NDP bill giving Yukon Medical Association bargaining rights, dispute resolution passes

A Yukon NDP private member's bill, touted by the party as being transformative for the territory's health-care system, passed third reading in the Yukon Legislative Assembly last week.

Bill 310, introduced by NDP Leader Kate White, gives the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) representational rights and establishes processes for dispute resolution and binding arbitration.

MLAs unanimously passed the Act Respecting the Yukon Medical Association on April 16. It will take effect on Jan. 1.

Granting the YMA representational rights means the organization will become the sole bargaining agent for the territory's physicians on matters of compensation. 

Historically, the YMA could only negotiate with the Yukon government on behalf of doctors being paid on the fee-for-service model. Doctors who wanted to be paid through contracts would have to negotiate on their own. The YMA has said contracts now comprise more than half of physician remuneration. 

White called the passing of the legislation a "monumental occasion" in the Yukon.

In a phone interview after third reading, she said the impact likely won't be obvious to Yukoners. However, she said the law will make the territory more competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining physicians.

"Hopefully we're going to see some more clinics open, or certainly fewer clinics close. Hopefully we see some of these locums who've come through decide to stay," White said.

Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee spoke in favour of the bill before third reading, saying it was a part of the government's work with doctors to improve the healthcare system and an opportunity to modernize it.

"We have all inherited a health-care system that is more than 70 or 80 years old. Even if it's considered to be post-World War II, it's extremely old and it is based on a system that has not had a lot of evolution or changes over that period of time," McPhee said.

The Yukon Party's health critic Brad Cathers also spoke about the need for change.

"The fact is, for many decades, the fee-for-service model had almost all doctors practising under it, and in the last eight years, there has been a shift to more operating under alternative payment models, which makes this legislation necessary to address the situation," Cathers said.

White's bill reached a final reading as a condition of the confidence and supply agreement between the NDP and governing Liberals.

As the bill made its way through the legislature, the party toggled between presenting itself as a champion for physicians in the face of a reluctant opposition, while also conceding that assistance from the Liberals and Yukon Party made its advance possible.

That contrast was pointed out by McPhee, who noted "hours of collaboration" to improve the legislation. She cited an NDP Facebook post on March 31 that nonetheless said it still needed to "convince" the other two parties to support the bill.

White's response was that she never received a formal commitment of the Liberals' support until April 4.

With the vote behind her, White credited the minority government for the cross-party collaboration. She also took pride in what the NDP accomplished.

"I was very generous with my gratitude to the other parties. But ultimately Bill 310 came forward and it came to the floor and it was there because the Yukon NDP was willing to do the work and was willing to work with our partners at the Yukon Medical Association," she said.