Timeline of CAS Events

1943

• 27 May: Memorandum of Agreement incorporating By-laws signed by HR Griffith, R Rochette, M Digby Leigh, W Bourne, and G Cousineau.
• 21 June: Letters of Patent incorporating Society granted.
• 24 June: provisional Directors meet and elect HR Griffith as President, M Digby Leigh as Secretary, R Rochette and W Bourne as Vice-Presidents. The five founders become the Society's first members - total membership is 5.
• 9 October: first meeting of "Executive", which is equivalent to Council.
• Dues set at $5.00.

1944

• 24 May: first Annual Meeting held at Royal York Hotel in Toronto.
• The NDP platform includes proposal for "universal" health care insurance for Saskatchewan.
• 7 December: membership organized in nine provincial divisions.

1945

• 24 May: membership totals 310 at the end of World War II.
• 15-19 June: first Refresher Course held prior to Annual Meeting.

1946

• 3 March: Committee on Survey of Anaesthetic Services formed - the first CAS Committee.
• RA Gordon elected Secretary-Treasurer.
• CAS office moved to Medical Arts Building in Toronto.

1947

• Saskatchewan Hospital Insurance Plan introduced.
• Fall: first exam held for Royal College certification.

1948

• 23-24 April: Western Canadian Division's meeting held in Regina.

1949

• 16 June: Newfoundland approved as Society's tenth Division.

Excerpted in part by DJ Doyle from Watching Closely Those Who Sleep, David AE Shephard, 1993

1950

• 27 June: first Annual Meeting held separately from the CMA's meeting. Meeting held at the Seigniory Club in Montebello, Quebec.

1951

• First CAS Newsletter issue published.
• Examination for Royal College Fellowship in Medicine Modified for Anaesthesia inaugurated.

1952

• Society's Proceedings published.

 

1954

• RA Gordon appointed Editor. Inaugural issue of the Canadian Anaesthetists' Society Journal published.

1955

• June: CAS participates in joint CMA-BMA meeting in Toronto.
• WFSA founded and HR Griffith elected as Founder-President.

1957

• 23-24 April: Western Canadian Division's meeting held in Regina.

Excerpted in part by DJ Doyle from Watching Closely Those Who Sleep, David AE Shephard, 1993

1960

• Research grant of $1,000 offered by British Oxygen Company (Canada) Ltd.
• CAS hosted the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in Toronto, ON. This was the second international conference put on by the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA).

1961

• British Oxygen Canada Prize inaugurated; becomes CAS Prize in 1965.
• Heads of Canadian University Departments of Anaesthesia form informal group.
• SM (Stan) Campbell appointed Secretary-Treasurer.

1962

• First presentation of Society's Gold Medal: awarded to W Bourne, HR Griffith, and HJ Shields.
• "Universal" health care insurance plan introduced in Saskatchewan.

1964

• Justice Emmet Hall presents report of Royal Commission on Health Services.

1967

• Residents' Program inaugurated at Annual Meeting - later known as Residents' Competition.

1968

• 1 July: Medicare launched in Canada - became completely universal in Canada April 1, 1972.

1969

• Post of Secretary-Treasurer split into posts of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer.

Excerpted in part by DJ Doyle from Watching Closely Those Who Sleep, David AE Shephard, 1993

1971

• 12 October: Supplementary Letters Patent embodying revised Constitution and By-laws and formation of formal Executive Committee granted.

1972

• Single-standard examinations introduced by Royal College; certification now the sole standard for specialty certification.

1974

• Past-Presidents' Club formed. 

1975

• Council approves Guidelines for Standards of Practice - the first guidelines by any anesthesia society.
• 25 June: Dr EI Eger II inaugurates CAS/Royal College Lecture at Annual Meeting with "Uses of Mac".

1976

• Association of Canadian University Departments of Anesthesia (ACUDA) approves Constitution for this new group.
• ACUDA supersedes former Annual Conferences of Department Chairmen.

1978

• CAS Research Fund established.

Excerpted in part by DJ Doyle from Watching Closely Those Who Sleep, David AE Shephard, 1993

1980

• Obstetric Anesthesia Section formed as first CAS special-interest section. It is followed by Regional Anesthesia, Pediatric Anesthesia, and Cardiovascular and Thoracic Sections between 1984 and 1992.

1982

• CAS office relocated to 94 Cumberland Avenue in Toronto.
• IARS proposes co-sponsorship with the CAS Annual Meeting.

1983

• 1 January: DB Craig appointed Editor.
• 1 February: F Teepell appointed as Executive Director in Society's first non-physician administrative position. He is succeeded by L Mayeda in 1985 and A Andrews in 1988.
• Regional Anesthesia Section approved.

1985

• CAS Research Award presented for the first time - awardee is H Nathan.

1987

• CASJ renamed Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia.
• CAS office relocates to 187 Gerrard Street East in Toronto.

1988

• Dr Bevan appointed Editor.
• Bid for World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in year 2000 to be held in Canada (Montreal) approved by WFSA.

Excerpted in part by DJ Doyle from Watching Closely Those Who Sleep, David AE Shephard, 1993

1991

• November: CAS office relocates to 1 Eglinton Avenue East in Toronto.

1992

• Membership totals 2,214.

1993

• Dues set at $317.79.
• 4-8 June: CAS' 50th Anniversary Meeting takes place in Halifax.

Excerpted in part by DJ Doyle from Watching Closely Those Who Sleep, David AE Shephard, 1993

1994-1995

• The Residents Section was developed to ensure resident representation on all committees
   
• The Common Interests Group (CIG) which included anesthesia societies: IARS, CAS, ASA, AAGBI and Australia was formed
  
  Canada won the bid to host the 2000 World Congress
   
• The Canadian Journal of Anesthesia started a monthly publishing schedule
   

1998-1999

The original logo was designed by Wesley Bourne in 1920, the then CAS Secretary. The inspiration for the motto came from Dean Moyse, of McGill University, and the artist was A Sherritt Scott RCA, who being a Scotsman decided to throw in a few thistles as well as poppies.

The logo and the motto were changed in 1999 following a vote at the Annual Business Meeting in 1998. The following changes were also made in order to improve public awareness concerning the role of anesthetists in Canada:
 

• "Anesthetist” was a very confusing term for the lay public in Canada, so the reference to CAS members was changed to “anesthesiologist.”
   
• Hypnos with his motto in Greek letters, was perceived as being completely meaningless to the average Canadian, so a new emblem and motto were needed.
   
• A new slogan was developed for interaction with media and the public: “Canadian Anesthesiologists: Specialist Physicians in Perioperative Medicine, Critical Care and Pain Management”
   
• Finally after much consultation, the simple red maple leaf emblem with an Aesculapian staff in purple was chosen.
   
• The motto became Science. Vigilance. Compassion. (the same in French and English).
   
• The Canadian Society of Anaesthetists became The Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (diphthong removed).

2000-2002

• Dr Seal became the first two-year term President of the CAS, following the implementation of changes to the Bylaws and organizational structure of the CAS.
   
• Dr Eva Ryten presented her ACUDA-sponsored report, A Physician Workforce Planning Model for the Specialty of Anesthesia: Theoretical and Practical Considerations.  This report included a model for predicting province-specific anesthesiologist human resource requirements to the year 2016. 
   
• An anesthesia assistant category was added to CAS membership. 
   
• Canadian Anesthesia Day: This day was undertaken in 2000 as part of a “grassroots” level public awareness and image improvement project for our specialty.
   
• MOCOMP: This RCPSC initiative was implemented in January 2001.  The CAS took the necessary steps to become a MOCOMP accreditor recognized by the RCPSC which would enable the CAS to accredit its Annual National meeting as well as divisional and regional meetings.  In later years, this included accreditation from allied health societies.
   
• Anesthesia News became available online as of July 1, 2001
   
• After 12 years as Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Dr David Bevan was succeeded by Dr Jean-François Hardy
   
• The eCJA went online in May 2001.  Back issues to 1995 were made available in PDF format.
   
• With then support from Organon, complimentary membership, including an electronic subscription to the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia was extended to all anesthesia residents (PGY1 to PGY5)
   
• The CAS Medical Student Prize was first awarded at the 2001 Annual Meeting.
   
• Perioperative Medicine Section became the newest section within the CAS.
   
• Online membership renewal became available in the fall of 2001.
   
• At over 800 attendees, the 2002 Annual Meeting, held in Victoria, British Columbia, became the most well attended CAS Annual meeting. 

2004-2006

• Dr Donald Miller became the CJA editor
   
• CAS IEF’s residency training program in Rwanda had its first volunteers in early 2006
   
• The Patient Safety Symposium became a regular component of the Annual Meeting.
   
• The Wait Time Alliance was set up with many specialty societies joining, including CAS, focused on concerns about the number of providers in anesthesia and other specialty areas.
   
• Dr John Bradley had been active in the creation of the Young Educator Award, which was  renamed as  the John Bradley Young Educator Award after he unexpectedly passed away.
   
• Ms Felicity Pope, an archivist, was hired to review CAS’ archival materials. Dr David Shepherd (who had been a Journal editor) chaired the Archives and Artifacts Committee during the early part of 2006.
   
• Online payments were enabled for Society members
   
• To honour Dr Serge Lenis, President from 1999 to 2000, the Wednesday morning board meeting breakfast (after the Annual Meeting) was “moved and approved” as the Lenis Breakfast.
   
• The Impact factor (the measure of how many times information from a given journal is cited in another publication) was instituted for the CJA.
   
• Electronic automated Abstract Submission was made available
   
• The Annual Meeting went from 600 to 1000+ attendees

2006-2008

• The agreement for Springer to become the publisher of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia (CJA) was started in 2008 and concluded January 2009.
   
• CAS and the Wait Time Alliance debated a number of key issues aimed to enhance health care resources.
   
• A standardized examination to accredit international doctors was developed, which also became a means to ascertain the doctors’ level of training.
   
• At the CAS annual meeting, $16,000 was raised for CARF thanks to the “hair shaving” donations of both Dr Hare and Dr Fiset.
   
• CAS instituted the development of CJA Continuing Medical Education (CME) modules. The value was the benefit to CAS members and their continuing education requirements.
   
• CAS moved to the Royal College’s maintenance of competence platform which enabled to members log in to a system to enter their CE credits.

2008-2010

• Discussions regarding the role of anethesia assistants (AAs) was heightened, leading to the publication of the National Educational Framework for Anesthesia Assistants.  This position paper established guidelines and roles for both Anesthesia Assistants and anesthesiologists

2018

• CAS Celebrates its 75th Anniversary at June Annual Meeting in Montreal

2019

• Hospital Chiefs of Anesthesia Section launches, with Dr Susan O'Leary, Dr Colin McCartney and Dr Pascal Labrecque as co-Chairs
• Environmental Sustainability Section is created, led by Dr Rakesh Sondekoppam, with the goal to support and promote 'green' anesthesia initiatives
• CAS & ACUDA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DE&IC) was established to assess organizational inclusiveness, to ensure that any systemic biases or barriers are addressed and removed, and to report all findings to CAS & ACUDA leadership 
• The CAS Physician Wellness Committee is created, dedicated to supporting practices that encourage anesthesia physician wellbeing and health, while also addressing the increasing rates of burnout in the anesthesia profession

2020

• CAS launches first Virtual Annual Meeting, due to global pandemic.
• CAS National Office goes virtual, leaving 1 Eglinton Ave office in Toronto, ON

2022

• CAS has its first hybrid Annual Meeting, with an in-person conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia and virtual stream for those unable to travel

2023

• CAS celebrates its 80^th anniversary