Advisory panel on healthcare innovation - Biographies and Affiliations

Biographies

David Naylor

Dr. David Naylor is a physician, medical researcher and immediate past President of the University of Toronto. He received his MD from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine in 1978 with scholarships in medicine, surgery, and paediatrics, and his D.Phil. in the Faculty of Social and Administrative Studies at Oxford University in 1983, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Internal Medicine) in 1986, and joined the Department of Medicine of the University of Toronto in 1988, where he was promoted to full Professor by 1996.Dr. Naylor was founding Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (1991-1998), before becoming Dean of Medicine and Vice Provost for Relations with Health Care Institutions of the University of Toronto (1999-2005). From 2005 to 2013, he served as the 15th President of the University of Toronto.

Dr. Naylor is the co-author of approximately 300 scholarly publications, spanning social history, public policy, epidemiology and biostatistics, and health economics, as well as clinical and health services research in most fields of medicine. He has provided counsel to governments and healthcare associations, institutions, and enterprises in Canada and abroad for more than 25 years. Dr. Naylor served as chair of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health in 2003, and as a member of the panel that undertook the Review of Federal Support to R&D in 2010-11.

Dr. Naylor is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, a Foreign Associate Member of the US Institute of Medicine, and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is also the recipient of various national and international awards for leadership in healthcare, research, public health, and higher education.

Neil D. Fraser

Neil Fraser joined Medtronic of Canada Ltd. in 1984 and, following numerous commercial positions, became President in 2004. Medtronic plc is one of the world's largest and innovative healthcare companies with innovative solutions for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes and surgical technologies. Under Neil's leadership, Medtronic Canada has been a significant leader in business model innovation, productivity and efficiency, and employee engagement in a challenging healthcare environment. Neil is passionate about shaping the Canadian healthcare system and has led and advised on a number of initiatives across Canada. He is a frequent speaker in this field across Canada and currently holds the following appointments:

  • 2015 - Chair-Elect, Medical Devices Canada (MEDEC)
  • 2014 - Board Member, Centre for Health Sector Strategy, University of Toronto Rotman School of Management
  • 2014 - Advisory Panel Member, Federal Advisory Panel on Health Innovation, Health Canada
  • 2013 - Council Member, Ontario Health Innovation Council, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
  • 2013 - Member, Advisory Board for the Life Sciences Division, National Research Council Canada
  • 2012 - Executive Board Member, Medical Devices Canada (MEDEC)
  • 2011 - Co-chair, Centre for the Advancement of Health Innovations (CAHI) at the Conference Board of Canada
  • 2010 - Chair, Ivey International Centre for Health Innovation Advisory Council

Prior to Medtronic, Neil worked for Alcan Canada Products Ltd. and Procter & Gamble Inc. Mr. Fraser has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He holds a P.Eng. and is a member of Professional Engineers - Ontario.

Francine Girard

Francine Girard, RN, PhD, has just completed her second mandate as Dean and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Nursing at the Université de Montréal, where she has been since June 2007.

Under her leadership, the Faculty implemented new primary care nurse practitioner program. It is important to mention the many research and nursing-training partnerships with several countries on the international scene. This year, Ms. Girard received the 2015 Prix Florence Leadership award from the Order of Nurses of Quebec.

Ms. Girard chaired the Quebec Task Force on Working Conditions of Nurses. In 2013, she was a member of the Comité interministériel du Québec sur le futur de la formation infirmière[Quebec interministerial committee on the future of nurse training].

In 2012, she was a member of the Canadian Nurses Association's National Expert Commission. In the same year, she received the Award for Academic Administrative Excellence from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

From 2000 to 2003, she was the principal vice president and director of nursing for the Calgary Health Region, principal vice president for Professional Practice and Research, and director of nursing until 2005. In 2006, she was vice president, Western Region, for Canada's Victorian Order of Nurses (VON).

She is currently a member of three research groups focusing on nursing administration, nursing education and nursing intervention.

Toby Jenkins

Over the past 30 years, Ms. Jenkins has participated in a variety of public and private initiatives involving health care, banking, real estate and governance.

Ms. Jenkins is currently an Executive Fellow at the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, involved in health and urban policy. She is a board member of Canada Lands Company and chair of the Risk Management Committee. Toby is also a board member of TVOntario, an educational media organization. Ms. Jenkins was a board member of Grand River Hospital from 1998 to 2006, participating as Chairman, chair of Governance, chair of finance/audit. During that period, GRH built a regional cancer centre, redesigned its emergency services and developed regional partnerships in cardiac and renal programs. Ms. Jenkins also sat on the board of Cancer Care Ontario in 2000-2006, being part of the provincial delivery of cancer services and the "wait times" initiative. Between 2005 and 2012, Toby established a health services facility bringing together health promotion, medical and allied health programs.

Ms. Jenkins has a multi-disciplinary background founded in studies of urban planning, economics and business. She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and from the Schulich School, York University with an MBA. She enjoyed a 12 year banking career in technology and real estate finance and managed a business unit for Royal Bank in southwestern Ontario. She founded and chaired Waterloo region's first venture capital company, which was at the heart of funding innovation for economic growth in Ontario.

Jack M. Mintz

Dr. Jack M. Mintz is the President's Fellow of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary after serving as the Palmer Chair and Director since 2008.

He also serves on the boards of Imperial Oil Limited, Morneau Shepell and is chair and Vice-President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He currently serves on the federal Panel on Healthcare Innovation in 2013-14 as well as the Minister of Finance's Economic Advisory Council since December 2008.

Widely published in the field of public economics, he was touted in a 2004 UK magazine publication as one of the world's most influential tax experts. He serves as an Associate Editor of International Tax and Public Finance and the Canadian Tax Journal, and is a research fellow of CESifo, Munich, Germany, and the Centre for Business Taxation Institute, Oxford University.

Dr. Mintz held the position of Professor of Business Economics at the Rotman School of Business from 1989-2007 and Department of Economics at Queen's University, Kingston, 1978-89. He was a Visiting Professor, New York University Law School, 2007; President and CEO of the C. D. Howe Institute from 1999-2006; Clifford Clark Visiting Economist at the Department of Finance, Ottawa; and Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Management, University of Toronto, 1993 - 1995. He was founding Editor-in-Chief of International Tax and Public Finance, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers from 1994 - 2001.

He chaired the federal government's Technical Committee on Business Taxation in 1996 and 1997 that led to corporate tax reform in Canada since 2000. He also has served as chair of the Alberta Financial and Investment Policy Advisory Commission in 2007 that reviewed saving policy of the Alberta government. In addition, in 2009, he served as the Research Director of the FPT Research Working Group on Retirement Income and he was also the author of the Summary Report on Retirement Income Adequacy.

Dr. Mintz has consulted widely with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, federal and provincial governments in Canada, and various businesses and non-profit organizations.

Dr. Mintz became a member of the Order of Canada in 2015 as well as receiving the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for service to the Canadian tax policy community . Alberta Venture magazine has recognized him as one of the fifty most influential Albertans in 2008, 2010 and 2013. The Financial Post named him one of the five most influential Canadians in regulation in 2012.

Chris Power

What began as a desire to help those in need 30 years ago has evolved into a mission to improve the quality of healthcare for all Canadians.

Chris Power's journey in healthcare began at the bedside as a front-line nurse. Since then, she has grown into one of the preeminent healthcare executives in Canada. Her experiences, her success, and her values have led her to the position of CEO of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

Previously, Chris served for eight years as president and CEO of Capital Health, Nova Scotia, with an annual operating budget of approximately $900 million, and 12,000 staff. Under Chris's leadership Capital Health achieved Accreditation with Exemplary Status in 2014 with recognition for 10 Leading Practices.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Masters in Health Services Administration from Dalhousie University. She is a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives, and holds a Fellowship in Management for Executive Nurses from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. In 2003, she received the Award for Excellence and Innovation from the Canadian College of Health Services Executives and in 2007 received an Award of Excellence from the Halifax Progress Club. She was named one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the Public Sector Category three years in a row from 2007-2009 and in 2010 was inducted into the Hall of Fame. She was named one of the Top 50 CEO's in Atlantic Canada four times and in 2013 was inducted into the Top 50 CEOs Hall of Fame. In 2013 Chris received an honorary Doctorate in Civil Law from St. Mary's University.

Chris holds significant governance roles including Chair of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, member of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Governing Council, and Board Member of the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research. She is past Co-Chair of HealthCareCAN.

Most recently Chris participated as a member of the federal advisory panel on healthcare innovation and through this role has gained even greater insight into the many pan-Canadian organizations that will be beneficial in forming partnerships, leveraging expertise and advancing the goals of CPSI.

With all of the accolades and responsibilities, Chris has maintained her strong sense of self and credits her love of family, faith and her gift of singing for keeping her grounded.

Affiliations and Interests

A public listing of affiliations and interests of Panel members has been maintained on the Panel's website since the Panel began meeting, and is updated as needed. See Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation - summary of expertise, experience, and affiliations and interests. As noted on the website, prior to each committee meeting, the Panel Chair assessed members' affiliations and interests, including direct financial interests, as they might apply to agenda items. During each meeting, the Chair asked for an update on those affiliations and interests.

Particular attention was paid to sections 3.2 to 3.6 of the Health Canada Policy on External Advisory Bodies, concerning non-participation in discussions by members with a direct financial interest. Most of the declared affiliations and interests were sufficiently broad that a direct financial interest could not be attributed. In other instances, the nature or breadth of the relevant recommendations precluded any attribution. Nonetheless, where a direct interest could be perceived, the following applied: Panelists participated in discussions of broad matters of policy pertinent to their perspectives or experience, while acknowledging their potential conflict. They then limited their involvement as policy discussions moved towards specific decisions.

Three disclosures seem pertinent insofar as they could bear on recommendations by the Panel.

First, during the course of the Panel's deliberations, Ms Chris Power promptly disclosed her pending move from CEO of the Capital Health Authority in Nova Scotia to CEO of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute. She had already limited her participation in discussions of the pan-Canadian Health Organizations and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) owing to governance roles as Chair of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and a governor of the CIHR. Ms Power did not comment during the Panel's final deliberations or take a position on its ultimate recommendation regarding the incorporation of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement into the proposed new Healthcare Innovation Agency.

Second, Dr David Naylor at the outset acknowledged a spousal conflict of interest as regards Toronto's MaRS Discovery District where Dr Ilse Treurnicht is CEO. He had no role in the decision to flag MaRS EXCITE, along with the European Union's 'competitive dialogue' process, as one of the best practices to be considered by regulators and purchasers in working with medical device companies.

Third, for Chapters 8 and 9 (covering better value in healthcare procurement and regulation, as well as the role of industry as an economic driver and innovation catalyst), Mr Neil Fraser highlighted his interest as President of Medtronic Canada. The secretariat drew heavily on a range of submissions and research literature in drafting the relevant recommendations for consideration by the Panel. Mr Fraser limited his engagement as recommendations were iterated. Final recommendations for those chapters were approved by all other Panelists, with Mr Fraser recusing himself for those that bore generally or specifically on the device sector.

It should be emphasized that some of the recommendations run clearly counter to the interests and affiliations of Panelists. To name three, the Panel recommendation on incorporating CPSI into a new agency runs directly counter to Ms Powers' interests as CEO of that entity. A similar counter-conflict, albeit less acute, applies for Mr Fraser and CFHI. His spouse, Ms Heather Fraser, a consultant who owns and operates Vuka Innovation, is working closely on strategy with CFHI. Last, the Panel's recommendation for a tax credit for out-of-pocket spending runs counter to Mr Mintz's interests as a director of a company that manages prepaid health and dental plans (Morneau Shepell).

More generally, from the standpoint of political positioning, the Panel has had one goal in view: better healthcare and better value for Canadians. Its recommendations do not favour federal over provincial interests or vice versa, nor are its recommendations aligned with the ideology or interests of any political party in the pending federal election.

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