Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Physicians & Subscribers
    • Benefits for Canadian physicians
    • CPD Credits for CMA Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • COVID-19 articles
    • Obituary notices
  • Authors & Reviewers
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
    • Open access
    • Patient engagement
  • Physicians & Subscribers
    • Benefits for Canadian physicians
    • CPD Credits for CMA Members
    • Subscribe to CMAJ Print
    • Subscription prices
    • Obituary notices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2023
    • Avis de décès
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
  • Listen to CMAJ podcasts
News

Montreal physicians protest poverty

Louise Gagnon
CMAJ July 09, 2002 167 (1) 67;
Louise Gagnon
Montreal
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Some Montreal-area physicians are staging protests to raise awareness among their colleagues about the link between poverty and poor health.

Figure

Figure. Government, can you spare a dime? Photo by: Canapress

The Coalition of Physicians for Social Justice was formed 5 years ago after the physicians were galvanized by the introduction of Quebec's universal drug insurance plan. They wanted to highlight what they considered punitive features, including plans to limit access to medication among vulnerable groups such as seniors, single parents and welfare recipients.

Five years ago the coalition's first petition, which protested the introduction of drug copayments for poor Quebecers under the province's new universal pharmacare plan, was signed by more than 100 family physicians. “We have an obligation according to our Hippocratic oath to keep patients from being harmed,” says Dr. Paul Saba, the coalition's head. “If there is social injustice, patients are being harmed. When I found out about the implementation of the plan and the copayments that it required, I instantly thought it would limit access.”

Saba, a Montreal FP who had worked on medical projects in Africa, says his experience abroad “reinforced my belief in values of the Canadian health care system, such as universality and comprehensiveness of care.”

During public consultations involving the Clair Commission, which eventually produced a report that recommended an overhaul of Quebec's health care system, the coalition held its own consultations, “The Good Samaritan Commission,” to express its dissatisfaction.

“The recommendations were leaning toward privatization of the system and two-tier health care,” says Saba. “This made a statement about our support of publicly funded care.”

In addition to protests, petitions and other social activism, the coalition has also organized annual accredited CME courses on nutrition and the elderly since 1997. Saba says physicians have to be enlightened about the prevalence of poor nutrition among seniors. “About 1 in 4 elderly people has poor nutritional status. The effect of malnutrition is that patients are weaker, more prone to fractures and don't heal well if they sustain an injury, which costs money if they must have an extended stay in hospital. It's a vicious cycle. Part of health is illness prevention, and illness prevention involves housing, good nutrition and sufficient income.”

The coalition's latest effort is a Health Canada-financed program that teams high school students with elderly people. The students help seniors shop for food and prepare meals.

The coalition is not the only group of its type in Canada. Dr. Joel Lexchin, a member of Ontario's Medical Reform Group, says his organization is more academic in nature than the coalition and concentrates on appearances before government committees or media interviews.

“We don't actively organize demonstrations or hold public forums, and we tend to focus on national issues more than Ontario concerns. The coalition focuses on issues particular to Quebec.” — Louise Gagnon, Montreal

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

CMAJ
Vol. 167, Issue 1
9 Jul 2002
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author

Article tools

Respond to this article
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Montreal physicians protest poverty
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Montreal physicians protest poverty
Louise Gagnon
CMAJ Jul 2002, 167 (1) 67;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Montreal physicians protest poverty
Louise Gagnon
CMAJ Jul 2002, 167 (1) 67;
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Saying goodbye to CMAJ News
  • National survey highlights worsening primary care access
  • How Canadian hospitals are decreasing carbon emissions
Show more News

Similar Articles

Collections

  • Topics
    • Public health

 

View Latest Classified Ads

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • CPD credits
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Advisory Panels
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions
CMAJ Group

Copyright 2023, CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of these resources in an accessible format, please contact us at CMAJ Group, 500-1410 Blair Towers Place, Ottawa ON, K1J 9B9; p: 1-888-855-2555; e: [email protected]

CMA Civility, Accessibility, Privacy

 

Powered by HighWire