Manitoba dentists disgruntled by new tax
Some Manitoba dentists have been left angry after it was agreed that they would all have to pay a one-off fee of $500 to support an outreach scheme.
The fee, which will support the University of Manitoba (UoM) dental school’s outreach program, was agreed after a fiery debate at the Manitoba Dental Association’s (MDA) annual meeting.
Dr Joel Antel, MDA spokesman, said the fee had been imposed to help outreach centres, which are also run by Centre for Community Oral Health, keep going while the region recovers from recession.
He ensured dentists that the fee, which some have called a mandatory tax, would be a one-off thing.
Nine dental outreach programs had to be closed by UoM because it couldn’t afford to fund them in the struggling economic climate.
The association voted in favour of the fee but opinions were mixed and the ballot was won by 75-67.
Dr Alan Grant, local dentist, claimed that the vote was unfair because absentee votes cannot be made according to MDA rules.
He said that democracy had been lost and added that members from rural areas deserved equal representation.
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