The CMAJ Editorial Advisory Board is concerned by the simultaneous dismissal of Dr. John Fletcher and the Journal Oversight Committee (JOC).1
Following the dismissal of a previous editor-in-chief, Dr. John Hoey, the CMAJ Governance Review Panel’s final report (“the Pound report”)2 recommended a new governance structure that had worked until 2011, when changes were suggested by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).
Despite attempts to implement a collaborative model between the various parties, it appears that unresolvable tensions between the CMA, Joule, the JOC and the editor-in-chief culminated in the current distressing situation.
It is not clear to us why Dr. Fletcher and the JOC were dismissed so abruptly. We are concerned that the dismissals themselves and the process used have reduced the trust of CMA members in the future independence of the journal; CMA’s poor track record in retaining CMAJ editors-in-chief contributes to this loss of trust.
This lack of governance structure and the instability it creates means that CMAJ cannot effectively interview for the post of editor-in-chief. Although the CMA has created a task force to make recommendations on how CMAJ can remain competitive in the current climate, we do not have any assurances that its recommendations will endure the next time there is a major disagreement between CMAJ, CMA and Joule (or its next iteration).
We respectfully suggest that, for CMAJ to have the most viable future, the report and recommendations from the task force should be seen as having the same credibility as the Pound report. To facilitate this, the CMAJ Editorial Advisory Board advises:
that the task force have independent, third-party oversight on the process and content of the task force report
that there be a timetable for the task force, its deliverables and the engagement undertaken posted on CMAJ’s website
that there be a deadline for a governance structure for CMAJ to include clarity on how future disagreements will be resolved.
The members of the Editorial Advisory Board are committed to ensuring that CMAJ’s editorial and staffing issues are managed predictably and professionally. We wish to help the task force succeed, but we need assurance that our concerns will be addressed.