Canadians have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to our healthcare system.  This was part of the message given by the outgoing president of the Canadian Medical Association at the CMA’s annual meeting in Calgary.  Doctor Anna Reid explained that work being done by many physicians creates a “force for good” in society.  She also calls on doctors “to be advocates for the broader health of Canadians as well as the healthcare system, which needs to focus on quality of care.”  Doctor Reid says an important first step is to convince the federal government to develop a national strategy for seniors’ care.

End of life issues were discussed during the CMA’s annual meeting … particularly physician assisted deaths. “What we talk about is being there at the intersection of choice and compassion.  So we want to offer patients the right to have autonomy to make the choice,” says Dying with Dignity Canada Executive Director Wanda Morris to the New AM 740’s Goldhawk Fights Back.  Morris says the organization has created a blueprint for recommendations for federal legislation.  “We want to make sure that we’re restricting it to people who are really in desperate circumstances,” she went on to explain, “and those are the ones who would have a choice to end their lives.”  Earlier this week, Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose said there are no plans to make physician assisted deaths legal in Canada.

The founder of Zoomer Media, Moses Znaimer, is co-lead patron of “Dying with Dignity” Canada.