Top 5 things to know about the CMA AGM & General Council in Vancouver

Over 600 physicians from across Canada gathered this past week in Vancouver for the Canadian Medical Association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) & General Council (GC).

It has been ten years since BC last hosted the GC, and this year’s event saw the largest turnout, from across the country, of physician delegates in the history of the CMA – something we in BC can be very proud of. It’s a testament to the beautiful province we’re privileged to live and work in – something we may often take for granted. 

The theme at this year’s GC was “Change in Action. Be part of it.” For those of you not familiar with this annual event, it is in essence the parliament of medicine in Canada. Great discussions and debates were had on topics and emerging issues important to the profession including the holistic risks of climate change, barriers to vaccination, the issues surrounding legalization of marijuana, and the benefits to the profession in embracing social media. There were many memorable moments for me at this year’s event, and I want to take a moment to highlight for you a few of my top takeaways. 

1. BC continues to be a leader among the PTMAs in terms of physician advocacy and issues of importance to the profession – not only at a provincial level, but nationally. BC’s Minister of Health, Terry Lake brought opening comments from the province in which he highlighted the meaningful cooperation and collaboration the current government has with the province's doctors. Moving in to the body of the meeting, our BC physician caucus remained well positioned to continue to bring forward motions of national importance to the profession and our patients. We presented 17 motions – with 3 going to the floor for debate and the remainder of such significance and being worthy of support going directly into the consent agenda. BC’s physician voice was strongly represented on the general council floor both on general and on emerging issues motions.
2. Participants at the GC embraced and took social media interaction to a new level. By day two of the event, the hashtag #cmagc had received 55 million impressions – or in simpler terms, it had been seen 55 million times. This is another example of the role social media plays in today’s society, and how the physician voice carries broadly beyond what we consider traditional channels of communication (TV, radio, print etc). Social media is now  broadly reaching and connecting our profession, those interested in our activities, and the public. A lot of twitter activity throughout GC came from Doctors of BC caucus members and attendees. Some physicians of influence who took to Twitter were Dr Eric Cadesky, Doctors of BC Chair of the General Assembly (@drcadesky), Dr Vishal Varshney, President of Resident Doctors of BC (@VarshneyMD) and Dr Granger Avery, recently installed President of the CMA (@gavery10).
3. Our BC Caucus representation was incredibly diverse. This was the first year in which Doctors of BC general membership voted individuals into delegate positions. Included in our caucus delegation in greater numbers than ever before were: medical students, residents and early career physicians.  Many of them took to the microphone and spoke on issues of provincial and national importance – a very intimidating feat when you’ve never been challenged in this manner before.  I applaud their courage, and I greatly appreciated the strong support Dr Cadesky, in his role as Chair of the General Assembly, provided to caucus and our young leaders. Also it was encouraging to see the change in diversity of the whole CMA GC. When asked if attendees would identify themselves as a student, resident or early practice physician, almost 20% of those assembled at GC raised their hand. 
4. It is safe to say that we arrived at GC anticipating tensions from the difficult circumstances that have occurred in negotiations between Ontario’s physicians and their government, Ontario’s negotiations with its own government and between physicians and members. It was reassuring to see physicians from across the country and with encouragement from BC caucus in my opening comments at GC strongly reaffirm that we continue to stand by our colleagues and their patients in Ontario, during these difficult times. This was reiterated and strategically highlighted in Dr Avery’s inauguration speech as CMA President in which he further reaffirmed and stated “we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder” with our Ontario colleagues.
5. It was truly a privilege and an honour to see a valued colleague of ours, Dr Granger Avery, step into his role as President of the CMA. Dr Avery has held significant leadership roles in our province including as past-President of Doctors of BC (1996) and as a provincial and national voice for system improvement within our challenging health care system.  Among the issues he raised in his remarks to GC, was for the need for improved access to services and supports, and to address inequities in First Nations communities, by working together with them as partners. His experience working side-by-side with First Nations people while practicing in his home community of Port McNeill for some forty years has fuelled this passion. I know he will do an excellent job representing our profession at the national level, and I look forward to supporting him in the challenges he will face in the year ahead.

Next year’s General Council of the Canadian Medical Association marks the 150th annual meeting and takes place in Quebec. Notably it coincides with 150 years of Canadian confederation and country-wide efforts to generate an renewed Canada Health Accord.

A call for nominees for the BC Caucus will be sent to membership in early spring 2017 – I hope you will consider putting forth your name and joining your provincial and national colleagues at what is truly is the “Parliament of Medicine.”