The Steering Committee shares in the leadership of the Palliative Care Matters initiative.  Steering Committee members include senior leaders in Canada’s prominent health organizations, plus family representation.  Their involvement supports the shared goal of ensuring the Canadian health system is able to deliver consistent, high-quality and evidence-based palliative care to Canadians now and in the future. This goal will involve the efforts of governments, healthcare delivery organizations and other key stakeholders.

Current Members of the Steering Committee include:

Chair: Karen Macmillan, Senior Operating Officer and Executive Lead for Palliative Care, Covenant Health

  • Sébastien Audette, President, Accreditation Canada International
  • Sharon Baxter, Executive Director, Canadian Hospice and Palliative Care Association
  • Jeff Blackmer, Vice‐President, Medical Professionalism, Canadian Medical Association Office of Ethics
  • Esther Green, Director Person-Centred Perspective, Cancer Control, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
  • J. David Henderson, President-Elect, Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians
  • Anya Humphrey, Family/Patient Advocate
  • Tammy Moore, CEO, ALS Society of Canada
  • Linda Piazza, Senior Director, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
  • Josette Roussel, Senior Nurse Advisor, Advocacy, and Strategy , Canadian Nurses Association
  • John Ruetz, President & CEO, Catholic Health Sponsors of Ontario
  • Marcel Saulnier, Associate ADM, Strategic Policy Branch, Health Canada
  • Shirlee Sharkey, President & CEO, Saint Elizabeth Health Care
  • James Silvius, Provincial Medical Director Seniors' Health, SMD Seniors Health SCN, Alberta Health Services
  • Mike Villeneuve, CEO, Canadian Nurses Association
  • Russell Williams, Chair, Canadian Frailty Network

Past Members of the Steering Committee include:

Co-chair: Fred Horne, former Alberta Minister of Health (2011-2014)

  • Heather Bryant, Vice‐President, Cancer Control, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
  • Shelly Jamieson, CEO, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
  • Maria Judd, Senior Director, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
  • Stephen Samis, Vice‐President of Programs, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
  • Anne Sutherland Boal, CEO, Canadian Nurses Association
  • Jewel Buksa, Project Manager, Palliative Care Matters, BUKSA Strategic Conference Services