Yellowknife (June 16/03) - Health Minister Michael Miltenberger has complained to the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons about an attempt to blacklist the territories with physician specialists.

"There are serious concerns here that patient welfare is being placed ahead of job action," Miltenberger said Friday.

He was referring to a message posted on the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) earlier in the week.

The message says that the Northwest Territories Medical Association is "asking Alberta physicians not to practice there ... until a new agreement is signed with the territorial government."

In the event of a strike by physician specialists, the government planned to hire temporary replacements from Alberta.

Miltenberger said the Web message "puts the (NWT) medical association in a very bad light and raises ethical considerations.

""We're taking steps to get the matter sorted out; it's a serious ethical issue," the minister said.

Ken Seethram, acting president of the NWT Medical Association, said he sent letters to medical associations across Canada to advise doctors "that they would be putting themselves in a situation that undermines long-term care needs of patients in the Northwest Territories."

He agreed that is different from telling doctors not to come North, but said he would not ask the AMA to change the message on its Web site.

Talks broke off last week when the physician specialists rejected the government's plan to reach a contract through binding arbitration.

Medical specialists have been without a contract for 18 months.

According to details released by the government, 12 specialists are paid an average of $314,000 a year and want $500,000 in the final year of a two-year contract. The government has offered $400,000.