Canadian taxpayers are facing a huge, unexpected bill for as much as $200 million in back pay owed to hundreds of nurses employed by the federal government, the nurses' lawyer estimates.

Adele McLean, a B.C. nurse, says their fight was about recognition, not money. Adele McLean, a B.C. nurse, says their fight was about recognition, not money.
(CBC)

The nurses have been doing medical assessments on Canadians who applied for disability payments under the Canada Pension Plan.

"We are all registered nurses, and we need to be recognized and respected for that," said Adele McLean, a B.C. nurse who has worked for the government for a decade.

Since the 1970s, McLean and 400 other nurses were classified as "administrators" and paid roughly half of what Ottawa paid doctors, who were primarily male, for doing the same job.

After years of complaining and getting nowhere, they filed a complaint of discrimination in 2004 with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Last month, they won their case. Their Victoria lawyer now estimates the settlement could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Potential cost more than sponsorship scandal

"It would be an enormous number — more than the sponsorship scandal," said lawyer Laurie Armstrong, referring to the $100 million the federal government was found to have spent on questionable advertising contracts in the late 1990s.

"Since 1989, they've been complaining about this, and since 1989, the government has had opportunity after opportunity to sit down with the nurses and resolve it, and they haven't."

Laurie Armstrong, right, the lawyer representing the nurses, says one nurse with 10 years' employment could be entitled to close to $500,000.Laurie Armstrong, right, the lawyer representing the nurses, says one nurse with 10 years' employment could be entitled to close to $500,000.
(CBC)

Armstrong stressed a final settlement has not been calculated. The government has until mid-March to make an acceptable offer to the nurses or have a settlement imposed by the Human Rights Tribunal.

Armstrong figures a nurse with McLean's experience could be owed $45,000 per year in lost wages — the difference between what she made and what the doctors were paid. Ten years' service adds up to $450,000 in back pay, plus an estimated $20,000 in damages on top of interest and legal fees.

Multiply that by 431 nurses, and the total bill could be well over $200 million.

McLean called it a "shameful" waste, because she said it would have never gone that far if the government had simply recognized her and her colleagues as professionals years ago.

"It's not just about money, and it never started out to be just about money. A huge part of being recognized is the [nursing] classification," said McLean. "It wasn't about doctors vs. nurses at all."

Since the 1970s, about 400 nurses were classified as 'administrators' and paid roughly half of what Ottawa paid doctors, who were primarily male, for doing the same job. Since the 1970s, about 400 nurses were classified as 'administrators' and paid roughly half of what Ottawa paid doctors, who were primarily male, for doing the same job.
(CBC)

Armstrong agrees that Ottawa could have fixed the problem much earlier for far less. The nurses weren't demanding equal pay to the doctors until they took their case to the Human Rights Commission. Up to that point, all they really wanted was payment for professional fees, recognition that they were working as nurses and fair wages to reflect that.

"Now [taxpayers] are on the hook for potential interest," Armstrong said. "We're on the hook for hurt feelings. It's an award for the position they've been put in for many, many years."

Department flagged problem years ago

Government documents show the employer, Social Development Canada (SD), actually tried to solve the problem years ago but couldn't get approval from the Treasury Board.

In 2004, the department wrote, "Senior management within SD strongly supports recognizing the nature of work … the recommended course of action is … the creation of a nursing sub-group."

CBC News asked for an interview with the minister of Social Development, Monte Solberg, but were told the matter is in the hands of the Treasury Board secretariat.

The secretariat refused to comment, saying the tribunal's decision is under review.

The government has until mid-January to file an appeal. Armstrong said Ottawa could cut the cost to taxpayers now simply by offering a fair settlement.

"It would eliminate the risk for government if they would finally sit down and come up with something [the nurses] can live with."