SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association

Honourable senators, I rise today on behalf of my fellow Newfoundland and Labrador senators to recognize the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, or NLMA, and the essential role it plays in strengthening health care for the people of our province.

The NLMA represents the medical profession and advocates for patients, with a mission to support excellent health care and provide leadership on the major system issues affecting Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

For more than a century, and especially in recent years, the NLMA has been a steady voice for patients, physicians and a stronger public health care system. It has helped shape important discussions on physician recruitment and retention, access to primary care, digital health, peer review and the broader health system reforms needed to meet the needs of our aging and dispersed population.

Collaborative efforts with nursing and allied health groups help to ensure that a robust team-based approach to care is patient focused.

Physician wellness and gender equity have long been a focus of the association. I am thankful for the work that our current president, Dr. Cynthia Slade, and our CEO, Gertrie Muise, and their colleagues do on behalf of Newfoundland physicians and citizens. Thank you.

The NLMA’s work matters because health care is not built by policy alone; it depends on the insight of those who work every day at the bedside, in the clinic, in the operating room and in the community. The association brings that practical expertise to the table, while always keeping the interests of patients at the centre.

I want to thank the NLMA, its leadership and its members for their dedication and continued partnership in the service of better health care for all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

Thank you. Meegwetch.