by Dr. John Chiu
Advisor & Past President, CCMS (Ont.) & FCCP (Ont.)
Past President, Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals (Ont.) Education Foundation
Past Chairman & Past President, Federation of Chinese American & Chinese Canadian Medical Societies

The Medical Section was the first section formed when the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals was established in 1975. This was triggered by the issue of an alarming and misleading report in the Toronto Globe and Mail in September, 1974, on a statement made by Dr. Bette Stephenson, then the President of the Canadian Medical Association. She stated that there were too many foreign born Chinese medical students in the University of Toronto, disregarding the fact that almost all of them were landed immigrants or Canadian citizens. 9 Chinese Canadian physicians and other professionals , led by Dr. George Woo, were instrumental in spearheading the formation of the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals of Ontario.

Since 1975, the Medical Section formally incorporated (April 26, 1984) under the name of Chinese Canadian Medical Society, Ontario, has flourished with the membership increasing steadily upwards. It now numbers about 500 active participants, including medical students. The Society celebrated its 25th Anniversary on 27th May, 2000, at a special Gala Conference and Dinner Dance.

It has always been the largest and the most active section of the FCCP. In fact, about half of the past Presidents of the Board of Directors of the FCCP came from the Medical Section.

The CCMS (Ont.) is also a Founding member of the Federation of Chinese American and Chinese Canadian Medical Societies (FCMS), which sponsors a biennial international conference on Health Problems Related to the Chinese in North America. 13 have been held since 1982, including the 5th Conference in Toronto in 1990.

During the years from 1989 to 1992, the CCMS (Ont.) was also actively organizing and sustaining the Federation of Chinese Canadian Medical Societies and the Chinese Canadian Health Forum, with the colleagues of sister organizations in Montreal and Vancouver.