with a bond issue. Over the years, the CMA and its physician members have advocated on behalf of patients and educated the public to limit the effects of outbreaks, such as the 1918 Spanish flu, SARS in 2002 and the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009–2010. In an effort to raise awareness and research treatment of cancer, the organisation formed the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). The association provided most of the funds for the early years of the CCS based on interest generated from public donations made to a fund honoring King George V's silver jubilee. Since the 1950s, the CMA has advised against tobacco use. It has fought against promotional tobacco marketing and for new laws that curbed smoking and other tobacco consumption among Canadians. The CMA played an important role in medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation, calling it one of the most complex and ethically challenging issues facing Canadian physicians. The CMA supports its members in exercising their freedom of conscience - both for those who chose to provide or participate in physician assisted suicide and those who do not. The CMA also played a central role in the creation of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan in 1957 as a tool to provide its members financial security in retirement. MD Financial Management MD Financial Management was developed in 1969 to provide financial services to physicians and their families. It was sold in 2018 to Scotiabank, the sale including a 10-year collaboration agreement. In 2018, the CMA ended its membership in the World Medical Association (WMA) to protest the plagiarism found in the speech of the WMA's incoming president. Advocacy As a national association of physicians and medical learners, the CMA often advocates on key health issues that matter to Canadians and its members. In developing its positions, it seeks input through town hall meetings, surveys its members and reviews relevant scientific research. It also seeks input from provincial and territorial medical associations and from its more than 60 affiliate, associate and stakeholder organizations. Medically assisted death In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada, in a unanimous decision, struck down the Criminal Code's absolute prohibition on physician-assisted death. As a result, the CMA developed foundational principles for medical aid in dying to guide discussions with its members and with the federal government on ensuring patient dignity and upholding the rights of both patients and physicians. Consultations included submissions and