We write as concerned members of the CMA and as refugee health advocates in response to the recent dismissal of Dr. John Fletcher, editor-in-chief of CMAJ, as well as the Journal Oversight Committee.1 We realize that there are many issues that are likely at play here, and we clearly do not know or understand the complexity of the relationship between the CMA and CMAJ.
We have been impressed with both CMAJ and the CMA, because they have done their part in advocating in a respectful and professional manner for the rights of refugees in this country. The editorial by Stanbrook in 2014 was a brilliant piece that provided a crystal clear understanding to many members who perhaps did not fully comprehend the issues.2 CMAJ has used its news section to clarify important issues, such as the cuts to refugee health. We hope that the independence of the journal can be maintained to ensure transparency and integrity.
Refugee doctors in Canada were honoured to stand beside Dr. Chris Simpson who, as then president of the CMA, spoke at the news conference on Parliament Hill in 2015 in support of the need to rescind the cuts to the interim federal health program;3 this has now come to fruition. In January 2016, the current president of the CMA, Dr. Cindy Forbes, joined us in Ottawa for a workshop on refugee health and spoke beautifully of the need for physicians to step up in the effort to provide care to the influx of Syrian refugees coming to Canada. She emphasized CMA’s role in providing the needed resources and information for providers to do this job effectively.
We feel strongly that the CMA and CMAJ can and should come to terms with how to maintain the news section and the independent nature of the journal.