Commentary

Don’t Let DEI Destroy Canada’s Medical Education

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • September 10, 2024

The future of Canada’s medical education may very well be in jeopardy, and Do No Harm is taking action.

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the country’s medical regulatory body that oversees medical education and licensure for the country’s physicians, is preparing a revision in 2025 to its educational framework, called CanMEDS. This framework informs the curriculum at the country’s medical schools.

But rather than simply educate the country’s physicians, the upcoming revision has another more insidious goal: to infect Canadian medical education with DEI ideology.

Per the Royal College’s anti-racism working group, the proposed revision “would seek to centre values such as anti-oppression, anti-racism and social justice, rather than medical expertise.”

In short, the revision would make Canadian medical education a tool to advance the DEI agenda, and make actual medical expertise subordinate to this radical ideological goal.

Do No Harm is calling on the Royal College to reject these changes, and make clear its commitment to medical expertise.

Canadian physicians who understand the danger this proposal poses to Canadians’ health have raised concerns in recent months. 

Do No Harm Senior Fellow Dr. Roy Eappen, a practicing endocrinologist in Montreal, said the proposal represented a troubling shift in the Royal College’s mission. 

“The Royal College has always represented excellence in teaching and patient care,” Dr. Eappen said. “This seems to move away from that and move toward activism.” 

Do No Harm previously sounded the alarm over the proposal, and urged Canadian physicians to submit comments on the proposed revision last year.

But more pressure is needed to help stop this corruption of Canadian medical education.

Do No Harm is sending a letter to the Royal College demanding it reject these revisions. 

If you’re a Canadian health professional who is concerned about the future of your country’s medical education, please consider signing the following statement. Your name will be added to our letter. 

“Medical expertise is the only acceptable foundation of medicine. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons should immediately reject any proposal to replace or dilute medical training with radical political ideology. The health of every Canadian hangs in the balance.”

If you’re a Canadian medical professional who would like to sign this statement, please see below.