Purpose

This committee was established to ensure residents have adequate access to, and knowledge of, healthcare services in the City of Port Colborne. To view the Healthcare Advisory Committee's Terms of Reference, please click the following link: View the Healthcare Advisory Committee Terms of Reference

To learn more about healthcare in Port Colborne, government advocacy and the work of City Council, please click on this link: Learn more about the Future of Healthcare in Port Colborne 

Healthcare Advisory Committee Members 

Sydney McDowell (Chair) 

Dr. Philip McGarry (Vice Chair)

Carmen Tamas

Matt Lallouet 

Tina Triano

Councillor Monique Aquilina (Non-voting member)

Councillor Ron Bodner (Non-voting member)

Mayor William C. Steele (Ex-officio member)

Meeting #8: September 22, 2025 

The healthcare advisory committee heard from two guest speakers who presented about the role of the upper tier municipality to "Promote, Protect and Prevent" in public health programming and emergency services.

  • Dr. Azim Kasmani, Medical Officer of Health and Commissioner, Niagara Region Public Health and Emergency Services
  • Niagara EMS Chief Karen Lutz-Graul

 

 

 

Presentation by Public Health and Emergency Services 

 


 

Upcoming Meetings, Agendas, and Minutes 

To view the Healthcare Advisory Committee's upcoming meeting dates, agendas, and approved minutes, please click the following link:

Committees, Boards and Council Calendar

 

Past Healthcare Advisory Committee Meetings

Meeting #7: September 3, 2025
  • The healthcare advisory committee reviewed all past presentations to reflect on all of the information and data provided up to date, and requested staff book more speakers as well as tours of several healthcare institutions located in Niagara and Hamilton.

Meeting #6: August 27, 2025 (Special Meeting)

Meeting #5: August 20, 2025
  • Christine Lafleur, Chief Executive Officer of Port Cares presented on the overarching topics of health equity/social determinants of health, and provided an overview of Port Cares history in the community, programs and services, and who they serve locally. View presentation.
  • Dr. David Salanki, D.C. provided a presentation about Doctors of Chiropractic, conditions that they diagnose and treat, who they serve in the primary care spectrum, and impacts to patient care without access to a local UCC and/or diagnostic imaging services. View presentation.
  • Dr. Jeff Remington had a Q&A session with the committee to help understand patient rosters and physician payment funding models, factors that impact how many patients a family physician will choose to roster, insight into the state of primary care in Ontario, and what do local doctors need to be able to expand their rosters, services and space.

  • Tara Galitz from Niagara Ontario Health Team provided a brief update on their strategy work with local physicians and offered insight on when the next round of primary care funding is coming in fall 2025. 

Meeting #4: August 6, 2025

The committee heard from two local Community Health Centres (CHC's) to learn more about health equity, the social determinants of health, CHC's and their approach to patient-centered primary care, how they are funded and who they serve.

  • Taralea McLean, Executive Director, Bridges Community Health Centre. View presentation.

  • Keira Thibault, Director of Primary Care, Centre de Santé Communautaire, Hamilton-Niagara. View presentation.

Several members of Niagara Health’s executive leadership team attended the meeting to share a hospital-based perspective on the current state of healthcare in Niagara and Port Colborne. Their presentation highlighted system pressures, efforts to align services with community needs, opportunities to transform hospital care, and the importance of partnerships to address gaps in the system.

  • Presenter: Harpreet Bassi, Executive Vice-President, Communications and Strategy; Executive Lead, Research and Niagara Health Knowledge Institute; Interim Executive Vice-President, Capital Planning and Redevelopment, Niagara Health. View presentation.

Also in attendance:

Dr. Kevin Chan, Executive Vice-President, Medical; Chief of Staff

Simon Akinsulie, Executive Vice-President, Practice, Clinical Support & Chief Nursing Executive

Anthony DiCaita, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Services; Chief Financial Officer

Natalie Doucet, Director, Women, Babies and Children’s Unit

 

Meeting #3: July 23, 2025

  • Jill Croteau, Physician Recruitment Specialist from the Niagara Region gave an overview on physician recruitment in the Niagara Region, including some of the opportunities and challenges involved in recruiting new primary care physicians to the City of Port Colborne. View the presentation.

  • Tara Galitz, Executive Director of the Niagara Ontario Health Team-Équipe Santé Ontario Niagara provided a presentation on the background behind Ontario Health Teams and what they do, how funding for healthcare is allotted by the Ministry of Health, including details on an upcoming grant submission for primary care in Port Colborne in fall 2025. View the presentation.

  • View Meeting 3 Information Package here.

Meeting #2: July 9, 2025
  • CAO Bryan Boles presented a comprehensive overview of the background on healthcare in Port Colborne, key learnings from the community engagement campaign and survey results, and shared some data on socio-economic factors that may impact decisions on healthcare planning and delivery. View the presentation here.
  • Kyle Boggio from the Boggio's Family of Pharmacies presented on the role of pharmacists in the local healthcare network, the recent expansion of their scope of practice and how they could assist with primary care by seeing patients for 19 conditions. View the presentation here.
  • View Meeting 2 Information Package here.
Meeting #1: June 12, 2025

The Healthcare Advisory Committee holds inaugural meeting, elects Chair Sydney McDowell, NP and Vice-Chair Dr. Philip McGarry, MD. The agenda was focused on the review of key documents such as the committee's Terms of Reference, Procedural By-Law and Code of Conduct.