By Yvon Trepanier, Co-Chair, National Advocacy Committee

New Co-Chair

Joyce Barretto has been appointed by the board of directors to co-chair the National Advocacy Committee. Joyce is a strategic leader with over twenty-five years of success in the private, public and nonprofit sectors.

On the move Her 13-year career in the Ontario Public Service included positions in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and as Assistant Deputy Minister in the former Ministry of Public Infrastructure & Renewal, overseeing four large provincial agencies. Joyce is past president of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and is currently a director on the board of Evergreen, an environmental non-profit agency. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. With direct family experience of Parkinson’s, Joyce brings a deep commitment to the need to support caregivers and engage today’s youth.

We offer a hearty welcome to Vanessa Foran, Director of Policy Partnerships and Government Relations at Parkinson Society Canada / Neurological Health Charities Canada. Our best wishes to Shannon McDonald who has joined Rx&D as Vice-President, Public Affairs and Partnerships.

Keeping Parkinson’s issues front and centre

Parkinson’s Disease and Aging – A Case for Support

October 2011 – Parkinson Society Canada submitted a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, as background information for its study on chronic diseases related to aging.

Neurological Health Charities Canada – Policy Briefing Note – November 2011

November 2011 – Neurological Health Charities Canada submitted a brief outlining the elements of a National Brain Strategy to the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, which is responsible for making recommendations on Canada’s current Health Accord.

Parkinson’s Disease – An Ontario Perspective

December 2011 – Parkinson Societies in Ontario participated in a pre-budget consultation meeting with the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance for Ontario, in mid-December 20l1. A brief in support of this presentation was submitted in January 2012.

Principles to guide healthcare transformation in Canada

Parkinson Society Canada participated, along with several healthcare organizations, in a consultation meeting hosted by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) to discuss a common set of principles developed by the CMA and CNA to guide healthcare transformation in Canada.