Saskatchewan doctors ratify five-year contract

Saskatchewan’s doctors officially have a new deal with the province.

In a media release Wednesday, the provincial government and the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) announced the physicians had ratified a five-year contract. A tentative agreement had been reached in mid-July.

The deal calls for an average salary increase of one per cent per year from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2022.

More than 90 per cent of doctors who cast ballots voted in favour of the deal.

“This positive step will maintain one of the most competitive remuneration and benefits package for physicians in Canada, in order to recruit and retain physicians in our province,” Health Minister Jim Reiter said in the release.

“It will help ensure that Saskatchewan residents are able to access vital physician services, not only during the current pandemic but into the future.”

Dr. Barb Konstantynowicz, the president of the SMA, said the union’s board was pleased the contract had been ratified.

“With the agreement now in place, physicians can work with a degree of certainty during these uncertain times created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

According to the government, the contract includes the continuation of virtual care — a popular feature of health care during the pandemic — and the development of what the release called “innovative primary care compensation models that align with the province’s Connected Care Strategy and that support family physicians in advancing their vision for a Patient’s Medical Home.”