TCMABC and QATCMA Announce Letter of Agreement Towards Merger
The Voice of TCM in BC
We are delighted to announce that after many years of detailed work and negotiations BC’s two largest TCM associations – the TCMABC and the QATCMA have signed an official Letter of Agreement – the first step toward amalgamation of the two associations. This important historic event takes us collectively one big step closer to unifying our practitioner community here in BC so we may speak with ONE VOICE.
Association presidents Kiem Schutter (TCMABC) and Dr. Weidong Yu (QATCMA) put their signatures to an agreement that puts these professional associations solidly onto the road to amalgamation and supersedes the Strategic Alliance announcement earlier in 2012. Designed by a joint merger planning committee and a lawyer hired by both groups, this agreement sets out a road map for completion of this long and often complex process.
Kiem Schutter (TCMABC) & Weidong Yu (QATCMA) signing the Letter of Agreement Towards Merger
Without a single professional association, BC’s TCM community has suffered from inattention and exclusion by various governments and our professional associates in other medical disciplines. Like too many conversations in a crowded room, our voices often fell on deaf or confused ears because we appeared to lack the cohesion and organization expected of professional associates. This can all change now as we move toward becoming a single group that speaks on behalf of all BC’s Acupuncturists, TCM Herbalists, TCM Practitioners, and TCM Doctors.
Working under a single umbrella will enable all of us in the TCM community to lobby more effectively to Governments and agencies such as ICBC and WCB. We have already demonstrated the effectiveness of amalgamation as our new found power in numbers paved the way to insurance options and health benefits that were inaccessible in the past. With this added power, we can educate, promote, and entice the public as well as governments – promoting our valuable contributions to creating a healthier, happier BC.
We also wish to thank Dr. Arden Henley and Dr. William Hardman for their hard work and enduring support to the cause – Gentlemen, your personal efforts and countless hours of dedicated effort have taken us to a new level of understanding and cooperation that has direct benefits to all the people we care for, as well as our TCM Practitioner community; we thank you and offer our heartfelt congratulations on a difficult job well done!
We invite you to join us at this exciting time: yes, there is still work to do, and we are committed to it. Add your voice and help shape the future of TCM in BC.