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NEWS ROUNDUP: David Spurgeon Most of CMAJ editorial board resigns BMJ 2006; 332: 687-a [Full text]

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The CMA’s Legitimation Crisis

Mark H Wilson   (28 March 2006)

The CMA’s Legitimation Crisis 28 March 2006
Mark H Wilson, Director of Medical Ethics Health Research Associates k2b 6j4 Send response to journal: Re: The CMA’s Legitimation Crisis	The CMA now faces a legitimation problem over its failure to explain why it fired CMAJ editors. Thousands of medical professionals have signed a petition to re-instate editors who have brought international recognition to the CMAJ. There have been calls from leading medical and science journals as well as national news papers to explain why the editors were fired. Yet the CMA has offered scant and conflicting information on the issue. (1) It has also lost an opportunity to put the issue to rest, save face and restore confidence amongst its members, the public and international journalistic community. The president of the CMA has noted that the panel formed by the CMA to examine a future governance framework for the CMAJ will not investigate circumstances surrounding the editors being fired. (2) Clearly this leaves the issue unresolved. Nor is the CMA bound by the panel’s recommendations as CMA officials have indicated. Against this backdrop it is difficult not to see this governance panel as window dressing. This might help to explain why the bulk of the CMAJ’s editorial board and a number of interim editors resigned. It might also help to explain why there has been a call from the academic community to boycott the CMAJ as the CMA’s flagship sails into uncharted waters with a damaged reputation and skeleton crew. (3) There are now calls from the academic community to create a new general medical journal in Canada but with unfettered and guaranteed editorial independence that would better serve the public interest. (4) There is a growing loss of confidence in CMA leadership. The crisis could have been avoided. 1. M. Shuchman and D.A. Redelmeier. Perspective: Politics and Independence. The Collapse of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. N Engl J Med. 2006, Early release posted March 15, www.nejm.org, doi:10.1056/NEJMp068056 2. CBC interview with Dr. Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, As it Happens. March 17,2006 http://www.cbc.ca/insite/AS_IT_HAPPENS_TORONTO/2006/3/17.html 3. D.Spurgeon. Most of CMAJ Editorial Board Resigns: BMJ:2006;332:687 (25 March) doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7543.687-a 4. P. Webster. Prescription for Canada: an unfettered medical journal. Globe and Mail, March 25, 2006. Competing interests: None declared