Ottawa, Monday, January 29, 2007

It is a great pleasure to be with you today.

I know that out of a total membership of almost 41,000, there are less than one hundred Honorary Fellows, and so I am mindful of the privileged company I have joined…

…although, to be honest, I don’t know how I feel about being called a “Fellow”!

Nevertheless, it is indeed a great honour to join such an important national institution.

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has been working on behalf of Canada’s specialist physicians and their patients for nearly eighty years now.

The College has its official functions, of course—like accrediting specialty residency programs and conducting certifying examinations—but it plays a much broader public role in Canada.

Over the years, your organization has become a respected advocate for high quality, accessible health care for Canadians.

This can be seen in initiatives like the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. It is also demonstrated by your active involvement in the ongoing public debate that our country has witnessed in recent years on the future of health care.

That public role and your tireless commitment to high quality care will become increasingly important in the years to come.

As our population grows—and grows older—the demands on Canada’s health care system will also grow.

It is urgent that we address this situation in order to renew one of the best health care systems in the world. Recently, I have seen the other end of the health care spectrum, and I have met with people struggling to provide care in almost unimaginable circumstances.

Last November, I travelled to five African countries for my first State visit—Algeria, Mali, Ghana, South Africa and Morocco— and I was accompanied by a delegation representing Canada’s dynamic civil society.

In Mali, for example, we saw how devastating female genital mutilation and early marriages and pregnancies were to women’s health.

I saluted the initiatives and achievements of the NGOs and the many Malian communities that—with Canada’s support—are fighting these often deadly practices, and helping the young girls and women who are affected by them.

In Ghana, we met desperate mothers who had to travel several kilometres to bring their sick children to the nearest clinic.

We also saw, as we had in Mali, women and young girls facing an exhausting, daily struggle to find and carry water over great distances without any guarantee that it will even be safe to drink.

In South Africa, we saw the shocking impact of HIV and AIDS, which affects millions of men, women and children and could wipe out an entire generation.

There are now two million children in South Africa who have been orphaned because of this disease. We must pay tribute the legions of grandmothers who have taken responsibility for these children without any means of doing so. Through their selfless action, these women are showing us the power of solidarity.

The true meaning—and nobility—of the medical profession is clear in Africa, where people are affected by diseases that are now easily treatable, as long as you have access to care.

A number of these diseases are the result of a lack of clean water, environmental degradation, or the lack of basic health infrastructures.

I would like to pay tribute to the work being done by a number of your colleagues in Africa. Nurses and doctors tirelessly supporting their African partners to alleviate suffering, prevent disasters and save lives.

For Canadians, the realities in third-world countries are almost impossible to grasp, given so many things that we take for granted.

But we cannot take our health care for granted. All of us—public officials, health care workers, and patients—must work together to address the particular challenges that our system faces.

You know better than most that our rapidly aging population is putting a significant strain on a system that is already hard-pressed.

Some of you may have read about my mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, and the tremendous challenges this has presented for my family and me.

Anyone who is going through the same thing—and there are more and more of us every day—knows how difficult this experience is.

It affects us on so many levels. It can be physically and morally exhausting, and we go through so many emotions… love, impatience, sadness, relief, anger, regret, fear, hope, gratitude.

It is a devastating experience, to watch a woman who was once so strong, so dynamic, so aware of the world around her, so intellectually curious, slowly shutting down and closing in on herself, becoming completely deprived of the autonomy that was once so precious to her.

One of the greatest sources of comfort throughout this ordeal is the kindness and support I receive from the many health care professionals who have and who continue to help my mother and me, including a number of specialist physicians.

They are unfailingly compassionate, patient, attentive and helpful.

We are blessed in this country to have so many excellent physicians, working in every area of medical practice.

In closing, I have two reasons to be grateful. I thank you for the singular honour you have bestowed on me today.

But I also thank you for all that you do, every day, for the men, women and children of this country.

And on their behalf, I applaud the work of Canada’s special physicians, and the efforts of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. I encourage you to continue to make your voice heard in the years ahead, for the good of all Canadians.

Thank you.