Backgrounder: New National Seniors Council Appointments

February 2025

Dr. Christine Kelly

Dr. Christine Kelly is an associate professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences and a research affiliate with the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba. She has expertise in home care services, workforce planning for personal support workers, qualitative methods, disability studies, and aging.

Dr. Kelly is an internationally recognized expert on directly funded or self-managed home care programs. Based on her research reputation, Dr. Kelly worked as an expert witness and consultant on human rights cases related to home care services and disability supports and was awarded a contract by the World Health Organization to develop global policy guidance to strengthen the front-line care workforce.

Dr. Kelly’s research has been funded by the highly competitive grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Dr. Kelly has published and presented widely, including a sole-authored book, edited collections, numerous journal articles, and reports. She is a recipient of several important awards, including most recently the Falconer Emerging Researcher Rh Award for Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship and Research in the Health Sciences.

She holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University, a Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Program in Disability Studies from the University of Manitoba as well as a Bachelor of Arts in International Development and Comparative Religion from Dalhousie University.

Susan Mooney

Susan Mooney is a highly experienced professional with over 30 years of expertise providing a wide range of physiotherapy services in both the private and public sectors. Her career includes various roles within the Government of Yukon, the Yukon Hospital Corporation and the Yukon branch of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, among others.

Throughout her career, Susan has demonstrated a strong passion for leadership, team development, and process optimization to enhance efficiency. As a manager within health care, she has successfully led teams through significant changes, including navigating the challenges of the pandemic while supporting vulnerable senior populations in long-term care.

She began her diverse career as a physiotherapist in the Yukon education system, before transitioning to hospital and long-term care settings. Midway through her career, Susan opened her own private practice while also taking on the role of Admission and Assessment Coordinator for Yukon long-term care facilities. She later moved into Disability Management, helping employees navigate workplace accommodations for physical and mental health challenges. In the final stages of her career, Susan returned to health care as a manager in long-term care and the Yukon home care program, where she eventually retired from the Government of Yukon. She continues to pursue her work in her private physiotherapy practice.

Susan brings a wealth of experience in leading and managing the design, development, implementation and evaluation of multidisciplinary programs and services, and providing leadership, supervision and guidance to teams in the delivery of programs and services.

Larry Duffield

Larry Duffield is an experienced career Canadian diplomat with 25 years of service abroad as a senior manager responsible for trade economic development and investment promotion programs.

He is a lifelong volunteer and advocate for numerous social justice issues, such as good governance, rules of law, elder abuse, ageism, and small business development and operations.

Larry is a proactive seniors advocate, promoting inclusion, wellness and financial well-being. For the past 20 years, he has been an active volunteer and advocate for seniors-related issues. His efforts include being a founding member and president of the Windsor Seniors Advisory Committee, a founding member of Canterbury ElderCollege, president of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons Windsor-Essex Chapter, board member and vice chair of the Ontario Society of Senior Citizens Organizations, board member of the National Association of Federal Retirees Branch 49 Windsor and board member of the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre of Windsor.

Larry holds a BA from Carleton University in Political Science and Economics, as well as an MBA from the University of Toronto. He is a recipient of several awards, including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and the King Charles Coronation Medal 2023.

Michel Tremblay

Michel Tremblay is an accomplished leader with significant experience and achievements in the fields of health and community services, in both the public and private sectors. Born in Québec City, he moved to Ontario in 1974, where he spent his entire career in the health sector, including a number of years in community services, long-term care facilities and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, where he was Regional Director for Northern Ontario. He also worked to promote and improve access to French-language health services as an executive at the Hôpital Montfort and the Société Santé en français. He is currently the Executive Director of the Fédération des aînés et retraités francophones de l’Ontario. He’s an active volunteer, sitting on the board of directors of FrancoQueer, the Centre canadien de leadership et d’évaluation and the Greater Toronto Club Richelieu.

Mr. Tremblay is known for his ability to unite people and his excellent leadership, strategic management, teamwork, communication and alternative dispute resolution skills. He has a talent for working with large groups, whether in French or English.

He has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa and has taken refresher courses over the years in governance, partnerships, strategic planning, leadership, communications and client service. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding population aging and is passionate about improving the quality of life of seniors in Ontario and across Canada.