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Dr Hedy Fry
Riding:
Vancouver Centre, BC
Political affiliation:
Liberal
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Dr Hedy Fry, Liberal MP for
Vancouver Centre, describes herself as a 'joiner.' That
would explain her long and distinguished service with
the British Columbia Medical Association as well as her
work with the Canadian Medical Association. But Dr Fry
says she didn't think much about joining the political
fray until she did.
"I fell into politics because I
was always one of those people whose grandmother told
them to never complain about something — if I don't
like it, I go and fix it," she says. "So I became a
joiner and then got involved in politics."
A
KINDER, GENTLER MP?
Dr Fry, who went to med school in Ireland before coming
to Canada to practise family medicine, says she appreciates
the opportunity to affect social change through politics.
But she readily admits she is not
cut from the same cutthroat cloth as other politicians:
"I am not capable of going for the jugular and climbing
over people, which often needs to be done in politics,"
she says. "I am not saying I regret going into politics
— I do think the ability to effect change is great."
Dr Fry says her experience as a
physician has shaped her healthcare priorities: "Health
is not merely the absence of disease," she says, "it
is about the ability to function within our environment,
to live well and healthily in society."
Issues such as prostitution and
drug abuse, says Dr Fry, need to be treated as public
health issues. She also points to self-esteem, eradicating
poverty, securing human rights and gender parity as
cornerstones of a healthy society, and that we still
have much work to be done in these areas.
"Physicians as a profession are
judged in terms of ability — it doesn't matter
if you are a man or woman," Dr Fry says. "In politics,
I think women still have a long way to go. There's a
sense in many political circles and in the media that
women can never be as capable as men."
DOCTORS'
ROLE IN REFORM
In terms of our public health system, she says we need
to establish exactly what 'necessary services' are.
And according to Dr Fry, only healthcare professionals
can do that.
"What has happened over many years
is the system began to shift because the generations
born into healthcare thought it was there for cradle-to-the-grave
care," she says. "We will never meet the expectations
and needs of the public unless we focus on what is medically
necessary. The only ones who have the ability to define
[this] are the people who provide the care. They have
to define what is necessary and then we can deliver
it within all five principles of the Canada Health Act."
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Dr Bernard Patry
Riding:
Pierrefonds-Dollard, QC
Political affiliation:
Liberal
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Dr Bernard Patry's CV is
all the proof you need that he has passion for
both medicine and politics. He began practising
family medicine in Pierrefonds, Quebec when he
was 23 and was elected mayor at the tender age
of 26. In 1966, while keeping his day job as mayor
(which he held for 18 years) Dr Patry opened the
first private clinic in Quebec.
In 1993, he was elected as
the Liberal Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds-Dollard,
a seat he has held ever since. Dr Patry says he
learned how to be a careful listener as a general
practitioner — a skill that has paid dividends
in his political career.
LISTEN
TO THE PEOPLE
"In medical practice it is the patient that tells
you what's wrong," he says. "You have to have
the ability to listen to the patient and question
him — and that also serves you as a Member
of Parliament. You need to listen to your constituents."
As the chair of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade in parliament, Dr Patry has been involved
in a number of international health efforts where
he says Canada's a leader.
"Canada was the first country
to sign an agreement to allow generic drugs to
reach those countries that need them," he says.
"The Committee works together with many international
bodies. [For example] we'll have the director
of UNICEF and specialists in HIV/AIDS, malaria
and TB in to meet with us next week."
THE
STATE'S ROLE
For Dr Patry, issues like obesity, genetically
modified foods, exercise, senior health and childcare
are top domestic concerns. But he also recognizes
that we must properly fund the other levels of
government in order to deliver necessary health
services and programs.
"The coming budget is very
important and we are working to get substantial
financing for health issues," he says. "We need
more money for the environment because people
in Montreal and Toronto are suffering from smog
and they could get asthma. [The government] also
wants to fund day cares across the country like
we have in Quebec. It is always a question of
the budget in Ottawa."
Back on the international
front, Dr Patry is working to try and define what
the Canadian response can be for international
disasters, and how medical services can be a part
of that response.
"In Haiti, for example, we
have established a hospital with Norway," he says.
"It is important that we send doctors and nurses
right away. It is about skills, not just money."
And Dr Patry would really
like to see more Canadian doctors interested in
politics. "There are many ways we can work together,"
he says.
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