Thank you for your letter; clearly you are passionate about medicine and about editorial independence, as are we. Editorials are the opinion of the writer, which is why they are signed with the writer’s initials. The Journal is divided into three sections, as you can see on the contents page: articles, opinions, and departments. Editorials, which are not reviewed by the Editorial Board prior to publication, fall under the heading “opinion.” Part of the mandate of the BCMJ is to be an open forum for debate; we do not necessarily agree with all the opinions published in the Journal, but if those opinions are expressed respectfully and meant sincerely, we welcome them. In response to your letter we have revised our website to clarify that Dr Day is not only a director, but also one of 49 shareholders of the Cambie Surgery Centre and Specialist Referral Clinic (www.bcmj.org/editorial-board [8]). —Ed