Council Highlights: Minutes of the 557th and 558th Meetings of the Council

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

Council Highlights: Minutes of the 547th and 548th Meetings of the Council

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

Council Highlights: Minutes of the 560th Meeting of the Council

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

Council Highlights: Minutes of the 540th Meeting of the Council, 13 January 1968

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA Headquarters office or your component society.     

Council Highlights: 545th Meeting of the Council,June 14-15, 1968

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA Headquarters office.     

Council Highlights: 544th Meeting of the Council,May 3-4, 1968

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA Headquarters office.     

Council Highlights: 546th Meeting of the Council,August 2-3, 1968

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA Headquarters office.     

Council Highlights: Minutes of the 541st, 542nd and 543rd Meetings of the Council

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

Kay Elected Chairman of the CMA Council

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

Council Highlights: Minutes of the 551st and 552nd Meetings of the Council

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the action of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

The scientific board.

This summary is published so that CMA membership may be advised in brief of the actions of the Association''s Council. It covers only major actions and is not intended as a detailed report. Full minutes of these meetings are available upon any member''s request to the CMA office.     

Council Meeting Minutes, 453rd Meeting,October 31, 1959

This summary from the Executive Vice-President''s office of the American Medical Association covers only a few of the many important subjects dealt with by the House and is not intended as a detailed report on all actions taken.     

Future of health care system tops agenda as CMA Board of Directors meets

The first part of the CMA''s efforts to spark a public debate on the future of Canada''s health care system is a “visioning exercise” in which the Board of Directors will attempt to spell out the association''s views on how the system should develop. The board also discussed CMA initiatives concerning two major public-health issues — smoking and blood transfusions.     

Business leaders begin to rally in support of public health care system

There appears to be growing concern among Canada''s business leaders about the future of Canada''s health care system. At a recent meeting in Montebello, Que., that was cosponsored by the CMA and several Canadian corporations, some business representatives said Canada''s publicly funded system gives them a competitive edge in an increasingly global market.     

CMA's CEO re-elected chair of World Medical Association's ethics committee

The CMA secretary general, Dr. Léo-Paul Landry, has been re-elected chair of the World Medical Association''s (WMA) Medical Ethics Committee. During an April meeting, the committee approved documents dealing with reductions in the number of embryos and the care of patients with mental illness. The author says a steady increase in WMA membership is a sign of physicians'' belief in the importance of the association''s representational function.     

Drinking and Driving

Alcohol misuse generates many health and social problems at a cost that society is increasingly unwilling to sustain. One of the most tragic consequences of alcohol misuse is the result of drinking and driving. Each week, impaired drivers kill 40 Canadian men, women and children and injure 1250 others. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), in its campaign against drinking and driving, has recommended that a condition of obtaining or renewing a driver''s licence include the individual''s written consent to allow the taking of blood samples by qualified medical personnel when deemed necessary by law enforcement agencies. CMA has recommended to the provinces that the legal age for the purchase and public possession of alcohol be raised to 21. CMA also supports the ban of all alcohol advertising in the electronic media and emphasizes that since alcohol is a drug, all containers should be visibly labelled “Misuse of this Product can be Injurious to Health”. CMA continues to support and encourage the federal and provincial governments in their battle to prevent alcohol-related deaths and injuries through education, control of advertising, use of breathalyzer devices, mandatory blood alcohol testing and legislation enacting stiffer penalties for drinking and driving.     

CMA brief offers suggestions as federal commission studies country's blood-gathering system

The CMA hopes the Commission of Inquity on the Blood System, chaired by Mr. Justice Horace Krever, “will restore faith in a system that is essential for the health and safety of all Canadians.” However, the cost implications any recommendations may have for the health care system must also be taken into consideration. The CMA made several recommendations in response to the commission''s interim report.     

CMA-cosponsored conference raises many questions about future of regionalized health care.

Is regionalization better because it''s cheaper? Or because it provides better outcomes? Or simply because it''s different from whatever went before? Those were some of the questions asked during a recent conference cosponsored by the CMA and Queen''s University. With each successive speaker, says Charlotte Gray, the message became clearer: there are more muddled theories behind the trend and more pitfalls ahead than planners ever expected when they embarked on the exercise to decentralize health care in Canada and elsewhere.     

Private health care dominates meeting as general council calls for national debate on issue.

The CMA''s General Council has decided to withhold its stamp of approval for a "private parallel" health care system by voting against a motion to remove legislative barriers to private insurance. However, General Council did call on the CMA to take the issue directly to Canadians and conduct a national debate. General Council did pass a "Blueprint for Action"--16 resolutions spelling out the CMA''s views on ways to protect Canada''s medicare system.     

Family planning/contraception

It is the position of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) that family planning advice and assistance should be readily available to all residents of Canada. This is viewed as a responsibility of practising physicians that is to be shared with other health and educational agencies. CMA has recommended the establishment of facilities in addition to physicians'' offices for the dissemination of advice on family planning. These facilities should be developed in consultation with and under the supervision of the medical profession. CMA believes induced abortion should not be an alternative to contraception as a method of responsible family planning. In the event of an unwanted pregnancy, full counselling services should be provided. Within the context of preventive medicine, CMA supports the development of educational programs in family living and the promotion of sex education in the school system by knowledgeable persons sensitive to the needs of students.