MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Colleagues
O
Marc Gabel, MD
College President
photo: D.W. Dorken
In situations where
two sets of rights
clash, the goal is to
respect both sets of
rights to the
extent possible.
ne of Canada’s biggest
marvels for this transplanted American is our
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This
highly regarded and widely admired
part of the Canadian Constitution
sets out the rights and freedoms
that we, as Canadians, believe to be
necessary in a free and democratic
society.
Certainly, the Charter – and
its guarantee that those who are
involved in legal proceedings are
treated fairly – informed my previous work as the chair of the College’s
Discipline Committee.
The Charter also protects, of
course, the right to freedom of conscience and religion. I think we can
all agree that these rights are vital,
and worthy of protection.
The Charter and the courts alike,
however, recognize that no rights are
absolute and must all be given equal
consideration. The Supreme Court
of Canada has said, for instance, that
the right to freedom of conscience
and religion can be limited, as necessary, to protect public safety, order,
health, morals, or the fundamental
rights and freedoms of others. In
situations where two sets of rights
clash, the goal is to respect both sets
of rights to the extent possible.
It is this exercise of balancing
rights that was at the forefront of the
College’s review of the Physicians
and the Ontario Human Rights
Code policy which I chaired. The
draft policy articulates physicians’
legal obligations under the Ontario
Human Rights Code, as well as the
College’s professional and ethical
expectations of physicians in meeting
those obligations. The draft policy
also addresses the College’s expectations in circumstances where physicians limit the services they provide
on moral or religious grounds.
Over the summer, we sought feedback on the current policy from the
profession, interested organizations,
and the public. The majority of feedback received focused on the issue
of conscientious objection, or where
physicians limit the health services
they provide for their personal moral
or religious reasons.
Many respondents expressed their
support for freedom of conscience,
and argued that physicians should
not have to provide services, including making a referral to another
physician, if it conflicted with their
moral and/or religious beliefs. Others argued that physicians have a
responsibility to facilitate patient
care and should not be permitted
to refuse to provide health services,
including patient referrals, on moral
Issue 4, 2014 Dialogue
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