A rare contested election to lead the association and a seemly innocuous nonsmoking resolution prompted intense lobbying during the CMA's August annual meeting in Winnipeg.
By the time the meeting concluded Aug. 20, the CMA had a president-elect, Windsor GP Albert Schumacher, who had not been the official nominee from Ontario. And a resolution that would have forced the CMA to hold its annual meetings only in cities with public smoking bans was amended because of the logistical problems.
Coming into the meeting, Dr. John Tracey, a GP from Brampton, Ont., and a newcomer to national medical politics, had been the official candidate to lead the CMA after the 2004 annual meeting (CMAJ 2003;168[11]:1455). Although only about 30% of members cast ballots, he had defeated 5 former Ontario Medical Association (OMA) past presidents in a runoff (CMAJ 2003;168[9]:1170). Tracey is a founding member of the Coalition of Family Physicians of Ontario, which has challenged the OMA's moves to negotiate alternative funding mechanisms for family doctors.
During the meeting, however, 2 unsuccessful candidates from the Ontario election, Schumacher and Dr. Ron Wexler, were nominated as president-elect from the floor, a rare although not unprecedented situation. Similar elections were held in 1979 and 1998.
In his nomination speech, Tracey urged delegates to respect the “democratic voice of the physicians of Ontario” and ratify his nomination, while Schumacher stressed his longstanding involvement in medical politics and advocacy on behalf of physicians and Wexler discussed fundamental issues facing the medical profession. Wexler was eliminated after the first round of voting, and Schumacher emerged as the successful candidate after the second round.
The other issue to prompt intense lobbying involved an attempt by Manitoba physicians to force the CMA by 2005 to limit its annual meeting sites to cities that have 100% indoor smoking bans in place.
If adopted, the motion would have forced the association to cancel contracts that have already been arranged for annual meetings up to 2008. More significantly, because of the limited number of cities across Canada with strong nonsmoking bylaws, it would have prompted a fundamental reassessment of the CMA's traditional policy of electing a president from the province in which the annual meeting is held.
“This speaks to the vision of this association,” said Dr. Jay Duncan, who proposed the motion. “There will be some cost, but we can do it.”
Others noted that the CMA had already passed a motion urging governments to adopt strong antismoking regulations, and they felt the CMA should also set an example.
However, some delegates questioned the proposed timeframe. “We're all against smoking” said Dr. Harry Callaghan of PEI, “but the motion is going too far too quickly.”
An attempt to refer the motion to the CMA board was unsuccessful, but an amendment proposed by outgoing President Dana Hanson to remove the strict timeframe and substitute the words “once current contractual commitments are honoured” was adopted. — CMAJ