Ontario Health Teams Need Physician Leadership

Everyone wants to form an Ontario Health Team. But few know how to get community doctors’ support. They do not know because they cannot see.

Imagine that we nationalized auto repair in Ontario.

All mechanics’ shops, including dealership service departments, now send repair bills to one insurance plan called Autocare.

Mechanics in local garages fix cars for loyal customers. Dealerships deal with major problems that community mechanics do not fix.

Local shops have 1500 customers. Some see only 750; others up to 3000. A single community could have 250 community mechanics.

Some mechanics share expenses with partners, but each mechanic must maintain liability insurance. Most community mechanics are independent contractors. Only dealerships hire mechanics on salary.

Mechanics’ shops rely on supporting businesses for towing; tire disposal, oil and waste disposal. But each supporting business negotiates with Autocare individually.

Government would love to control how, when, and where mechanics work. But it would cost too much to put mechanics on salary. Continue reading “Ontario Health Teams Need Physician Leadership”

The Secret of CMA Credibility & How to Win It Back

From the outside, The Canadian Medical Association looks like a monarchy. It presides over the major ceremonies at provincial and territorial associations. But the CMA has grown tired and a bit embarrassed by old formalities.

After 152 years, the CMA has almost transformed into a New Thing.

Reform started some time ago with reorganization and throwing out robes and royal parades.

Committees followed.

Then motions. And board members.

The CMA almost succeeded in throwing out general council.

By every indication, the CMA wants to throw out the medical profession too.

Crisis at OMA Council

On May 5th at OMA spring council in Ottawa, Dr. Gigi Osler, CMA President, gave her annual address.

At first, no one came up to ask questions. Almost three hundred people sat in silence: a rare event in medical politics. Continue reading “The Secret of CMA Credibility & How to Win It Back”

Forced Referral and Freedom of Religion Vs Freedom of Conscience

“Canadians support freedom of religion because we live in a free democracy. But the reason we support freedom of conscience is because without it, our free democracy would not exist.”

This quote comes from an article I wrote for The Epoch Times. Please click on the link to read the full article. Most of it is posted below.

Thanks so much!

Forced Referral and Freedom of Religion Vs Freedom of Conscience

A recent court decision in Ontario missed the mark when it ignored the impact forced referral has on freedom of conscience.

On May 15, the Ontario appeals court ruled that doctors must give patients a referral for euthanasia, abortion, and other contentious issues, regardless of what an individual doctor thinks about them.

The court battle started after the medical regulator in Ontario, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), created a policy that forced doctors to refer for procedures, regardless of doctors’ deeply held convictions of religion or conscience. Doctors who refuse would risk being fined and/or losing their license to practice medicine.

A coalition of doctors, led by the Christian Medical and Dental Society, the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians’ Societies, the Canadian Physicians for Life, and five individual physicians, challenged the policy in divisional court. The challenge ended with the court reducing the issue to religious beliefs versus medical needs. The court said religious doctors could change specialty to avoid contentious issues, and refusal to refer would harm access to medical care.

Therefore, the court ruled that doctors’ religious convictions should not trump patients’ needs. Continue reading “Forced Referral and Freedom of Religion Vs Freedom of Conscience”