Saskatchewan Medical Association

DATE: 10 February 2004

Moose Jaw smoking bylaw attracts Western Medical Conference

More than 40 leading physicians from across Western Canada will be gathering in Moose Jaw from May 30 to June 1 for the Western Medical Conference as a result of the city’s smoking bylaw, the Saskatchewan Medical Association announced today.

“It is Saskatchewan’s turn to host this conference and when we asked the medical associations in other provinces where they would like to go, they unanimously chose Moose Jaw,” explains SMA President Dr. Joel Yelland. “They felt it was an important way that physicians from across Western Canada could show support for the city’s leadership in the campaign to reduce tobacco use.”

The Western Medical Conference brings together the executives of the medical associations from the four western provinces, two territories and the Canadian Medical Association.

“Moose Jaw has a tremendous reputation across Western Canada as a terrific place to visit, to meet and to do business,” says Dr. Yelland. “For doctors, the fact that this city was first to go smoke-free has solidified its reputation as a visionary city and made it our destination of choice.”

Across Canada, medical associations are adopting policies that will see future provincial and national meetings restricted to communities or facilities that are smoke-free. Future meetings of the Canadian Medical Association General Council, a gathering of hundreds of physicians, will only be held in smoke-free communities.

“The citizens of Moose Jaw earned the respect of every physician in the province in October when they voted so overwhelmingly to put the health of citizens first,” Dr. Yelland adds. “That’s why we are pleased to have this opportunity to showcase the community to some of the leading people in Canadian medical politics.”