Media
Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COALITION OF
FAMILY PHYSICIANS OF ONTARIO TO CONTEST 3 OMA BOARD DIRECTOR
POSITIONS
(January 20, 2003, Toronto,
Ontario) – Dr. Douglas
Mark, President of the Coalition of Family Physicians of Ontario
(COFP), announced today that three members of the Coalition’s
Executive Committee have stepped forward and agreed to contest
the three open Ontario Medical Association (OMA) District
11 Board Director positions in an election to be held February
28, 2003. Drs. Suzanne Strasberg, Allan Studniberg and Tom
Weinberger will be running as “The Coalition Candidates” under
the banner: “We are not the OMA. We are the people
who came to fix the OMA.”
OMA Candidates
“Over the past few years, it’s
become obvious to us that some fundamental changes need to
occur within the Ontario Medical Association in order for
it to be more open and honest in how it deals with its members,”
said Dr. Mark, a family physician practicing in Toronto. “I
believe that Drs. Strasberg, Studniberg and Weinberger will
fight hard on behalf of grassroots doctors – family physicians
and specialists alike – to ensure that the OMA becomes more
transparent and responsive.”
Should they be successful in
winning a spot on the OMA Board, each of the Coalition Candidates
promises to push for recorded votes, as well as having Board
and Executive Committee Meeting Minutes posted on the OMA
Web site so that individual OMA members will be aware of what
their elected representatives are doing. Drs. Strasberg, Studniberg
and Weinberger also commit to ensuring that the OMA has a
professional negotiating team – along with a professional
labour negotiator – in place by the time the next round of
fee-for-service negotiations between the OMA and the Ministry
of Health and Long-Term Care get under way.
“We are very proud of the contributions
Suzanne, Allan and Tom have made – and continue to make –
to the Coalition of Family Physicians of Ontario and its members,”
Dr. Mark continued. “I believe that each candidate possesses
the kind of passion, dedication and honesty necessary to serve
the members of District 11 as their representative on the
OMA Board in the same way they’ve served family physicians
in this province over the past six years.”
Drs. Strasberg, Studniberg
and Weinberger are all family physicians that practice in
Toronto. All three currently serve on the Executive Committee
of the Coalition of Family Physicians of Ontario. Dr. Weinberger
is also the Chair of the OMA Section of General and Family
Practice.
The Coalition of Family Physicians
of Ontario is a member-driven, grassroots organization dedicated
to protecting the rights and independence of family physicians
all across the province.
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