External Expert Review of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care: About
The final report of the External Expert Review Panel on preventive health care guidelines is now available.
Explore key recommendations to modernize guideline development in Canada.
Read the final report: Modernizing Preventive Health Care Guideline Development in Canada: A Way Forward
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External Expert Review
Canada recognizes the importance of staying at the forefront of preventive health care guidance development. In an effort to modernize the development of preventive health care guidelines to meet the needs of Canada's health care system and support the overall well-being of people living in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) established an External Expert Review (EER) Panel to study the governance, mandate, and scientific review processes of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (Task Force).
The EER Panel reviewed domestic and international approaches and leading practices for developing preventive health care guidelines, and engaged with experts and interest holders in Canada and abroad, to inform its recommendations for modernizing the Task Force. This external review process built on PHAC's 2022 evaluation of the Task Force.
Under the leadership of the Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, a Secretariat has been established to support the creation and operations of the EER.
Final Report
The EER final report, titled Modernizing Preventive Health Care Guideline Development in Canada: A Way Forward, was submitted to the President of PHAC on April 25, 2025. The report and its recommendations an important contribution to ongoing efforts to modernize the development of preventive health care guideline in Canada.
PHAC has established an Implementation Advisory Panel to support and inform the operationalization of recommendations from the EER report. Learn more.
Membership
Dr. Vivek Goel, Chair
He/Him
Ontario
He/Him
Ontario
Dr. Vivek Goel is the University of Waterloo's President and Vice-Chancellor. He previously held a number of senior leadership roles at the University of Toronto, including as Vice- President and Provost and most recently as Vice-President of Research and Innovation. He served as founding president and CEO of Public Health Ontario from 2008 until 2014 and was also a founding scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). His areas of research expertise include economic evaluation of health interventions, cancer screening, and assessing accessibility and quality of health services using administrative data. Dr. Goel obtained his medical degree from McGill University and completed postgraduate medical training in Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Goel obtained a Master of Science degree (MSc) in Community Health from the University of Toronto and a Master's degree (MS) in biostatistics from the Harvard University School of Public Health. He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Ms. Brenda Andreas
She/They
Saskatchewan
She/They
Saskatchewan
Ms. Brenda Andreas brings lived and living experience within the health care system. She collaborates at the provincial, national and international level with health system partners in the areas of accreditation, evaluation, patient-oriented research, policy, as well as patient and community engagement.
Current memberships include a community member role on the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute Advisory Board for the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research and a patient partner role with the Canadian Primary Care Research Network. She is also a member of the Saskatchewan Health Authority Patient Family Leadership Council, the North American Primary Care Research Network Board, the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Board, and Accreditation Canada, where she serves as a Patient Surveyor.
Brenda is a registered retired social worker and holds a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Calgary and a Certificate in Health Care Administration from the University of Saskatchewan. She is a published author, research collaborator, patient partner, as well as an active community member, deeply committed to health system transformation.
In 1992, Brenda received the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada for volunteerism.
Dr. Michael Barry
He/Him
Int. - USA
He/Him
Int. - USA
Dr. Michael Barry directs the Informed Medical Decisions Program (IMDP) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He previously served as chief of its General Medicine Unit. He has provided adult primary care for over 40 years at MGH. Dr. Barry is a champion of shared decision-making between patients and clinicians. He is a past president of the Society for Medical Decision-Making and the Society of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Barry has served as Chief Science Officer at Healthwise and was president of the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians (ACP). In 2020, he won the ACP's Henry D. Bruce Memorial Award for Distinguished Contributions to Preventive Medicine. Dr. Barry served as a member, vice chair and chair of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) between 2017 and 2024, and recently stepped down as Immediate Past Chair. Dr. Barry graduated from Trinity College and from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York. He is participating in this Panel in a personal capacity, and not on behalf of the USPSTF. His input does not necessarily represent the views and policies of the USPSTF.
Mr. Gregory Doyle
He/Him
Newfoundland and Labrador
He/Him
Newfoundland and Labrador
Mr. Gregory Doyle is the Manager of Population Cancer Screening and Registries with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. Mr. Doyle is also Chair of the Canadian Breast Cancer Screening Network and an Expert Advisor to the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. He has over 25 years of professional experience in population health and the cancer care system. Mr. Doyle has been involved in the breast, cervical, colon, and lung cancer screening on the provincial and national levels for many years. He is a current member of the Canadian Council of Cancer Registries and has served as the Chair of the Translational Advisory Committee of the PERSPECTIVE Project, which will inform both risk-based breast screening and the incorporation of oncogenetics into the breast screening paradigm. He has extensively published in the areas of population cancer screening and has contributed to the body of knowledge of screening implementation. Mr. Doyle holds degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Queen's University at Kingston.
Dr. Alika Lafontaine
He/Him
Alberta
He/Him
Alberta
Dr. Alika Lafontaine is an award-winning physician and the first Indigenous physician named among Canada's 50 Most Powerful Doctors by the Medical Post. He is also the youngest and first Indigenous physician to have led the Canadian Medical Association in its 156-year history. A Red River Metis with mixed Indigenous ancestry, Dr. Lafontaine has worked across multiple dimensions of advocacy for the past 20 years, serving on the boards of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, HealthCareCAN, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Alberta Medical Association and Canadian Medical Association. As a rural specialist, he provides front-line care and is a past Zone Leader. He has founded and led several national projects, including the Indigenous Health Alliance and Safespace Networks. On September 18, 2024, the Canadian Medical Association presented a national apology to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, a process which he led over his three-year term in the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) presidency cycle. Dr. Lafontaine continues to be a thought leader in health policy, change management, and advocacy.
Dr. John Lavis
He/Him
Ontario
He/Him
Ontario
Dr. John Lavis supports efforts to address health and broader societal challenges using the best-available research evidence and experiences and insights from citizens, professionals, organizational leaders, and government policymakers. He is co-lead of and lead report writer for the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges, as well as co-lead of Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE). He led the development of the 'SHOW ME the evidence' features of an approach to reliably deliver research evidence to decision-makers and interest holders who need it. He was co-lead of the COVID-19 Evidence Network to support decision-making (COVID-END). He is the Director of the McMaster Health Forum and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy. He is a professor in the Department of Health Evidence and Impact at McMaster University and the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Evidence-Support Systems. He holds an MD from Queen's University, a Master of Science (MSc) from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. (in Health Policy) from Harvard University.
Dr. Lawrence Loh
He/Him
Ontario
He/Him
Ontario
Dr. Lawrence Loh is a Medical Officer of Health with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. He is a public health and physician leader with senior-level experience at all three levels of government in two Canadian provinces and within the non-profit sector, where he served as the sixth Chief Executive Officer for the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Best known for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Loh's service in public health has been recognized with a Key to the City of Mississauga, a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, an honorary degree from Toronto Metropolitan University, and recognition on Toronto Life 2021 list of the Top 50 Most Influential Torontonians, among other academic and professional awards. Dr. Loh holds fellowships in family medicine in Canada and public health and preventive medicine in Canada and the United States. He completed MD training at Western University, a Master of Public Health (MPH) at Johns Hopkins, and residency at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto, where he remains on the faculty as an Adjunct Professor.
Dr. Onye Nnorom
Ontario
Ontario
Dr. Onye Nnorom is a family doctor and public health and preventive medicine specialist. She is a Senior Medical Consultant for the Ontario Ministry of Health, in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health; she is the Black Health Faculty Lead at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, and a clinical consultant at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Dr. Nnorom has dedicated her career to addressing health disparities and improving health outcomes for marginalized communities, with a particular focus on Black populations. Dr. Nnorom completed her medical school at McGill University, obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto in epidemiology and completed her residency at the University of Toronto. Dr. Nnorom is the co-founder of the Black Health Education Collaborative, which was established to provide online educational resources on anti-Black racism and Black health for health professional students, clinicians and public health practitioners. She is also the past president of the Black Physicians' Association of Ontario.
Dr. Gina Ogilvie
Vancouver
Vancouver
Dr. Gina Ogilvie is a Canada Research Chair in the Global Control of HPV-related diseases and prevention and Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Medicine's School of Population and Public Health. She is also the Associate Director of the Women's Health Research Institute and Senior Public Health Scientist at BC Centre for Disease Control. Dr. Ogilvie is currently the principal investigator on over 10 million dollars in research grants. She received her MD from McMaster University and completed a specialty in Family Medicine and a fellowship in Population Health and Primary Care. She received her Master of Science (MSc) in Clinical Epidemiology at UBC, and her Doctorate in Public Health from the University of North Carolina. She is a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. She has provided advice to national and global institutions on STI, HIV and HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy development and programming. Dr. Ogilvie is the recipient of many honours, including being a member of both the Royal Society of Canada (2024) and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2022). She has received the UBC Killam Research Prize (2021); Provincial Health Officer's Award for Excellence in Public health (2015); and Researcher of the Year from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (2014).
Dre Louise Potvin
She/Her
Québec
She/Her
Québec
Dr. Potvin is a full professor at the School of Public Health at the Université de Montréal. She is the Scientific Director of the Centre for Public Health Research and the Canada Research Chair in Community Approaches and Health Inequalities. Her research focuses on community-based prevention interventions and the role of living conditions in the creation of social inequalities in health. She has edited or co-edited eleven anthologies and twelve thematic issues in specialized journals, and has published over 350 articles, book chapters, editorials and commentaries. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Public Health from 2014 to 2023. She is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She is the recipient of the 2019 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Population and Public Health Trailblazer Award and the recipient of the 2021 Canadian Public Health Association R.D. Defries award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to public health. Dr. Potvin holds a master's degree in Psychology from Concordia University and a doctorate in Community Health from the Université de Montréal.
Dre Caroline Quach-Thanh
She/Her
Québec
She/Her
Québec
Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh started her career at McGill University before joining the Université de Montréal as a full professor at the Microbiology, Infectious Diseases & Immunology Department and the Pediatrics Department. Dr. Quach-Thanh is a clinician scientist and the Canada Research Chair, Tier 1 in Infection Prevention and Control: from Hospital to Community. She is the director of the POPCORN network (www.popcornpediatrics.ca). Dr. Quach-Thanh is the former Chair of the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) and is the current Chair of the Quebec Immunization Committee. She was named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and of the Society for Health care Epidemiology of America, and was recognized as one of the most Powerful Women in Canada. In 2022, she was made Officière de l'Ordre national du Québec, received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Women of Distinction Award — Public Service — from the Women's Y Foundation. She received the 2023 Certificate of Merit from the Canadian Public Health Association and was admitted as a foreign member of the Académie Royale de Médecine de Belgique in 2024. Dr. Quach-Thanh graduated from the Université de Montréal Medical School, completed her pediatric residency training at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, and her postgraduate training in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at McGill University, where she also completed a Master of Science (MSc) in Epidemiology.
Dr. Janet Tootoosis
She/Her
Saskatchewan
She/Her
Saskatchewan
Dr. Tootoosis is a Cree woman from Poundmaker Cree Nation and has been a practising family physician since 2001 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. She has served as a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine since 2008 and is the owner/operator of North Battleford Medical Clinic Inc. Dr. Tootoosis has a long-standing commitment to health care delivery and medical education initiatives — both regionally and provincially. She has also worked as an instructor and site director for the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine's North Battleford Family Medicine Residency Training Program. Additionally, she brings formal governance experience as a former Board member of the Saskatchewan Medical Association (2014-2017) and as an inaugural Board member of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (2017-2021). Dr. Tootoosis currently holds the position of Vice Dean of Indigenous Health at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Medicine.
Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed
She/Her
Nova Scotia
She/Her
Nova Scotia
Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed joined Dalhousie University in 2018 as the inaugural Associate Dean of Serving and Engaging Society for the Faculty of Medicine and is also an Assistant Professor at the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. She is a public health specialist physician and served as the Medical Officer of Health for the Halifax area from 2005 to 2017, and Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia from 2017 to 2021. Dr. Watson-Creed has an MD from Dalhousie University, a Master of Science (MSc) from the University of Guelph, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) from the University of Prince Edward Island, and honorary doctorates from Acadia University and the University of Prince Edward Island. She serves as chair or member of several national population health councils and boards. In 2023, Dr. Watson-Creed was appointed to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute Advisory Board for the Institute of Population and Public Health. She also serves as chair of the Advisory Board for the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health.