The N.B. government has agreed to give physicians the same fee increase they would have had in a tentative deal ratified at the end of last year but never implemented.

The move drew criticism from the Opposition that the eight-month labour dispute with doctors leading up to the deal was all for nothing.

Health Minister Mary Schryer told reporters on Wednesday morning that doctors will receive a 3.75-per-cent fee increase in each of the next four years.

But Schryer said the doctors have also agreed to wage freezes in years five and six of the deal.

"We've always said we were open to negotiations, which we did," Schryer told reporters. "In December, the tentative agreement had no zeros. And now, we have a win-win situation where we have 3.75 with an obligation of the two zeros going forward."

The deal is retroactive to April 1, 2008.

Salaried physicians will receive the same fee increases as doctors who bill Medicare.

Same deal

The New Brunswick Medical Society had launched legal action after the government threatened to impose a two-year wage freeze to help with the projected deficit.

That came after the medical society reached a tentative agreement with the province in December 2008 that was ratified by the doctors but never implemented.

According to a timeline posted on the New Brunswick Medical Society's website, the physicians offered on April 6 to accept the original four-year agreement plus a two-year wage freeze at the end.

'They've got a torch in one hand and a fire hose in another, and when the heat gets too hot, they haul out the hose and try to put it out.'—Opposition health critic Margaret-Ann Blaney

The province said Wednesday's settlement is not identical to last year's contract, but the medical society says it is.

"The central focus of our disagreement was that the negotiating process had to be respected, and that has happened, so we're anxious to move on," said president Chris Losier.

Opposition health critic Margaret-Ann Blaney isn't as forgiving. She said this is another example of the Graham Liberals forcing a confrontation, getting a lot of people angry and then backing off.

"The government blindsided everybody with Draconian legislation," she said. "They created a disaster and seemingly have adopted a scorched-earth strategy. They've got a torch in one hand and a fire hose in another, and when the heat gets too hot, they haul out the hose and try to put it out."

But in this case, the province's ability to recruit new doctors might have suffered, said Blaney. The Canadian Medical Association passed a motion supporting the medical society, so doctors across the country heard about the drawn-out dispute.