Last updated: May 6, 2010
Source: The Star
Editors of the journal Open Medicine want a former federal cabinet minister removed as chair at the International Development Research Centre.
Open Medicine says Barbara McDougall is the wrong person to chair the board of a federal agency that funds tobacco control programs, given that until recently she was also on the board of Imperial Tobacco Canada.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seems to agree.
Earlier this year the foundation cancelled a $5.2 million grant to the agency when it learned of McDougall’s ties to the tobacco industry.
The editors of Open Medicine say McDougall’s involvement with the tobacco industry has damaged the reputation of the agency and she should step down.
They say in an editorial that the concurrent appointments were a serious conflict of interest.