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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: CVMA 2.0 — The New CVMA

February 25, 2025

Greetings everyone and welcome to the CVMA 2.0! We are now one and a half years into an organizational shift, and I am so proud of the way the staff and our volunteers have bought into the new focus of taking a more active role in addressing issues that impact our profession. The CVMA has always been good at identifying issues and taking a stance. The new CVMA is getting really good at doing something about the problems for the betterment of the profession and for the Canadian public.

So, what am I talking about? I am talking about getting the ear of government and of the press. More importantly, I am talking about getting the recognition of these 2 institutions so that they are now coming to us and asking for opinions.

WHAT IS THE AGENDA WE HAVE BEEN ADVANCING ON PARLIAMENT HILL?

1. Canada needs a robust veterinary workforce. We have been asking the government to drop the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment when trying to hire an internationally trained veterinarian or technologist who is willing to immigrate to Canada. The government’s own statistics have already shown that we are in a labor shortage for the foreseeable future, so why do we have to prove it? We have also been asking for the funding of a National Testing Center at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine to help eliminate the continual backlog of international veterinarians waiting to take the practical exam. These people are a very valuable resource that Canada is not taking advantage of, especially in the face of a workforce shortage.
   
2. Mental health support for our profession. We all know how difficult this job can be for our mental health. On The Hill we have been raising awareness of our issues and suggesting that we should be classified and given the same supports as first responders. We would like financial support for a national “safety net” specific to our profession instead of having to fund projects like this from membership dues. 3. Access to drugs and biologics. The number of tools available to veterinarians in food production medicine has been on a steady decline and the number of products available in other countries that are not on the Canadian market has increased. We would rather be using preventative tools and health supplements or older generic medications instead of having to rely on antibiotics important to human medicine to put the fire out. If a product is licensed in Europe or the U.S., should we not also have access to it here?
3. Access to drugs and biologics. The number of tools available to veterinarians in food production medicine has been on a steady decline and the number of products available in other countries that are not on the Canadian market has increased. We would rather be using preventative tools and health supplements or older generic medications instead of having to rely on antibiotics important to human medicine to put the fire out. If a product is licensed in Europe or the U.S., should we not also have access to it here?

HOW ARE WE ADVANCING OUR AGENDA?
The CVMA has been on Parliament Hill twice in the last year. We have held meetings with members of Parliament (MP) of all political parties, with policy advisors, and with members of the Senate.

We have joined forces with other interested parties who share our priorities. The ask for the National Testing Center has been gaining momentum thanks to a letter spearheaded by CVMA that contains the support of multiple agricultural and educational associations (internally we call it the NASCAR letter because of all the logos on it) all asking for this project to be funded. The work on the drug and biological’s issue has been greatly aided by teaming up with the Dairy Farmers of Canada who have been active in this area for longer than we have.

We have given 2 presentations to the National Press Gallery. The gallery is a direct link to all of Canada’s media outlets as well as the offices of members of Parliament. These appearances have resulted in a huge rise in the number of requests for interviews from the media on topics such as animal sentience, mental health, cost of care, workforce shortage, animal welfare, and dog exportation. The press now knows who we are and is reaching out, allowing us to add in the topics that we wish to discuss.

We have also been quite active in giving our opinions on issues to which the profession needs to respond. We have given The Honourable Chrystia Freeland our opinion that the Capital Gains changes were detrimental to the profession. We have let The Honourable Marc Miller know that decreasing immigration targets should not include internationally trained veterinarians. We let The Honourable Mark Holland know that the handling of the recent changes in the rules concerning dog importation to the U.S. was problematic for the public and our profession and have asked to have a seat at the next round of discussions. We have sent a statement to Fisheries and Oceans Canada giving them our opinion of the proposal to stop open net salmon farming on the west coast and won a huge victory when Canada agreed with our lobbying to ban the use of strychnine as a predacide.

The CVMA has also made, and continues to make, as new information becomes available, submissions to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food in relation to Bill C 355, Prohibition of the Export of Horses by Air for Slaughter Act.

At the same time CVMA is still doing all the things it used to do. We are still researching and publishing position papers on Animal Welfare and National Issues. Position statements on Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Medicine, Access to Veterinary Care in Canada, and Animal Sentience have recently been approved and made available to the public, as well as an overhaul of the Code of Practice for Canadian Cattery Operations (better known as the “cat code”) is in the works. The annual convention in Calgary, Alberta, was a great success, and we are looking forward to next year’s edition in Victoria, British Columbia. The communications department has kept members in touch with our new initiatives and the Workforce Advisory Group continues to look for ways to address the dire veterinary workforce shortage in Canada.

CHANGE HAS BECOME COMMONPLACE
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group recently merged with the Wellness Committee, which itself had only recently been upgraded from an advisory group. Why? Because it had become obvious that the 2 issues had so much overlap and needed long-term commitments from the organization. The work of this group was considered so important that a new position of Director, Wellness, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was created and filled by Dr. Kathy Keil.

The CVMA’s mentorship program will be relaunched this year and will look like something that the profession has never experienced before. Instead of being a one-on-one link to another experienced veterinarian, this program will address all the background issues that drag us from loving what we do and place us in a quest to just get through the day.

The Canadian Veterinary Journal has moved to a strictly online format and the user interface has been dramatically upgraded. They are continuing efforts to make the Journal more relevant to the practicing veterinarian while balancing this with the need for the profession to be aware of advancements in medicine.

To summarize, the organization has been invigorated and filled with a new sense of purpose. Staff and volunteers now feel that they are making a difference and are empowered to think outside the box and propose new solutions. I would like to make the same request of members. Please approach your local MP’s and discuss our problems. The CVMA has a Government Relations Toolkit that will guide you through the message. If you have ideas about how to help our profession, contact us. If you want more information about what we are doing, please send me an email at cvmapresident@cvma-acmv.org.

-Tim Arthur