Winter 2026 Board Meeting Highlights

Federal Oral Health Investments

• Stable, sustainable, multi-year federal funding for oral health
• A shift from treatmentfocused care toward prevention, continuity, and measurable outcomes
• Protection of existing preventive oral health care services while expanding coverage
• Strengthened national oral health data systems to guide evidencebased policy
• Improved access and affordability in support of Canada’s economic resilience and productivity

Health Workforce

• A balanced supply of dental hygienists to meet population needs
• Improved regional distribution of oral health providers across the country
• Monitoring labour market trends and working conditions 
• Inclusion of oral health within broader health workforce planning
• Support for interprofessional team-based approaches that integrate oral health
• Ensuring longterm care homes have access to dental hygienists 

Impacts from tariffs and supply chain disruptions on small independent dental hygiene businesses/practices

• Support for dental hygiene and dental practices, and education programs/teaching clinics affected by supply chain or trade disruptions
• Dental hygiene supplies/equipment are vulnerable to tariff-driven cost increases
• Steel and equipment tariffs directly affect dental chairs, instruments, clinical equipment, and much more
• Increased costs for everyday supplies may result in higher operating expenses, reduced profitability, delayed equipment upgrades, and possible fee increases for patients

Policy and Procedure

The Board directs, controls, and inspires CDHA by carefully establishing broad written policies reflecting the Board's values and perspectives. Another key role of the Board is monitoring and assessing policies and executive limitations prior to each Board meeting. The Board reviewed and accepted the CEO Monitoring and Assessment Reports and had the opportunity to discuss the CEO’s update on accomplishments to date in the strategic plan. The Board completed a self-assessment of governance policies with the aim of continuous improvement. The Board approved new wording for a number of governance policies.

Reports

The CDHA Board elects representatives to the International Federation of Dental Hygiene (IFDH). A report was received from IFDH Directors Tayyaba Fiaz and Francine Trudeau. The new IFDH Directors, effective immediately, are Donna Lee and Bev Woods.

Written reports were also received from the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada, the CDHA Nominations Committee, CDHA Awards Committee, and the President.

TRC Task Force

CDHA’s Board of Directors has contracted Archipel Research and Consulting to support the development of CDHA’s Reconciliation Action Plan and the development of an implementation roadmap for 2027-2028. The TRC Task Force met virtually on January 19, 2026, and then in person on Wednesday, February 25, which led to many insightful discussions. Hosai Qasmi and Dr. Muna Osman from Archipel Research and Consulting joined the Board to provide an update on the TRC Task Force workplan.

Board’s Annual Plan of Work

The Board reviewed an environment scan, prepared by the CEO, to discuss the impact(s) of the external environment on CDHA’s strategic plan. The Board also discussed incorporating the Board Charter into policy.

Audit and Budget

• One of the key roles of the Board of Directors is its fiduciary responsibility. The board approved the draft governance budget for the next fiscal year.
• The Board approved transferring monies from CDHA’s IT reserve fund to support the implementation of new Association Management Software.
• In addition, Heather Cassidy, Chair of the Audit Committee, presented an update on the audit committee meeting.
• The Board reviewed the audit engagement proposal and approved the signing of the audit engagement letter with Frouin Group for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
• The board approved the audit committee recommendation for the members to approve at the AGM the Frouin Group as CDHA’s auditing company for the fiscal year May 2025 to April 2026.

Ownership Linkage

The Board recognizes that, to be an informed agent of the ownership, it is obligated to seek to identify what the ownership values and be accountable for the integration of those values into the policies of the board. To support linkage with our owners (members), the Board has developed a question for the president to use when interacting with members at events over the upcoming year: Where should CDHA’s voice be most important in the future of dental hygiene?

The Board identified corporatization of dentistry as a key OL activity at the last board meeting and requested that a dental corporation be invited to provide insights into corporate dentistry. Three senior leaders from Dentalcorp presented to the board.

Nominations

The Directors from Quebec and New Brunswick will be completing their first 3-year terms on the Board this year. The Board affirmed Tayyaba Fiaz and Nicole Mainville’s positions for a second 3-year term.

Board Education

Each board director provided a 10-minute overview of dental hygiene in their province/territory.

Election of President-Elect

The Board elected Tayyaba FIaz as the president-elect. Her term will begin when elected by members at the AGM on September 19, 2026.

Date and times of future meetings