Board Meeting Highlights

CDHA’s board of directors works year-round in service of all members, setting priorities for the association and advocating for the profession and the importance of oral health to overall health. Three times a year, board members meet to discuss important policy matters and review the association’s progress in meeting its strategic goals.

Fall 2023 Board Meeting Highlights

The Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) hosted our first hybrid Annual General Meeting on October 21, 2023. The CDHA Board of Directors also met in person October 20, 21, and 22 at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A meeting was also held in Winnipeg with the CDHA Board, Provincial presidents/executive directors/representatives from all provinces and territories.

Key highlights from these meetings include the following:

Annual General Meeting

Over 1,000 members registered for the 2023 hybrid AGM.

CDHA’s president, Anne Caissie, encouraged members to download the full Annual Report to see all of CDHA’s achievements for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Financial Statements and Appointment of Auditor
The chair of the audit committee, Kathy Yerex, presented the 2022-2023 audited financial statements. KPMG was appointed as auditor for 2023-2024.

By-Law Amendments
Two by-law amendments were approved:
6.1 change Past President to Immediate Past President
6.2 change Executive Director to Chief Executive Officer

CDHA’s Board of Directors

Wendy Stewart, CDHA President for 2021-2022 and Director from Nova Scotia, finished her term on the board and was recognized.

CDHA welcomed three new Directors, Nicole Mainville (New Brunswick), Tayyaba Fiaz (Quebec) and Wendy Wells (Nova Scotia).

Nicole Mainville
Director
New Brunswick

Tayyaba Fiaz
Director
Québec

Wendy Wells
Director
Nova Scotia

CDHA Board of Directors
The presentation of the CDHA Board of Directors for 2023-2024:

Front Row (left to right): Cindy Holden – Newfoundland & Labrador; Alexandra Sheppard – Alberta & President-Elect; Francine Trudeau – Quebec and President; Anne Caissie – New Brunswick & Immediate Past-President; Tayyaba Fiaz – Quebec; Donna Lee – British Columbia
Back row: (left to right): Heather Cassidy, Prince Edward Island; Tracy Bowser – North; Kathy Yerex – Manitoba; Wendy Wells – Nova Scotia; Bev Woods – Ontario; Kaylen Anholt – Saskatchewan; Nicole Mainville – New Brunswick

2023 Awards
CDHA recognized the 2023 award winners:

Award of Merit: Leanne Huvenaars

Distinguished Service Award: Sophia Baltzis

 

25-Year Member Recognition
CDHA honoured our loyal, longstanding members. A total of 255 members were recognized this year for having maintained membership in the Association for 25 years.

Angela Dunnett

Danica Leibel

Daniel Porter

Darlene Wiebe

Debbie Nauta

Denise Mulligan

Heather Atkinson

Janet Amiel

Jillian Drew Norton Russell

Karen Ergus

Kerri Vinokurov

Kristin Lind

Kyla Paluk

Lindsay Ord

Lisa McLean

Lisa Serhan

Leah Ugulini

Michelle Castano

Nancy Roy

Nanita Witherspoon

Patricia Sinnott

Pearl Kashmere

Rebecca Whitrow

Rita Mudaliar

Shamira Lalji

Shannon O'Neill

Sonia Malik

Stavroula Sahlas-Letsos

Stephanie Stevens

Tamara Maniec

Tara Rempel

Trudi-Lynn Beale

CDHA Partner’s Circle
CDHA's Partners' Circle is comprised of dental industry firms dedicated to the advancement of the dental hygiene profession and who recognize the important role that dental hygienists play in the oral health care team. CDHA acknowledged these highly valued and long-standing partners of CDHA:

CDHA thanked outgoing president Anne Caissie.

Francine Trudeau, Director from Quebec, was elected as President of CDHA for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Francine encouraged members to save the date for the first in-person conference since the pandemic in Niagara Falls, ON from October 17-19, 2024.

CDHA Board of Directors Meeting
October 19, 21 (2 hours), & 22 (half day)

The Fall meeting of the CDHA Board of Directors was held on Treaty 1 Territory and the board recognized that Manitoba is located on the Treaty Territories and ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline and Nehethowuk Nations. The board further acknowledged that Manitoba is located on the Homeland of the Red River Métis.

Key highlights from the Board meeting included:

• Board directors are the fiduciaries who steer CDHA towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as ensuring we have adequate resources to advance our mission. This was informed through the CEO’s presentation on an environmental scan and an update on the strategic plan, as they support the Board Ends (goals).
• The Board Awards Committee working group Chair, Donna Lee, presented the committee report.
• The Chair of the Audit Committee, Kathy Yerex, presented an Audit Committee report.
• The Chair of the Ownership Linkage Committee, Wendy Stewart, presented a report. This included an outline of the Ownership Linkage Activity scheduled for the Summit in Winnipeg, the provincial president’s meeting, and a review of the President’s calendar.
• The board welcomed WO/Adj. Myrna Kinslow, RDHA, CD as an observer and accepted her report on dental hygiene and Canada’s military.
• The board reviewed a written update from the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada (FDHRC).
• The Board directs, controls, and inspires CDHA through the careful establishment of broad written policies reflecting the Board's values and perspectives. Thus, one of the key roles of the Board is monitoring and assessing Board policies and executive limitations at each Board meeting. The Board reviewed and accepted the CEO Monitoring Reports and Governance Process policies.
• The CDHA Board has two representatives to the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH)- Alexandra Sheppard and Wendy Stewart. The board reviewed the reports from the IFDH delegates. In addition, Alexandra’s two-year term on the IFDH was finished and the board held an election for a new representative. The success candidate and new rep to IFDH is Donna Lee.
• CDHA has been achieving excellent attendance at our virtual AGMs over the past 4 years. To ensure continued access to all CDHA members across Canada, the Board approved hosting CDHA AGMs virtually every year in September.
• Donna Lee, Chair of the DEI Working Group, provided a written report on the working group’s activities and the Board discussed possible policy changes and further board action to support DEI. The board recognizes that a journey to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a process and not accomplished in one step. As a first step in that process, the board, having considered its values related to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice, amended some policies to ensure that values of DEIJ are incorporated into the entirety of the board's work.
• The Board appointed committee members and chairs for all of CDHA Board committees.
• The Board approved that their Fall board meeting would be held on Sunday October 21-Monday October 22, 2024.

Provincial President’s Meeting

Wanda Fedora, current president of IFDH and past-president of CDHA kicked off the meeting by providing an informative update on IFDH to the CDHA board, provincial presidents, and executive directors.

This was followed by a presentation and discussion, led by CDHA’s Director of Dental Hygiene Practice, Sylvie Martel, on the new national standards for LTC, CDHA’s recommendations, and a discussion on provincial advocacy opportunities. The final portion of the evening included a presentation of updates each province and territory in attendance. Due to time constraints, CDHA’s presentation was recorded and distributed post-event.