Healthcare is a source of pride for Canadians, yet our system faces significant challenges. Shortages in access to a family doctor, long wait times, and stalled innovation severely impact our communities. How do we address these obstacles while building a health system that is equitable, efficient, resilient, and a source of pride for future generations?
Join the Canadian Club Toronto on October 29, for an essential discussion on Ontario’s healthcare future. This panel of experts will explore innovative solutions, the complexities of primary care delivery, and strategies to tackle current and upcoming challenges in our system. This panel will feature the following prominent voices in healthcare:
Christine Elliott – Former Ontario Minister of Health & Deputy Premier
Dr. Dominik Nowak – President, Ontario Medical Association, & Physician at Women’s College Hospital
Dr. Lana Potts – Physician & Healthcare Consultant at Deloitte
Dr. Andy Smith – President & CEO, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Christine Elliott, former Ontario Minister of Health and Deputy Premier, is Counsel with the Fasken Health Law group in our Toronto office. With over 15 years of experience in public service, she is ideally positioned to assist clients with navigating existing and emerging complexities in the healthcare space.
During her tenure as Ontario’s Minister of Health from 2018 to 2022, Christine played an integral part in overseeing the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this role, she also sponsored The People’s Health Care Act and enacted the Connecting Care Act. The Connecting Care Act gave rise to Ontario Health, a Crown agency that merged the 14 Local Health Integration Network and other agencies including Cancer Care Ontario, Gift of Life Network, eHealth Ontario and HealthForce Ontario in order to facilitate integrated care delivery systems also known as local Ontario Health teams. Christine also served as Ontario’s Deputy Premier (2018 to 2022) and as Ontario’s first Patient Ombudsman (2016 to 2018).
Christine, along with her husband James Flaherty (Jim) was a founding partner of Flaherty, Dow, Elliott & McCarthy. Later, Christine and Jim co-founded Abilities Centre in Whitby, Ontario, which supports and celebrates the abilities of all people and is a place where everyone belongs, regardless of their challenges. In addition, she has held positions on a range of boards in the health care sector since becoming involved as a volunteer with several charities including the Lakeridge Health Whitby Foundation, Durham Mental Health Services, and Grandview Children’s Centre.
Christine graduated from the University of Western Ontario law school and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1980.
Dr. Dominik Nowak is the Ontario Medical Association’s President and a family doctor at Women’s College Hospital.
Dr. Nowak trained at McMaster University, where he specialized in family medicine and served as chief resident. He went on to the University of Toronto to finish a Master of Health Administration at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as well as the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program at the Rotman School of Management.
Dr. Nowak is a faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of the College of Family Physicians of Canada Award of Excellence for his leadership in Canadian healthcare.
Dr. Lana Potts, CCFP is a Medical Doctor, Indigenous Health and First Nation Expert, family physician at the Siksika Health and Wellness Centre, near Calgary. Dr. Lana Potts was a founding member of the Aboriginal Wisdom Council, a provincial board that advises on improving health outcomes in Indigenous communities. She is currently working in a full time role as a consultant with Deloitte Canada.
Since 2017, Dr. Andy Smith has been the President and CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, leading over 12,000 staff, physicians, researchers and learners and an annual budget of more than $1.4 billion. Prior to his current role, Dr. Smith served as Sunnybrook’s Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Executive.
With a long-established career as a surgeon and a recognized leader in the management of colorectal cancer, Dr. Smith is intensely passionate about improving healthcare. He has been involved for many years in quality improvement initiatives in Ontario and is deeply interested in healthcare leadership, innovation, and the evolution of the healthcare system in Canada. Dr. Smith serves as the Immediate Past Chair for the Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network (TAHSN) and is on the Board of Directors for ORNGE, Public Health Ontario (PHO), HealthCareCAN, and Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP).
Dr. Smith completed medical school, including a Master of Science, and General Surgery residency at the University of Toronto. He also completed a Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Smith is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto and has served as the Bernard & Ryna Langer Chair, Division of General Surgery at the University of Toronto.
Sunnybrook is recognized as one of Canada’s largest academic health sciences centres and is home to the first trauma centre in Canada. Each year, Sunnybrook conducts more than $100 million in research, provides educational opportunities for 4,000 students and cares for over 1.2 million patients. The organization provides a broad range of tertiary regional programs and services including specialties in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, high-risk obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedic and arthritic conditions, trauma and critical care, rehabilitation, and community care. In addition, Sunnybrook is Canada’s largest facility caring for the country’s war veterans.
You will be able to submit questions to the presenter once the live stream has started.
