The Yukon government will provide a debt relief program to young doctors as a way of encouraging them to set up a family practice in the territory.

'We have much to offer young new physicians who want to establish a practice in the Yukon and we want every Yukon citizen to have access to a family physician,' Health Minister Brad Cathers told a press conference held Wednesday to announce the new program.

The Family Physician Incentive Program for New Graduates will provide up to $50,000 to a maximum of four new doctors a year.

The money is to be handed out as $20,000 when they move to the Yukon, $20,000 at the end of the second year of service and the remaining $10,000 after completing four years' service.

The money is meant to help the doctors set up a practice while they may still be struggling with paying off student loans. The exchange is based on a minimum of five years' service to the territory.

Candidates for the program must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant fully licensable in Canada. They also must have graduated from medical school and have completed the Certificate of the College of Family Physicians of Canada within the last five years.

There is no restriction on where the doctors are required to work in the territory, but it must be a family practice that provides referral and follow-up services.

There are approximately 55 doctors and medical specialists working in the territory. The Health department was unable to say how many Yukoners are actively seeking a family doctor.

'We will not be satisfied at any time when Yukoners do not have access to primary care, including physicians,' said Cathers. 'We are taking the steps through this program to address this and to attract physicians to the territory.'

The idea for the program is not new.

Cathers said he heard it on the doorsteps during the 2002 election campaign.

The Yukon Medical Association also urged the government to consider repaying portions of a physician's accumulated debt in return for service as a way of increasing the ability to attract new graduates at its 2005 annual general meeting.

Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell has also made pushing such a program a priority. He included it in his 2005 leadership run and during last fall's Copperbelt byelection.

Mitchell said it is convenient the Yukon Party is now making the announcement in the days or weeks prior to an election call. Premier Dennis Fentie must drop the writ by November.

The government party has been dismissive of the suggestion of loan or debt programs for doctors on the floor of the house in the past, said Mitchell.

'Obviously, it's possible to immediately put this in place,' said Mitchell.

'High priorities are not something you leave until the 45th or 46th month of a mandate. This is something (the Yukon Party) did absolutely nothing on until last spring.'

The program is part of the $12.7-million Health Human Resources Strategy, which was announced last March. The money comes out of the five-year, $21.6-million Territorial Health Access Fund coming to the Yukon from the federal government.

One of the goals is to make the Yukon more competitive as a place for doctors to relocate in a country where every jurisdiction is experiencing shortages, said Cathers.

'It levels the playing field,' agreed Mitchell. 'Doctors are going to go where they can pay off the debt sooner.'

But acting NDP Leader Steve Cardiff said the five-year offering to doctors doesn't necessarily solve the problem. It has the potential to create a revolving door of practitioners.

'The object should be to encourage them to come here and to stay for a sustained amount of time,' he said. 'This might go some distance in the short run.'

The current program is focused on recruitment, he said, when the focus might need to be on retention instead.

'We need to have serious discussion about the best way to meet the needs of Yukoners,' he said. 'As long as there are people who are not able to get a family physician, there's a problem in the system.'

The funding has currently been allocated to the program for five years, but Cathers said he foresees it continuing on an ongoing basis based on need.

'If there comes a point where we're hearing from physicians or Yukoners that there are indeed sufficient physicians providing the care, the intent of this program is not to get doctors for the sake of getting of doctors.'

The Star was unable to reach the Yukon Medical Association for comment on the minister's plan.