After almost a year of bickering that include a threat of legal action, New Brunswick's 1,500 doctors and the provincial government have signed a new contract, bringing an end to a dispute that drew national attention.

The tussle began when the government urged the doctors to accept an immediate two-year wage freeze after it said it couldn't afford to ratify a tentative deal announced last December because of the downturn in the economy.

The government introduced amendments to legislation that would have frozen their wages from April 2008 to April 2010, but it never proclaimed those amendments.

The New Brunswick Medical Society then threatened legal action in an attempt to force the government to implement the negotiated contract. But hours before its case was to go to court, it agreed to resume talks last month.

"This is a win-win situation for the province and the doctors,'' Health Minister Mary Schryer said.

The four-year deal includes annual wage increases of 3.75 per cent.

David Balmain, executive director of the medical society, said the doctors would respect the government's wage restraint policy that calls for a salary freeze - but only after the current agreement expires in 2012.

"We recognize the government's problems relative to revenue generation and expenses and from day one we were willing to support government in its wage and restraint program," Balmain said.

 

Margaret-Ann Blaney, the Opposition Conservative health critic, said the government allowed the dispute to drag on unnecessarily.

"The doctors have been saying all along they initially approached the government about whether there needed to be a wage freeze at the end,'' Blaney said. "The ink on this deal was dry a year ago."

The labour dispute drew attention from across the country.

In August, doctors attending the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Saskatoon voted in favour of supporting New Brunswick doctors in their fight for their contract.

Blaney said the dispute has tarnished the province's reputation.

"New Brunswick is being viewed as physician-unfriendly,'' Blaney said. "I don't think the signing of this agreement would make that go away overnight.''

Balmain agreed, but said he thought the reputation can be repaired.

"We have a job to get the message out that things have been settled,'' he said.

"That's a job for both the government and this organization to convey on a continuing basis, going forward.''