New Brunswick's health minister says he hopes to avoid passing and using a bill to impose a pay freeze on doctors.

Mike Murphy told reporters Tuesday he's inviting the New Brunswick Medical Society to discuss a creative way to end their dispute.

The legislation would freeze the fees doctors bill to medicare for two years, and voids a tentative agreement the two sides signed in December.

He said he understands why doctors are bitter and regrets the dispute has reached this point.

"I do recognize that that leaves a very bad taste in physicians' mouths for years to come. I'd like to see that avoided," said Murphy. "I certainly hope that I'll receive a phone call, and I certainly invite that phone call, and we would have some discussions as soon as possible to see if we can get to that common ground. I think we can. I'm sure we can."

Doctors may not trust the minister enough to negotiate because he tore up the agreement they struck in December, said David Balmain, executive director of the medical society.

"So you negotiate once, and they reject it. You negotiate again, and why would you do that? And what would the outcome be?" But, added Balmain, "I don't foresee that the members of the medical society, through their officials, will not want to discuss this."

The society's membership will meet in Fredericton on Friday to decide how to respond to the legislation. It is not ruling out some kind of withdrawal of services.