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Out of time and patience

Dentist leaves Rankin over contract dispute


Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 24/03) - An impasse in contract negotiations has led to Rankin Inlet losing a valuable member of the community.



Dr. Sonia Autut, shown here examining patient Jackie Ugjuk, is leaving Rankin Inlet after not being able to work out a deal with the Nunavut government acceptable to her. - NNSL file photo


Dr. Sonia Thibault became Rankin's dentist in January 2000.

She married Peter Autut in last September and gave birth to their first daughter, Salima (Taamnaruluk) Autut, three months ago.

On the surface, it appeared Rankin had a valuable commodity -- a professional health-care provider willing to call the community home.

However, after almost four years in Rankin, Dr. Autut is seeking work in the South and expects to be at a new job in Alberta this November.

Not, she claims, because she wants to, but because she can no longer work as the subcontractor to Nunavut Dental Services (NDS).

"I'd love to stay in Rankin and would do so if I could be contracted directly under the Nunavut government without going through a middleman outside of the territory," said Autut.

"Since I live in Rankin on a permanent basis, I don't see the need for an outside contractor."

Autut said her workload increased significantly as people became more confident in the level of treatment they were receiving.

Appointments took two months to book at the end of her tenure, unless it was an emergency situation.

Autut said she didn't want to leave Rankin without the community knowing the reason for her departure. "The decision to maintain the status quo is not a good one for the community.

"I don't want to go, but I will not return to work under the current conditions. I wanted people to hear the news from me. I owe them that."

Health and Social Services Assistant Deputy Minister Victor Tootoo said the problem is a lack of time.

Tootoo said talks have been ongoing with Autut for awhile, but the GN needs more time to finalize the details.

"We were looking to extend our contract with NDS to buy us enough time to negotiate an individual agreement," said Tootoo.

"Although I have never spoken to her (Autut) personally, my understanding is that it's not happening fast enough for her."

The GN is currently negotiating uninsured health benefits with the federal government affecting service-delivery models, including the provision of dentistry services.

Those negotiations are expected to be concluded by December.

Tootto said both the federal and territorial governments agreed to continue with the status quo on current agreements (the NDS contract is scheduled to expire at the end of this month) until the negotiations are complete.

He said the GN might also have to call for a public expression of interest if it decides to enter into private practitioner contracts."She's (Autut) not walking away against her will.

"If it was her will to stay, she'd negotiate with us and wait for us to finish everything that needs to be in place for this arrangement to come to fruition. She's not willing to wait, so she's leaving."