Dr. Allissa Gaul ND, President, College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta
drgaul@shaw.ca (403) 283-7683/ (403)708-8398, www.drgaul.com
Speaking notes Wednesday, July 25, 2012 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Welcome everyone.
This is a historic day for all Albertans and the 144 Naturopathic Doctors who practice here. Today, we
see the birth of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta.
It is my honour to serve as the College’s FIRST PRESIDENT.
The journey from the Naturopathic Association of Alberta (NAA) which was established here in 1944,
some 68 years ago, has been a long one.
We are so proud Minister that Alberta now joins British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario
as regulated provinces of naturopathic medicine.
Today marks the end of 14 long years of hard work for us and the start of a new era for Albertans
wanting trusted, regulated, professional primary care providers - - Naturopathic Doctors.
It was in 1998, your Ministry started formal revisions to Alberta’s health regulations and members of
the Alberta Association of Naturopathic Practitioners began working on Section 14 in the Health
Professions Act which passed in May 1999.
Today, Albertans can have confidence when they reach out to one of 144 members of the College of
Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta that they have a Naturopathic Doctor who meets stringent competency
and practice requirements.
We offer Albertans a distinct system of primary care – that is an art, a science, a philosophy and a
practice of diagnosis and assessment, treatment and prevention of illness. We are trained in the
primary care use of diet and lifestyle intervention, homeopathy, nutritional supplementation, physical
medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. As you just said, we also offer intravenous administration
of ozone, chelation therapy or supplemental vitamins and minerals.
There are many studies available about the effectiveness of our treatments. Many of these studies can
be found on the Naturopathic Research Institute website nprinstitute.org. Here in Alberta, we are
continually involved in research as part of our annual competency requirements.
Our symbol is a green leaf to reflect our fundamental belief in the Healing Power of Nature. We operate
by Naturopathic Principles. We identify and treat causes. We first do no harm. We believe in educating
our patients. We believe in treating the whole person. Our goal is to work with our patients to achieve
optimum health and to prevent disease.
And, for Albertans, we are easy to find! Some of us are in private practices and others are in multidisciplinary practices with regulated health professionals such as chiropractors, medical doctors,
nurses, physical therapists, and massage therapists.
We are throughout the province from Ft. McMurray to Coleman, from Medicine Hat to Grande Prairie.
While patients pay out-of-pocket for naturopathic services, most private group health plans, offered by
organizations, cover office visits and laboratory evaluations. Now that Alberta is a College, we hope the
Government of Canada will move quickly to remove the GST requirement from our services.
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Speaking Notes July 25, Dr. Gaul ...2
Our goal is to ensure every Albertan has access to a registered Naturopathic Doctor and Albertans have
a Naturopathic Doctor as part of their own committed wellness and health care regime.
We hope Albertans will encourage our MLA’s to continue developing wellness policies. This
Government’s appointment of an Associate Minister of Wellness, the Hon. Dave Rodney, to champion
the Ministry's actions to enhance wellness and to achieve improved health outcomes, directly aligns
with our goals as Naturopathic Doctors.
Members of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta believe we have a unique and valuable role
to play in helping your Ministry educate and motivate Albertans to take charge of their health. We
already see thousands of Albertans in our practices and work closely with our patients to educate them
to be proactive about their own health and wellness.
We have such philosophical unity amongst our members and strength in the quality of our Doctors that
I cannot imagine the Naturopathic Doctors of our College to be anything but brilliant contributors to
how heath care and wellness is accomplished in Alberta.
We have lots of information to share. Please visit our website cnda.net and follow us on Twitter
@CollegeNDAB to find out more about Naturopathic Medicine and Naturopathic Doctors in Alberta.
Thank you to many individuals, especially the 144 Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta who are the
founding members of the College, the Canadian Assn. of Naturopathic Doctors, the Canadian
Naturopathic Coordinating Council, the Alberta Federation of Regulated Health Professionals, and your
Ministry for your support and leadership.