The Government Relations Committee has been a major element of 2007 activities. It began as a small committee made of physicians and is now growing to include members within other disciplines, reflecting the broad mandate of the Society. GRC business began with our first formal submission in January 2007 to the Commons Health Committee on proposed consent regulations, presented by Bill Buckett, as Chair.

Elinor Wilson (CEO of AHRC) and I then spent a couple of hours together at ESHRE, talking about basic principles of our organizations' relationships. We met formally in Ottawa in July 2007, along with members of AHRIO, and agreed to establish a tripartite committee with SOGC and AHRC, to advise and share knowledge as we move forward. Our representatives on this committee will reflect the broad base of CFAS activity.

I have worked more closely with André Lalonde over the year, and we will hopefully do likewise with the new SOGC President, Scott Farrell, who is attending our CFAS meeting this week as an honored guest. Our first CFAS / SOGC / AHRC meeting is scheduled for November 7th, 2007. We have already begun work on the deliverables we seek, which include clinical practice guidelines and improved risk management and input into the process of regulation implementation. Other goals are to establish standards for training, which may form a part of the licensing process. The CARTR database is also on the table as the foundation for ongoing data collection.

Throughout this work, I have been impressed by the positive and constructive approach taken by Elinor Wilson, CEO of AHRC. She has a sound clinical background, as well as extensive administrative credentials. It should be easy to work with her over the years. Lastly, members of our GRC who deserve mention and thanks for their ongoing contributions are Bill Buckett, Al Yuzpe, Art Leader, François Bissonnette and Cliff Librach

Ed Hughes
2006-2007
Excerpt from the President's Exit Report