Ottawa, NWT reach agreement to pay cost of physicians

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Ottawa and the Northwest Territories have reached an interim agreement over a health billing dispute involving northern Natives.

Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin and territorial Health Minister John Pollard last month signed the deal which promises $7.3 million annually from Ottawa to cover physician costs for Inuit and Status Indians in the NWT.

"We've been able to reach an agreement on this one," Pollard said. "(The Minister) is prepared to instruct his lawyers to negotiate. We're certainly prepared to do that:"

But the agreement does not mean the territory will drop its $79-million lawsuit against the federal government for other health service costs of northern Natives.

The NWT launched the action in 1992 after failing to reach a cost-carrying agreement with Ottawa. The then-Conservative government said responsibility for health care costs were given over to the territories in a 1988 health transfer agreement.

The territorial government disagreed and, after several failed attempts to renegotiate the deal, decided to take Ottawa to court.

The latest deal between the two governments will cover physicians' costs from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 1994.

"It becomes very frustrating for the government in the North to work with the government in Ottawa," Irwin said.

"And the prime minister has made it clear that he wants things to go a lot more smoothly than in the past."

Although the territorial government is on record as seeking $79 million in compensation, the total bill could exceed $100 million, Pollard said.