History of National Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of Canada

In 1990, the government of Canada proposed Schedule 705 with the intention to amend the Food and Drug Regulations and restrict the use of common traditional herbal medicine; the Chinese Medicine community was deeply concerned. As a result, a group of professionals formed an organization in order to stop the repression and fight for the right of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

In 1994, Dr. Joseph Yunteng Wu convened people and groups of interest from the East and West coast to form the “Committee for the Rights and Interests of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Practitioners”. A statement was issued by Dr. Wu, which analyzed the mistakes in Schedule 705 and stated the solemn position in safeguarding the integrity of TCM.

Dr. Wu also participated in medical conferences and collect information about the regulation of acupuncture, TCM, alternative medicine and trending information all around the world; the information was provided as references to the federal and provincial health authorities in Canada to promote the recognition and legislation of TCM.
The committee also cooperated with other TCM, acupuncture and Qigong research associations in British Columbia (BC) to fight for the legislation of TCM and acupuncture from the Health Department of British Columbia.

In 1996, with the effort and cooperation between the committee and other associations, College of Acupuncturists of British Columbia was established.

In 1997, the federal government of Canada decided to put Schedule 705 on hold and established the “Expert Advisory Committee on Herbs and Botanical Preparations” to re-examine the regulations and necessary measures. After the Parliament established the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, the Ministry of Health decided to set up the Advisory Panel on Natural Health Products under the recommendation from the first two sessions of the national consultation.

In 1998, Dr. Wu testified in the Parliament as the representative of the committee and requested the Parliament to take legal steps to recognize and secure the basic rights for TCM.
Even though the Health Advisory Council of BC recommended the establishment of TCM regulatory college, the decision-making process in the Provincial Government was stalled. Therefore, Dr. Wu requested a meeting with Glen Clark, the Governor of the British Columbia, to explain the necessity of establishing the TCM regulatory college. Glen Clark agreed with Dr. Wu and arranged a meeting with the Minister of Health of BC to discuss the principles of TCM regulatory college and its relation with College of Acupuncturists of British Columbia; grandparented registration provision was also implemented.
The Committee for the Rights and Interests of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Practitioners changed its name to Traditional Chinese Medicine Preservation Association of Canada.

In 1999, the Federal Government of Canada established the Advisory Panel on Natural Health Products, and Dr. Wu was invited to give a speech.

The Government of British Columbia unified the TCM regulatory college with the College of Acupuncturists of British Columbia, and the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of BC (CTCMA) was established.
The legislation of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion had finally achieved its preliminary results.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Conservation Association of Canada changed its name to Traditional Chinese Medicine Promotion Association of Canada.

In 2000, under the lead of Dr. Joseph Wu, Traditional Chinese Medicine Promotion Association of Canada participated in various activities of TCM and conducted joint research work with mainstream medicine without taking the credit; the members of the association also took the initiative to visit the personnel of relevant departments of the government to provide advice on the rights and interests of TCM legislation, coordinate between different medical associations, and host professional seminars.
As the Government of BC passed the legislation of TCM and secured the professional status of TCM practitioners, the tasks of each stage have gradually completed; however, there is still a long road ahead, and the future of TCM depends on the effort and cooperation between more people with devotion.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Promotion Association of Canada changed its name to National Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of Canada (NTCM), which marks a milestone in the history and for future tasks to come.

There’s a little-known story about NTCM.

At first, the application of the name “Qualified Acupuncturists & TCM Practitioners Association” (QATCMA) was stalled in the decision-making process of the Provincial Government, and several applications had already been denied. Therefore, Dr. Joseph Yunteng Wu privately met with the Premier of BC, Glen Clark, who then arranged the meeting with the Minister of Health of BC. As a result, Dr. Wu and other leaders in the field of TCM (Dr. Sunny Lee, Dr. Tom Kong, etc) were able to meet with Penny Priddy, the Minister of Health, and finalized the name QATCMA; the association could finally complete the registration process. QATCMA eventually became the current ATCMA organization.

From 2001 to the present – As the legislation of TCM in BC and the Federal Natural Health Product Regulation processes finalized, NCTM gradually phased out from political activities and shifted its focus on the continuing educations of the members, public education and charity work (eg. Fundraising for the Eight-Eight Floods in Taiwan due to Typhoon Morakot). Dr. Yunteng Wu, who dedicated his life in securing the status of Traditional Chinese Medicine, passed away on March 3rd, 2003. Since then, the presidents who came afterwards all tried to follow Dr. Wu’s legacy and continued the work of advocacy and education of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Our goal is to raise the awareness of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the general public and hopefully that awareness would result in more research and incorporation of TCM into the Canadian health care system.