Alberta doctors, government spar over jobs
Postings for 179 positions likened to scab work
Locked in a dispute that has already led to some of its physicians leaving the province, the government of Alberta has posted nearly 200 job openings for doctors on a website that caters to international applicants.
The 179 postings on international job board medical. careers. global include ads for everything from generational practitioners in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., to spine surgeons in Edmonton. The surge of new postings, which multiple Alberta physicians described as highly unusual, came over the past two weeks as tensions between the province and doctors continue to escalate over a monthslong row that began when the government terminated its master agreement with physicians and imposed changes to their pay formula.
Earlier this week, the Alberta Medical Association released a survey of its members revealing that 42 per cent were considering leaving the province due to the dispute with the government. Edmonton- based psychiatrist Dr. Christine Froelich said the job postings are akin to the government bringing in scab workers. Rather than convince the doctors who are looking to leave, or have already left, to stay, it’s attempting to replace them with international doctors who aren’t familiar with the challenges their colleagues are facing.
“That’s exactly what it is,” Froelich said about scab work. “We’re doctors and we don’t have a union but that’s as close as it gets to that. They want replacement workers. It’s ‘ if you don’t agree with us, this worker will replace you.’ ”
Dr. Jillian Ratti, who specializes in family medicine in Calgary, made similar comments on Twitter in a series of posts about the job postings. She accused the Alberta Health Services and Health Minister Tyler Shandro of “searching abroad for unknowing-scabs to replace the docs who poured their hearts and souls into their communities.”
In a statement emailed to the National Post, a spokesperson for Alberta Health Services, which is responsible for job searches and hiring, said the province has “long relied on many foreign- trained physicians to provide care in many areas across the province.” The positions, she said, are also listed on Alberta Health Services’ website and are often reposted on local and national job boards as well.
Dr. Ed Aasman, president of rural medicine with the Alberta Medical Association, doesn’t believe there’s an agenda behind the postings made for positions in rural communities, at least. “They’re legitimate,” he said, and correspond to longterm needs that those communities have.
Aasman couldn’t speak to the volume of postings and how that’s compared to past hiring surges. Froelich, however, said the number of job postings was unusual.
While there are dozens of rural postings, more than 50 of the new positions are Edmonton- based while nearly an additional 30 are split between Lethbridge, Alta., and Calgary.
The rural positions don’t set off any red flags for Aasman. That would change, for example, if the international doctors brought in no longer had to do the customary three to six months of training under another physician in Alberta before starting the jobs they were brought in for. Another red flag, Aasman said, is if the positions came with lower salaries than those offered to doctors who are currently working in the province.
Although Aasman hasn’ t seen any doctors leave the province yet — that might take some time, he admits, because of the complications of moving during a global pandemic — he has already seen the effects of the confrontation between the United Conservative Party and the province’s doctors. Aasman knows of three doctors working in rural communities who retired early because of the changes made by the government.
NDP MLA and health critic David Shepherd is also concerned about physicians in rural communities leaving for greener pastures. The job postings, he said, make it clear that there isn’t sufficient backup to cover a potential exodus. Incoming international doctors may also not fully understand the situation they’re stepping into, he said.
Shepherd also shares the concerns of some doctors, such as Froelich and Ratti, that the UCP is edging closer to privatizing health care.
Bill 30, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, which the UCP introduced last week, gave corporations the ability to bill the government as if they were physicians, Shepherd said.
“This is the first step to breaking down the legal barriers to prevent full privatization of health care in Alberta,” Shepherd said. “We’re beyond this being a question of incompetence. This is no longer a mistake.
“This shows the incredible damage ( the UCP) has done in only a few short months with health care and doctors in the midst of a global pandemic.”
THIS SHOWS THE INCREDIBLE DAMAGE (THE UCP) HAS DONE IN ONLY A FEW SHORT MONTHS WITH HEALTH CARE.