Heart Strategy: Health minister Tony Clement says the federal government will shell out $8.4 million/2 years to develop a comprehensive pan-Canadian heart health strategy. To be crafted by a 30 member committee led by cardiologist Eldon Smith, it will “provide a unifying framework for interventions along the whole continuum of care – from prevention through treatment to rehabilitation and reintegration to the community,” Clement told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress. Once developed, it's envisioned the new strategy will parallel an existing $260 million/5 year plan for cancer control.
Law suit: Describing themselves as “victims of an abuse of power,” the 8000-strong Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists have filed a suit in Quebec Superior Court against the province for passing legislation imposing a pay settlement that leaves them the lowest earning specialists in the country ($233 000/year as opposed to an average $343 000 nationally). Bill 37, passed last June, reduced the government's original contract offer and docked $50 million from the settlements as a penalty. The specialists want it declared void, arguing that their civil rights have been breached by a provision which bans them from altering the practice in concert with one another, thereby preventing them from using work slowdowns as a bargaining tactic. — compiled by Wayne Kondro, CMAJ