Kitchener-Waterloo

Ontario doctors vote to reject new fee agreement, OMA says

The Ontario Medical Association says the province's doctors have voted to reject a new fee agreement with the province.
Ontario Medical Association president Dr. Virginia Walley. The doctors' bargaining group said Tuesday 63.1 per cent of its members voted against a new four-year deal with the provincial government. (CBC)

The Ontario Medical Association says the province's doctors have voted to reject a new fee agreement with the province.

It says 63.1 per cent of its members voted against the four-year deal.

The OMA says the vote means it will immediately request a meeting with the provincial government to communicate its expectations for renewed negotiations.

Ballots were cast Sunday during a town hall-style meeting in which doctors argued over the agreement, which would increase Ontario's $11.5-billion physician services budget by 2.5 per cent a year.

It would also allow doctors to co-manage the system with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and prohibits any more unilateral fee cuts by the government.

The OMA says 55 per cent of its membership participated in the vote.