Barry D. Stein B. Com., B.C.L., LL.B.;
President/CEO, Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada
An essay by Barry Stein

Barry D. Stein graduated from McGill University and has been a member of the Bar of Quebec since 1981. An accomplished lawyer, negotiator and mediator with the firm of Spiegel Sohmer Inc. in Montreal, Quebec, Barry has established a prominent position in the fields of commercial and corporate law as well as in mergers and acquisitions. He acts as an advisor to many businesses and a significant portion of his practice is devoted to litigation and labour law.

He serves on the Board of Directors of several Canadian corporations and foundations and he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital Foundation.

Barry was a founder and vice-president of Gilda’s Club, a cancer wellness center in Montreal. He is a member of the advisory board for the Cancer Research Society Environment Cancer Fund and is also a member of the Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec.

As the President of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada (CCAC), he actively represents the interests of cancer patients and speaks regularly to medical professionals, industry, government, and patient groups across Canada and internationally about colorectal cancer.

Under Barry’s stewardship, the CCAC has developed national awareness and educational programs and support groups for patients and their families. A member of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Screening Action Group and the Colorectal Cancer Screening Network, Barry has been a key advocate for screening initiatives as well as equal and timely access to effective treatment for cancer patients across the country.

As a survivor of metastatic colon cancer diagnosed in 1995, Barry was obliged to seek health care outside of Canada to fight his disease. His judgment, obtained in the Superior Court of Quebec in 1999, serves as a leading precedent in Canada for the reimbursement of out of country health care.