CMA Board of Directors

Dr. Strasberg works in Toronto as a member of the Jane Finch Family Health Team, where she’s the lead physician responsible for submission of budgets to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and for development of the business and operational plan for the corporation. She has worked closely with the CMA as a board member, as co-chair of the CMA committee on public/private interface, as a member of a committee dedicated to health care and education and as a General Council delegate.

Dr. Buchman is an associate professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine and from 2005–2019, provided home-based palliative and end-of-life care through Toronto’s Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care. He currently serves as the medical lead for a group working to build the Neshama Hospice in Toronto. He was president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 2011–2012 and the Ontario College of Family Physicians in 2005–2006.

Dr. Collins runs a full-time family practice in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Dr. Collins has served as president of the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) and spent five years as chair of the NBMS Board of Directors. She has led two NBMS governance reviews and served on the 2008 CMA Governance Review Committee Task Force.

Dr. Osler has practised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, since 1998. She leads the section of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at St. Boniface Hospital and is an assistant professor with the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Manitoba. She also teaches medical students and residents at St. Boniface Hospital. A recognized advocate for physician health, Dr. Osler co-chaired the 2015 Canadian Conference on Physician Health and chaired the Physician Health and Wellness Committee for Doctors Manitoba.

Dr. Sridhar obtained his MRCP in internal medicine from the United Kingdom Royal College of Physicians and Fellowship and in respiratory medicine from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. After completing a fellowship in sleep medicine in Minnesota, he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, and entered practice there. Dr. Sridhar was president of the Saskatchewan Medical Association in 2010.

Dr. Tadepalli is an emergency and family physician from Whitehorse, Yukon. Dr. Tadepalli served as president and CEO of the Yukon Medical Association for almost a decade. He is currently the president of the Whitehorse General Hospital Medical Staff and is a member of the Yukon Hospital Foundation.

Dr. Howard is an emergency physician in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Dr. Howard was first author on the 2017 briefing for Canadian policymakers on behalf of the Lancet Countdown on Climate Change and Health and the Canadian Public Health Association. She is president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and sits on the board of directors of the Global Climate and Health Alliance.

Dr. Webb started general practice at St. Vincent's Hospital in 1992. He has since served as an examiner for the Medical Council of Canada. In 2008, he was elected to the Doctors of BC Board of Directors and became its president in 2015.

Dr. Nohr is a community general surgeon in Medicine Hat, Alberta. He co-chaired the development of the Alberta Provincial Medical Staff Bylaws and Rules. Dr. Nohr has also served on the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, and as speaker and president of the Alberta Medical Association.

Dr. David Cram has been a strong advocate for rural medicine. He organized the region’s doctors into the Manitoba Southwest Association of Rural Physicians, then later joined and became president of Doctors Manitoba. Dr. Cram is currently Chair of the Manitoba College of Physicians Westman Standards and the Regional Medical Advisory Committee.

Dr. Forman is a Toronto-based specialist in obstetrics and gynecology and sub-specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. She is the pharmacology lead (clerkship) for U of T’s MD program and is a representative on the University Governing Council. Dr. Forman has been an Ontario Medical Association (OMA) director since 2014 and is a member of the OMA’s Governance and Nominations Committee.

Dr. Steacie practises comprehensive family medicine and palliative care in Eastern Ontario. Dr. Steacie chaired the OMA President’s Advisory Panel on End-of-Life Care in 2013–14. He also chaired the CMA Committee on Health Care and Promotion.

Dr. Tytus practised as a GP anesthetist for five years in Blind River, Ontario, before practising in downtown Hamilton. He is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. Dr. Tytus served as president of the Hamilton Academy of Medicine and is currently a director of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) Board (District 4).

Dr. Shabah is an emergency physician, innovator and public health specialist. He has taken part in numerous humanitarian missions, conducts research in information technology in disaster settings and continues to serve in the International Emergency Response Unit with the Canadian Red Cross. In 2013, Dr. Shabah founded HUMANITAS to generate technological solutions to assist emergency responders and other groups.

Dr. Kennedy is a family physician in Perth-Andover, New Brunswick. He has has served on the board of the New Brunswick Medical Society, as treasurer and chair of the society’s finance committee and as its president (2010–11). He has been active in multiple attempts at primary care reform over the past 10 years, eventually leading to a new provincial delivery model.

Dr. White is a recently retired family physician from Nova Scotia who worked as a mental health GP and chronic pain physician. She served on the Doctors NS board of directors, as chair of its Audit Committee and a member of its Executive Committee.

Dr. Pan is a radiation oncologist and head of Prince Edward Island’s provincial radiation oncology service. He served as president of the Medical Society of Prince Edward Island in 2017–18 and as chair of its board of directors in 2018–19.

Dr. Karaivanov’s practice includes office-based care, obstetrics, emergency medicine and in-patient care. He works as chief of staff at the Labrador Health Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and is a clinical assistant professor in family medicine with Memorial University.

Dr. Smith is a recent graduate of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. She was actively involved in the Calgary Medical Student Association as vice-president, external affairs, which led to her appointment as student representative on the Alberta Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta boards in 2017. She served as president of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students in 2018–19.

Dr. Bechard is currently a fellow in pediatric emergency medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Throughout her medical training, she has been passionate about medical education and health systems leadership, having served on the boards of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students, Canadian Doctors for Medicare, the Professional Association of Residents of Ontario and Resident Doctors of Canada.

Ms. Ecker is the former president and CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, a concept she turned into a growing and influential public–private partnership dedicated to building Toronto as an international financial services centre. She was formerly the minister of finance for Ontario, and during her political career, also served as minister of education, as minister of community and social services and as government house leader.