Maintaining physician competence and professionalism: Canada’s fine balance

In 1776, while fighting for independence from British rule, Americans framed a Constitution that championed “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” To the north, however, 9 decades elapsed before Canada’s provinces persuaded their colonial masters to pass the British North America Act and created a federation with “peace, order, and good government” as the unofficial motto. These deep-seated political differences persist in health care governance, as evidenced by Canada’s more regimented and cautious approach to maintaining competence and professionalism for the approximately 80 000 physicians practicin