The 63^rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association

Peter J. O'Brien, M.D., FRCSC
President, Canadian Orthopaedic Association

I was very pleased to see and to meet so many of you at this year's Annual Meeting of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association held in Québec City in June. The 63^rd Annual Meeting of the COA was the second combined meeting of the Canadian and American Orthopaedic Associations. It was an outstanding event that brought together members from both of our societies, international guests, and welcomed our resident colleagues.

The combined association format added an extra dimension to our event. The academic programme was excellent and included critical issues symposia, instructional course lectures, paper and poster presentations and surgical "Tips and Tricks" sessions. The Presidential Guest Speaker, Dr. Marcia Angell, gave a fascinating address about health care in the USA and in Canada. Dr. Norman Schachar was the R.I. Harris Lecturer and I would like to congratulate him on his outstanding lecture about orthopaedic educators and lifelong learning.

Dr. Peter J. O'Brien

I want to express my appreciation to Dr. Emil H. Schemitsch, Dr. Christopher Harner, and the members of the combined Programme Committee for the hard work that they did in producing such an exceptional scientific programme. I would also like to thank Dr. Pierre Mercier for his incredible work as the Local Arrangements Chair. It was truly a pleasure to be able to attend our meeting in one of Canada's most interesting and beautiful cities.

We are all deeply indebted to Doug Thomson, Cynthia Vezina and Trinity Wittman for their commitment and dedication to orchestrate such an outstanding Annual Meeting. The 2008 Combined Meeting was truly an exceptional event thanks to their hard work.

I would also like to thank our Past President, Dr. Marc Moreau and his wife, Barb, for representing Canada so well during the past year, and for hosting us in Québec City.

The Board and the Executive have developed a strategic plan for the next three years. We will be working together on our three main initiatives over the next few months: 1) advocacy, 2) modeling of care and 3) outcomes. Our goal is to improve access to all orthopaedic care for Canadians and to continue to help our members provide the best care possible for their patients. I will be reporting our progress to you in upcoming editions of the Bulletin.

Finally, I am honoured to be able to serve as your President. Connie and I are very much looking forward to representing you in the upcoming year. I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can at the Provincial Association Meetings during the course of the year and at the 64^th Annual Meeting of the COA in Whistler, B.C., July 3-6, 2009.

For those who were unable to attend the Annual Meeting, I am pleased to include a copy of my President Elect address that was delivered in Québec City.