Contract talks between the province and its 28,000 doctors have fallen apart after a year of negotiations.

Dr. Ved Tandan, president of the Ontario Medical Association held a news conference Thursday to announce that doctors had rejected the government’s offer of a three-year deal, which sought $650 million in savings in the first two years and offered a 1 per cent hike in the third year.

Tandan said the government’s offer amounts to an overall cut of 5 per cent, which will erode the ability of doctors to serve patients. It will mean longer waits to see doctors, to get tests and to have surgery, he warned.

“It is unrealistic if we want the best care for our patients and if we want the best doctors available in Ontario. This pattern is a race to the bottom. It is not right and we cannot support it,” he told reporters.

The doctors have come back with an offer of a two-year freeze on their fees.

At Queen’s Park, Health Minister Eric Hoskins, himself a physician, said he was “disappointed” the OMA walked away from the table, forcing the government to impose a contract. However, he moved to assure Ontarians that their health care would not be affected.

“This has nothing to do with service levels, this has to do with physicians’ incomes,” Hoskins said, saying doctors’ salaries have jumped 61 per cent since the Liberals took power in 2003, meaning they earn an average of $360,000 annually.

As part of the changes, the government will no longer pay for doctors’ continuing medical education fees, nor will they receive a premium for seeing patients in after-hours walk-in clinics.

More to come.