New faces join city health board

The head of the Ottawa Mission and a pioneer in music therapy are among new members of Ottawa’s Board of Health, which oversees the city’s $56-million public health budget. The city’s health unit handles everything from restaurant inspections to prenatal classes to monitoring infectious diseases. Returning is vice-chair Dr. Atul Kapur, an emergency doctor, a director of the Ontario and Canadian Medical Associations and president of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

THE NEW MEMBERS:

Lewis Leikin

A psychologist in private practice, Leikin worked at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario for 26 years, with an interest in developmental disorders, mood disorders and the psychology of chronic illness in children. Suzanne Pinel

Best known as children’s entertainer Marie-Soleil, Pinel starred in an educational TV series. She has devised both music-instruction and music-therapy programs.

Pinel is also trained as a nurse, taught at the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College, and has headed the CHEO Foundation. She’s been a member of the Order of Canada since 1991. Jo-Anne Poirier

Former chief executive of cityowned Ottawa Community Housing Corp., Poirier is chief executive of the Victorian Order of Nurses. Peter Tilley

Executive director of the Ottawa Mission, Tilley has been head of the Ottawa Food Bank. Besides providing food and warmth, the Mission is a significant venue for health services for people who live on the street, including mentalhealth and addiction treatment, dental care and a hospice. Janet Cosier

A “reserve” member who will join the board if someone else steps down, Cosier is a finance expert with a long career at the Bank of Canada, where she’s a top adviser on strategic planning and risk management. Cosier is a former chair of the board of The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Care Group and is on the board of the South East Local Health Integration Network.

New board members join councillors Shad Qadri (chair), Mark Taylor, David Chernushenko, Mathieu Fleury, Catherine McKenney and Michael Qaqish.