Abstract

This commentary responds to Marchildon and Sherar's (2018) paper, "Doctors and Canadian Medicare: Improving Accountability and Performance," in which they explore questions around governance and physician accountability in Canada. This response situates the issues raised in a northern context by sharing experiences with primary care reform in the Northwest Territories and exploring the implications these changes have had for physician accountability and reported system improvements. Physician leadership and accountability are further explored in the northern context, where health systems for Indigenous communities include multiple jurisdictions and transitions in governance advance the self-government, land claims and treaty rights of Indigenous peoples.