Minister silent on plea for income parity
Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Nov 13/00) - The NWT/Nunavut Dental Association isn't backing down on its demand for wage parity with dentists in Yukon.
"We're still standing by our guns," said Jim Tennant, president of the association. We want parity with the Yukon."
Under Health Canada's Non-Insured Health Benefits Program, the federal government pays dentists a certain percentage of money for the services they perform for registered First Nations people, Inuit and Innu.
Tennant said the federal government vastly underpaid Nunavut and NWT dentists for their work and in an attempt to rectify the situation, the association asked for a 15 per cent hike.
That Tennant said, would result in all territorial dentists being paid at the same level.
The federal government countered with a three per cent offer and after the association refused to accept it, talks broke down.
Five months later they have not resumed.
Tennant said letters had been sent to the territorial health ministers requesting assistance with the problem and while they'd met with the NWT minister and had favourable response, they were frustrated by Minister Ed Picco.
"We still have not heard from (Ed Picco). We are frustrated with that," said Tennant, who mailed the first letter to Picco four months ago.
A second letter requesting assistance was sent to Picco in August after no response was received.
"We would like to have support from the ministers and we are working in his jurisdiction," said Tennant.
When asked about his lack of response, Picco said he had managed to write a draft copy answering the association's request, although he did not say when he would finish or mail that letter.
Picco said he recognized that dentists living in his territory were underpaid, but he passed the buck back to the federal government, stating that the negotiations were not part of his ministry.
He did however, commit himself to approaching the federal government himself.
"The only thing I can do is contact the federal government directly," said Picco.
Dentists in the Nunavut/NWT Dental Association will meet at the end of November to discuss the matter.
