CAM Conference opens in Saskatoon
Canadian Association of Midwives holds annual conference in Saskatoon, SK – Call for increased support for midwifery in Saskatchewan and across Canada
November 5, 2014
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – The Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) opens its 14th Annual Conference and Exhibit today in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. CAM, which represents the profession of midwifery and over 1300 midwives across Canada, is holding its annual conference in Saskatoon this year in order to underscore the importance of access to regulated midwifery care to all Canadian families, including those living in rural and remote areas. Midwifery care is currently implemented in only or just three of Saskatchewan’s 13 health regions (Saskatoon, Regina-Qu’Appel le and Cypress Health Regions) and only 15 midwives work in the province.
“It is critical that we work together with the government of Saskatchewan to increase funding for midwifery positions in this province,” says Maud Addai, President of the Midwives Association of Saskatchewan. “We would like to see the Ministry of Health take the initiative and reach out to all of the health regions, to develop a road map for the implementation of midwifery across the province, so that women and families will have the choice to access midwifery care. In addition, we would like to see the government support the University of Regina in its development of a midwifery education program, to ensure that we can sustainably grow the profession in this province.”
“Sadly, more than 20 years after the first province legislated the profession of midwifery in Canada, there remain numerous barriers to accessing midwifery care for many families,” said Joanna Nemrava, President of the Canadian Association of Midwives. “Here in Saskatchewan, as in all provinces and territories, concrete steps must be taken to ensure that families in rural and remote areas have equal access to midwifery services. .”
Speaking tonight will be the Honourable Greg Ottenbriet, Saskatchewan Minister Responsible for Rural and Remote Health; Danielle Chartier, MLA for Saskatoon-Riversdale; Joanna Nemrava, President of the Canadian Association of Midwives, and Maud Addai, President of the Midwives Association of Saskatchewan. In addition, Member of Parliament for Alfred-Pellan in Quebec, Rosane Doré Lefebvre, has travelled to Saskatoon for this event and will speak in support of her Private Members Bill C-608, to make May 5th National Day of the Midwife in Canada. This Bill will receive its second reading in the House of Commons in November 2014, and is an important step in bringing recognition of the benefits of midwives to the health care system and increasing access to midwifery care.
CAM looks forward to welcoming midwives, maternity care providers and health researchers from across Canada and around the world, and would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to members of the Saskatchewan health services and medical communities.
The theme of this year’s conference is “The Future of Canadian Midwifery: Exploring Scope, Skills and Knowledge”. The conference opens tonight with a keynote address from Lesley Paulette, midwife at Fort Smith Health and Social Services Centre in the Northwest Territories and pioneer of the development of midwifery services in rural and remote regions. In addition to the conference, CAM will be hosting a birth film festival that is open to the public from 11am to 9pm on November 6-7th.
For more information on the film festival, please seehttp://www.canadianmidwives.org/DATA/TEXTEDOC/Film-Descriptions2014.pdf
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