Dialogue Volume 14 Issue 4 2018 | Page 16

REPORTS FROM COUNCIL Traditional Land Acknowledgement Council opened its meeting with a traditional land acknowledgement statement intended to show recognition and respect for indigenous peoples: We acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations includ- ing the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishna- beg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunaee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Later in the meeting, George Couchie of Redtail Hawk Training and Consulting, led Council in a session designed to build aware- ness and understanding of indigenous realities and the concept of reconciliation. No Membership Fee Increase for 2019 There will be no fee increase for a certificate of registration for 2019. The Finance and Audit Committee brought forward a budget containing efficiencies of almost 3% or savings of $1.8M to achieve this result. MAID Policy Changes Reflect Federal Regulations In light of federal regulations for MAID monitoring, effective November 1, Council approved updates to the College’s policy to ensure physicians’ new reporting obliga- tions are captured. Under the new federal reporting requirements, a report to Health Canada is required when a physician receives a written request for MAID, and that request does not result in a medically- assisted death. Additional policy revisions address areas 16 DIALOGUE ISSUE 4, 2018 identified by the Office of the Chief Coroner and Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as warranting further clarification. The key changes made to the Medical Assis- tance in Dying policy include the following: • Existing content on data collection and reporting has been consolidated in a section titled Reporting Obligations that outlines both federal and provincial reporting requirements; • Added content on the role of post-graduate medical trainees in MAID, and the capacities in which they may be involved; • Clarification that where a patient has opted for self-administered MAID, where death is prolonged or not achieved, a physician may only administer an IV backup if the patient is capable of providing their express consent immediately before the medication is admin- istered; and • Clarification that the Process Map contained in the policy is not prescriptive in terms of sequencing. Any departure from the Process Map, however, must comply with the federal legislation. General By-law Amendments Council approved amendments that revise certain General By-law provisions relating to the public register and mandatory reporting. The bylaw addresses duplications and inconsis- tencies with the new legislative and regulatory provisions passed under Bill 87 last year. The General By-law already provided for most of the new posting and mandatory reporting pro- visions, but there are some differences in scope and in language.