Canadian Doctors Protest Their Pay Raises; Demand Money Be Used To Improve Healthcare

Recently, over 500 doctors, residents and medical students have signed a public letter in which they have protested their pay raises. It is a move in solidarity with the nurses and patients who have been struggling to cope up with the drastically substandard working condition and lack of required services respectively.

What does the medical professional want?

The CNBC News reported that 213 general practitioners, 184 specialists, 149 resident doctors and 162 medical students have demanded in the public letter that the raises that is being given to the doctors should be returned to the system instead. The money should be used to facilitate better healthcare to the people of Canada.

The public letter by the medical professionals that was published on February 25thsays as quoted by the CNBC News, “We Quebec doctors who believe in a strong public system, oppose the recent salary increases negotiated by our medical federation. These increases are all the more shocking because our nurses, clerks and other professionals face challenging working conditions while our patients live with the lack of access to required services because of the drastic cuts in recent years and the centralisation of power in the Ministry of Health. The only thing that is immune to our cuts is remuneration. We believe that there is a way to redistribute the resources of the Quebec health system to promote the health of the population and meet the needs of patients without pushing workers to the end. We, Quebec doctors are asking that the salary increases granted to physicians should be cancelled and that the resources of the system be better distributed for the good of the healthcare workers and to provide health services worthy to the people of Quebec.”

What is an average income of Canadian doctors?

According to the report from the Canadian Institute for health information, the Government’s Ministry of Health on an average pay $260,924 that is $339,000 Canadian per year to a physician. A family physician is paid $211,717 that is $275,000 Canadian per year while a surgeon is paid $354,915 that is $461,000 Canadian.

The Logical Indian Take

The Logical Indian lauds the unmatched dedication of the Canadian doctors towards their duty. It is indeed reiterated through them that service to the people can be done merely by doing one’s work. The consistent work ethic and thoughtful approach of the Canadian doctors have a lot to teach to the rest of the world.