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Join moderator Andre Picard and a panel of health systems experts to discuss IHPME Prof. Sara Allin’s new report, “Sustainability and Resilience in the Canadian Health System.”

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-do-we-make-canadas-public-health-systems-resilient-to-crises-tickets-435885113107

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges that have existed in Canada’s health systems for far too long. A collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach is required to shape the future of health systems, delivering adaptable, high quality, timely and equitable care for all Canadians.

The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) was initiated by the London School of Economics (LSE), the World Economic Forum (WEF) and AstraZeneca in March 2020, motivated by a shared commitment to improve population health, through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Now joined by Canadian partners Philips Canada and University of Toronto, PHSSR is launching a Canadian report led by Dr. Sara Allin, Associate Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) at the University of Toronto.

The country assessment examines Canada’s health systems across seven key domains — financing; governance; workforce; medicines and technology; service delivery; population health; and environmental sustainability – to with actionable policy recommendations to create future-ready health systems.
We welcome to you join us as we launch the report and dive into the most pressing findings
The report launch in Canada will feature a panel discussion, with:

Sara Allin

Associate Professor, The Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto and Lead Researcher, Partnership for Health Sustainability and Resilience

Dr. Allin is Director of the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, a research centre and collaborative partnership of researchers and policy makers, where she provides academic leadership of applied research undertaken in response to pressing health system and policy challenges.
Dr. Allin is Associate Professor with the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and the lead researcher for the Partnership on Health System Sustainability and Resilience.

Adalsteinn Brown

Dean, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and former Co-Chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table

Professor Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown was appointed Dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH) beginning July 2018 after serving as Interim Dean. He previously served as Director of the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME) and the Dalla Lana Chair of Public Health Policy also at the University.

Professor Brown’s research interests relate to performance measurement in health systems and the use of evidence and data in public policy. He has published numerous articles on evidence-informed policy making, health care quality improvement, and health systems strategy. He has worked closely with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care (MOHLTC) and other government and international agencies and has served as Assistant Deputy Minister in MOHLTC and Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Research and Innovation.

He received his undergraduate degree in government from Harvard University and his doctorate from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Katharine Smart

Pediatrician, Medical Leader, Passionate Advocate

Dr. Katharine Smart is an experienced medical leader and advocate who constantly challenges the status quo in medicine. A pediatrician in Canada’s north, her work focuses on innovative and collaborative partnerships between community and government to serve marginalized children in rural and remote areas. An outspoken advocate against misinformation, Dr. Smart regularly uses her voice to bring evidence and facts to the forefront of health communication.

Dr. Smart is the past president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), where in 2021 she became the 10th woman to serve in the organization’s 155-year history. A fierce and authentic leader, she has become a recognized and respected medical voice in Canada. Dr. Smart received the Waterfalls Global Award for her work during the pandemic. In recognition of her advocacy for primary care and family medicine she received an honourary membership from the Canadian Family Physicians of Canada. She has held many leadership positions including president of the Yukon Medical Association and sits on the board of Ronald McDonald House charities.

Dr. Smart is a passionate communicator and sought-after media expert, keynote speaker, panelist and podcast guest. She is the host of SPARK: Conversations, Children’s Healthcare Canada’s monthly podcast series.

Dr. Smart’s clinical work has spanned the breadth of Pediatrics. She started her career as a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. She has worked in Australia, Vancouver and across Canada’s north. Her current clinical focus is providing care to children who have experienced adverse childhood events using a model of social pediatrics in the Yukon.

Stephen Samis

Former Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon and President, Samis Health Policy Consulting Inc.

Stephen Samis has over 25 years’ experience in health and health care, advancing evidence-informed health policy and population health to improve health systems and the health of Canadians.
He was Deputy Minister, Health and Social Services, Government of Yukon from 2017 to 2022. Before this, Stephen spent seventeen years in Ottawa where he worked in progressively senior roles for national health-related organizations – the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (now Healthcare Excellence Canada), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Stephen began his career in British Columbia, where he worked on strategic research and policy initiatives at the community-based level and with the BC Ministry of Health.

Stephen holds a Master’s degree in Sociology from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He lives and works in Edmonton, Alberta.

Marcel Saulnier

Former Associate ADM Health Canada and current Associate, Santis Health

Marcel Saulnier is an Ottawa based health policy consultant and an Associate with Santis Health. He was previously Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategic Policy Branch at Health Canada. He has held other senior positions at Health Canada, including as Director General of Health Care Strategies, and Director General of Policy Coordination and Planning. He played a key role in advising the government on health care policy, leading the development of bilateral agreements on mental health and home care, as well as laying the foundation for national universal pharmacare. He was Executive Director of the Secretariat for the Advisory Panel on the Implementation of National Pharmacare chaired by Dr. Eric Hoskins (2018) and Executive Secretary of the secretariat support the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation (2015) chaired by Dr. David Naylor.

Marcel’s career has included policy leadership positions at the Canadian Medical Association, the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance Canada, the National Forum on Health, and Health and Welfare Canada. He is currently a member of the Institute Advisory Board of the CIHR Institute for Health Services and Policy Research. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement, the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. Marcel has a master’s degree in Economics from l’Université de Montreal, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Ottawa.

Amélie Quesnel-Vallée

Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities and Professor, Sociology & Epidemiology, McGill University

Amélie Quesnel-Vallée holds the Canada Research Chair in Policies and Health Inequalities at McGill University, where she is a Full Professor with a joint appointment across the Faculties of Arts (Sociology) and Medicine and Health Sciences (Epidemiology).

She is the founding Director of the McGill Observatory on Health and Social Services Reforms and of CAnD3, an international consortium of 36 academic, government, private and non-profit organizations delivering training in support of evidence-based decision making. She is a two-time Fulbright Foundation awardee, most recently of a Distinguished Chair (2020).

She is the President of the Canadian Population Society and a past-President of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on the Sociology of Health. She has experience in providing strategic advice to several organizations, notably the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, where she is Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Governing Council.
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This research project has been made possible by the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) – a global collaboration between academic, non-governmental, life sciences, healthcare and business organizations.

Now active in more than 20 countries, the PHSSR and its partners seek to work with local academics, governments, policymakers, patient and professional associations to build knowledge and guide action through research reports that offer evidence-informed policy recommendations to improve healthcare system sustainability and resilience.