OMA Elections period has opened. A chance for members to have a say in how the organization is run and what strategic direction it should take .
After my last couple of missives on OMA Elections, I was going to leave this alone and see what transpired. However, when I went to vote, I noticed a curious thing. None of the non-physician Board candidates were up for re-election. This sent up a red flag. There are three non-physician Board Directors – and every year, as members we have to vote for either one or two of them (the terms are staggered).
If one looks at the OMA website, this little nugget is hidden away in the depths of the Elections FAQ page, a page that I suspect extremely few members would access, much less be aware of:
“…In the case where the director holds a non-physician position and is interested in serving an additional term, the director would be presented to the membership as a re-appointed director…”
There are some conditions the sitting non-Physician Board Directors have to meet, but the blunt reality is that the OMA has taken away the right and ability of Members to vote for these 3 positions if those Directors want another term. This represents 27% of the Board (11 positions total) – which is frankly a large block of votes and can sway a close vote at the Board.
Worse is the vagueness of what is written for IF there was a vacancy. There are a number of requirements for running for the Board for these candidates – all of which are appropriate – however the very last sentence simply states:
“Shortlisted candidates will go through detailed vetting by Promeus Inc., including reference checks, police record checks and social media checks.”
Nowhere does it clearly state that in the event of a vacancy – there would be an election for the non-physician Board Directors. Perhaps this is still the case – however not mentioning it definitively in writing suggests the possibility that this may change.
I was on the OMA board when the governance changes took effect. I supported the overall thrust of them (still do). One of the issues when discussing non-Physician Board Directors was a concern expressed that the type of candidates that might help the OMA out would not want to run in an election. Apparently, these candidates would be “used” to being recruited and simply expected to be given a job.
I personally thought that was silly. If you’re a strong person, have a sense of self-worth, and are confident in yourself, you should be willing to run in an election. You might lose but that’s life (I’ve lost elections). But the personal integrity to run is essential. If the OMA is to represent members, then the members must have the right to vote for all Board Directors. Up until now, that’s what was happening.
Perhaps some non-Physician Directors are thinking “if I was on another board, they’d simply appoint me, and I wouldn’t have to take a chance on losing and ruining my precious resume.” But those are NOT Boards of representative organizations like the OMA
As far as I’m concerned, worrying about offending the egos of some candidates is not enough reason to take away the rights of members to choose ALL of their Board Directors. How much longer will it be before these 3 non-Physician Board candidates will simply be chosen by a process set up by the OMA without any input from the part of members? In case you think it unlikely, that is actually what was initially proposed by the governance consultants in 2019, until we shot it down.
Worse this change was made without an open discussion with the membership. The OMA should have presented arguments for this change to the members in an open, transparent manner. By hiding it in a FAQ without informing members is a betrayal of the principles of giving members power over the OMA. That was the main thrust of the governance changes in the first place.
What can members do? I mentioned in my previous blog that I personally won’t vote for incumbents. It seems that there’s only one incumbent up for re-election, current Board Chair Dr. Cathy Faulds. I have a lot of respect for Dr. Faulds (really). She’s accomplished much in her career (her resume is incredible) with work in health systems transformation/patient care advocacy and bilateral work with governments.
I was considering voting for her based on the fact that a good Board does need to hear all view points (even those that differ from mine) but I so fundamentally disagree with this move, and the current culture the Board has overseen that I personally can’t vote for her now. Whether other members see it that way is up to them.
A glance at the other candidates for Board show that there are 11 candidates who couldn’t be bothered to do a video statement to advertise themselves. Sorry – but as much as I disagree with the current elections process – if you are going to run for the top position at the OMA, and you can’t even find the time to put a video together to advertise yourself – well that is concerning.
My few loyal readers will know that I strongly supported Dr. Ramsey Hijazi last year – and continue to do so this year. He has consistently stood up for members – most recently by setting up a petition demanding that the government stop tormenting Dr. Elaine Ma for running a Covid Vaccination clinic. He’s also been strong in the press. He will get my first vote (which in the weird way the OMA weighs votes is the most important).
After that, there are a number of candidates that caught my eye – in alphabetical order – Dr. Khaled Azzam, Dr. Douglas Belton, Dr. Joy Hately, Dr. Pamela Liao, Dr. Afsheen Mazhar, Dr. Shawn Mondoux, Dr. Sameena Uddin, Dr. Darija Vusovejic. To be clear, members should review all the candidates themselves and vote, but I am going to vote for them after Dr. Hijazi.
As a family doctor, I also have a vote for my SGFP representative. Lots of great candidates running there. It will again, not surprise any of my followers that I will strongly endorse Dr. Nadia Alam for SGFP Vice-Chair. She’s an excellent leader and a dear friend. She took a well deserved break from medical politics for a bit. But it’s good to see her getting involved again and our profession will better for it. I leave the rest of the voting to your good judgement.
Disclaimer: NONE of the candidates listed asked me to endorse them.
justanoldcountrydoctor 