Waiting lists: management, legalities and ethics.

' 2003 Canadian Medical Association T problem of waiting lists presents a challenge for all Canadian surgeons, and the predicted demographic factors of the Canadian population indicate that the problem will increase. A symposium was held at the Canadian Surgery Forum in London, Ont., on Sept. 20, 2002, to present state-of-the-art thinking about waiting lists and to stimulate discussion among Canadian surgeons. The 3 invited speakers are prominent in their respective fields of expertise. They have edited their oral presentations for publication in the Canadian Journal of Surgery. The Medical Legal and Bioethics Committee of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons arranged the symposium, and Dr. Murray Girotti was the moderator for the discussion that followed the presentions, but this discussion has not been included owing to space limitations.)