profession.”

It issued a letter calling the OMA communications strategy “unfair, unbalanced and designed to support decisions made in secret by the (OMA) executive committee.”

READ MORE: Ontario doctors reject new four-year fee agreement with province

There has been no immediate response to the coalition’s demands from the OMA.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins says he’s willing to give the OMA time to sort out its own internal issues before resuming negotiations on a fee agreement with the government.