10th Annual Patients Redefining the Future of Health care in Canada Summit

The 2025 Summit took place virtually from November 25–27. This year's theme, "A Decade of Patient Leadership Towards a More Just Future," celebrated 10 years of collective efforts by patients, caregivers, advocacy groups, and allies to transform Canadian health care. The summit was held virtually, and French-subtitled recordings are available on YouTube.

Explore the 2025 Summit

What to Expect

Agenda

Speakers

Where Voices Meet Action - What to expect

Format

Days 1-2 (Nov 25-26): Open to all attendees
Day 3 (Nov 27): Exclusive action-planning session for patients, caregivers, and their representatives
French-subtitled recordings available post-event
Virtual format

Agenda

DAY 1: SCALING POLICY CHANGES FOR SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION

TimE

Session

Details

11:00-11:15 AM

Opening & 10-Year Retrospective

Speakers: Sharon Clarke & Kathy Barnard Land Acknowledgment: Antonella Scalli Kick off this milestone summit by celebrating ten years of progress and patient advocacy. We’ll look back on key moments through a special video retrospective and hear inspiring remarks from founding leaders Louise Binder, Antonella, Kathy, and Sharon. The session will begin with a Land Acknowledgement delivered by Antonella, grounding our work in respect and reconciliation.

11:15-11:45 AM

Keynote: Indigenous Health
in Canada

Keynote: Cassandra Opikokew Wajuntah, Indigenous Health in Canada Moderator: Sharon Clarke In this landmark 10th annual Summit, we turn our focus to scalable solutions to pressing health and social challenges we have explored over the years. In this insightful keynote address, Cassandra Opikokew Wajuntah will share a transformative vision for Indigenous health across Turtle Island. Drawing from lived experience, scholarship, and policy leadership, she will explore actionable strategies to advance Indigenous health, rooted in equity and self-determination. This keynote will challenge conventional approaches and inspire a renewed commitment to systemic change.

11:45-12:00 PM

Keynote: Q & A

Moderator: Sharon Clarke

12:00-12:30 PM

Lunch Break

12:30 PM-2:00 PM

Panel: Financial Toxicity - Barriers to Patient Care with Q & A

Moderator: Kim Seguin, Panelists: Kathy Barnard, Stephen Piazza, Rebecca Lonsdale The financial toll of ill-health can create barriers to care and lead to poorer health outcomes. This burden falls heaviest on populations including those with fixed or low incomes, individuals forced to stop working due to illness, and people in rural and remote communities and others who must travel to access care. Panelists will discuss a first report of its kind that looks at the economic burden of living with cancer and programs to help address these barriers. The panel will also explore the potential for systems and policies to help address economic barriers to patient care.

2:00-2:15 PM

Break

2:15-3:45 PM

Panel: Scaling Supportive Housing with Q & A

Moderator: Erin Boudreau Panelists: Frank Horn, Mina Mawani, Valesa Faria Supportive housing is a critical foundation for improving health outcomes and addressing the intersecting issues of homelessness, mental health, substance use, and income insecurity. The panel will present two supportive housing case studies, in Saskatoon serving First Nations and in Toronto., Attendees will gain insights into how service delivery, infrastructure, policy, investment, and integration with health and social services drive sustainable, scalable impact and advance equitable health outcomes.

3:45-4:15 PM

Breakout Groups

Digest today’s learnings and reflect on implications, possible next steps.

DAY 2: NECESSARY UNDERPINNINGS FOR SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION :
COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE & EQUITY-INFORMED, SHAREABLE HEALTH DATA

TimE

Session

Details

10:15-10:30 AM

Welcome & Recap

Speaker: Leah Stephenson Opening remarks to welcome attendees and highlight key takeaways from Day 1, setting the stage for the day's agenda.

10:30 AM -12:00 PM

Panel: Opportunities to Scale Interoperable Health Data & Socio-Demographic Identifiers, including Race

Moderator: Dvorah Richler Panelists: Nathalie Buissé, Sister Elizabeth Davis, Shannon O'Connor Equitable, efficient, and effective health care starts with health information that is shared with a person’s circle of care, no matter where the providers work. It is shared in an anonymous fashion with system actors to improve health care and outcomes. The anonymized data need to be able to detect whether there are any segments of society that have poorer care or outcomes and to assess whether interventions to improve are working, which is called data disaggregation This panel will examine scalable strategies in the use of connected, disaggregated health data to improve health outcomes and system planning across Canada.

12:00-12:30 PM

Lunch Break

12:30-1:15PM

Paradigm Shift: Ontario Health’s Social Determinants of Health Framework & Resource Guide, with Moderated Q & A

Speaker: Elizabeth Molinaro, Lead, OHT Implementation Integrated Care, Primary and Community-Based Care, Ontario Health Elizabeth Molinaro from Ontario Health will describe the paradigm shift in supporting Ontario Health Teams to incorporate social needs into care planning at the individual and population level. She will describe how the Social Determinants of Health Framework came about, the main principles underpinning it, and a Guide to its use, including successful, practical examples of implementation.

1:15-2:45 PM

Panel: Indigenous Community Governance of Non-Indigenous Health Organizations

Moderator: Sharon Clarke. Panelists: Tammy White Quills-Knife & Sarah Williams, Cheryl Koehn & Dr. Terri-Lynn Fox, and Amil Reddy What does effective First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNIM) governance within non-Indigenous health organizations look like in practice? Panelists will discuss promising initiatives to embed Indigenous governance in non-Indigenous health organizations, including the impact of FNIM strategic guidance on pan-Canadian health organizations and patient organizations. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what authentic partnership and shared accountability look like in practice and why FNIM governance is essential to the future of equitable, responsive health systems that meaningfully advance reconciliation.

2:45-3:00 PM

Break

3:00-3:40 PM

Closing Keynote: The Next Decade with Q&A

Closing Keynote: Dr. Ewan Affleck, Senior Medical Advisor – Health Informatics, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta Dr. Ewan Affleck is a pioneer in advancing shared health data in Canada, coining the rallying cry “data saves lives.” Join Dr. Affleck as he shares what he envisions for health care across Canada over the next ten years. Q&A Moderator: Louise Binder

3:40-3:45 PM

Closing Remarks

Speaker: Antonella Scalli Closing Remarks: Carrying the Momentum Forward This session closes the summit by reviewing the impactful discussions of the past days and acknowledging the collective effort of the community. It reinforces the commitment to advancing the shared goals defined during the event.

3:45-4:15 PM

Breakout Groups

Digest today’s learnings and reflect on implications, possible next steps.

DAY 3: PATIENT ACTION PLANNING - PATIENTS & CAREGIVERS ONLY

TimE

Session

Details

11:00 AM-12:15 PM

Action Planning Meeting

Join fellow patients and caregivers to help shape the agenda for the year ahead. This working session is dedicated to identifying and prioritizing the key issues that will guide our collective advocacy and action in 2026. Your voice is essential in building a focused and impactful plan.

12:15 PM-12:20 PM

Closing Remarks