Province reaches new pay deal for resident physicians in Alberta

Alberta's Health Minister Adriana LaGrange has announced a tentative four-year deal with resident physicians.

The agreement could mean wage increases of three per cent in each of the first two years, and two per cent in each of the last two years.

Resident physicians are doctors who have graduated from medical school but are completing post-graduate training in a residency program to get their licence to practise medicine.

The parties to the agreement include the Alberta's government, Alberta Health Services (AHS), the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the Professional Association of Resident Physicians of Alberta (PARA).

Adriana LaGrange, minister of health for Alberta, said the government is grateful for the hard work resident physicians do as they complete their training.

"We are pleased to see that a new agreement has been reached and look forward to more physicians calling Alberta home," she said in a release Wednesday. 

The president of PARA said the agreement will help make Alberta an attractive destination for new doctors. 

"By enhancing compensation, training and working conditions, we ensure Alberta recruits and retains the brightest medical talent to serve our communities and shape the future of health care," said Dr. Pauwlina Cyca.

The agreement comes as negotiations with the United Nurses of Alberta have reached an apparent impasse that could lead to a strike vote.

Family doctors are also waiting on a delayed pay deal they say is needed to keep their clinics afloat.