OMA introduces new vetting process for board elections to avoid excessively high number of candidates

Ahead of its upcoming board of director election, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) has introduced a new vetting process for prospective candidates in an attempt to avoid elections with an excessive number of candidates.During last year’s board elections, the organization saw 39 candidates vying for four vacant director positions—a situation which the OMA calls “a significant impediment to making an informed decision.”“We heard loud and clear the theme that that's not a reasonable way to run elections. And it doesn't make for solid, informed skills-based selection of board directors,” Dr. Dominik Nowak, past president of the OMA, said in an interview with the Medical Post.Under the new process, prospective candidates will be screened by Promeus, a third-party recruiting firm and create a shortlist of two-to-four candidates per open board position. The shortlist will then be presented to the OMA’s Governance and Nominating Committee for final approval.But critics, such as former OMA president Dr. Sohail Gandhi, have expressed concerns that this screening process could filter out candidates with unique perspectives and who have previously criticized the OMA, leading to a “a bland, non-controversial board.”“Will they do their best to pick some good people? Sure. But their definition of ‘good’ may not be what the members want,” Dr. Gandhi wrote in a Nov. 30 blog post. “For example, someone like Shawn Whatley was openly critical of the OMA prior to being elected as president. Would he have passed these criteria? How about Nadia Alam? Prior to getting involved in medical political activism she was a relative unknown with little leadership experience (even though she is arguably the most well-respected president of the past 25 years).”However, Dr. Nowak stressed that this process is only looking at competencies and skills in governance rather than political stances, while also noting the process is being conducted by a neutral third-party firm.“It's not vetting what kind of political stances people have. It's not vetting ideas that people have around how our organization can continue to do better. It's really looking at what kind of competencies people have to serve as board directors of a one of the largest medical associations in Canada,” he said.Dr. Nowak says the OMA’s shortlisting process is focused on filtering for candidates who have the skills and understanding of corporate governance and the fiduciary responsibilities of a director. For example, this may include candidates who have completed a training or certificate program in corporate governance or those who have previously served on boards or major committees.“It's not about introducing barriers to who can run, but about looking at clarity, transparency, consistency and giving voters the best possible way to choose from a set of actually qualified directors—and directors that have the skills and the experiences that our board needs to be successful in our healthcare system and to advocate for physicians,” Dr. Nowak added.Nominations for board candidates are set to close on Dec. 17, 2026. Voting will run between Feb. 23 and March 10, 2026.

OMA introduces new vetting process for board elections to avoid excessively high number of candidates

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