Montreal chiropractor André-Marie Gonthier, DC, FICC, has been elected to head the Quebec regulatory body whose mission is to protect the public by ensuring a high quality of care dispensed by the province’s more than 1,100 chiropractors.
Succeeding the late Dr. Normand Danis, he becomes the sixth president of the Ordre des Chiropraticiens du Québec (OCQ), which was established in 1974 when the National Assembly of Quebec legislated the Chiropractic Act.
Dr. Gonthier predicts challenges and opportunities ahead in the modernization and adaptation of chiropractic law subsequent to the Court of Appeal of Quebec’s reaffirmation of chiropractors’ right to diagnose in 2005. Better communication and partnerships both inside and outside of the profession will also be high on the agenda during his two-year term of office. “I am very optimistic and enthusiastic, and surrounded by a great team of dedicated individuals,” says Gonthier. “The best is ahead for us.”
A member of the founding team that worked to create the first chiropractic program in the French-speaking world at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Gonthier also served as the program director until 2001, and he continues there as a professor.
A 1983 cum laude graduate of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Gonthier holds a BSc degree in physiotherapy from the Université de Montréal. For over 20 years, he has been continuously involved in chiropractic leadership, academics and research, having assumed responsibilities as first vice-president of the OCQ, director of the Association des Chiropraticiens du Québec, and founding president of the Fondation de Recherche Chiropratique du Québec.
Author of the book entitled L’Approch chiropratique tout simplement santé, Gonthier maintains an active practice at Clinique Chiropratique Montréal.
Others elected to the administrative committee include: Dr Georges Lepage, 1st vice-president; Dr Marie-Sylvie Leblanc, 2nd vice-president; Dr Pierre Paquin, secretary-treasurer; and Mr. Robert Blanchette, public member.
Doctors of chiropractic elected to represent their regions on the OCQ include: Dr. Marc Thibault, Saguenay/Lac St-Jean (9th two-year mandate); Dr. Michel Nolet, Capitale Nationale (fifth two-year mandate); Dr. André Cardin, Mauricie; Dr. Danica Brousseau, Montréal; Dr. Sylvie Morneau, Montréal (second two-year mandate).
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