Treat doctors with respect

Re A residency for all MDs, Editorial, Feb. 15

I am pleased that you support funding of an increased number of residency positions to at least match the annual number of Canadian medical school graduates. However, this alone may fail to solve the shortage of physicians. Young MDs are mobile and, if not treated with respect and fairness, will leave Ontario for other provinces and even other countries.

Their retention is not helped by Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s recent tax increases on incorporated professionals. Whether he has listened to constructive criticisms will be revealed in his budget next week.

This is at a time when Ontario physicians have faced fee cuts of up to 50 per cent and billing clawbacks, have been without a contract for four years and await the results of binding arbitration — likely not until late this year.

The PC leadership candidates and Premier Kathleen Wynne should pledge now that they will respect the eventual binding arbitration decision and not overturn it by subsequent legislation.

Otherwise, the current shortage of MDs in this province will likely worsen. Charles S. Shaver, MD, Ottawa