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. Twice a year, board members normally meet in person to discuss important operational and policy matters and review the association’s progress in meeting its strategic goals.
Winter 2023 Board Meeting Highlights
The CDHA Board of Directors met in Ottawa, March 24-25, 2023.
Key highlights from the Board meeting:
Policy and Procedure
The Board directs, controls, and inspires CDHA through the careful establishment of broad written policies reflecting the Board's values and perspectives. One of the key roles of the board is the establishment of “Ends” to guide the association’s work. One of the board ends Pandemic Response:
Members have the resources to inform practice decisions regarding the pandemic response and recovery. The board approved deleting this End and capturing any work related to the Pandemic under other Ends, such as Professional Practice, Professional Knowledge, or Public Policy.
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. The Board completed a self-assessment on governance policies with the aim of continuous improvement.
Reports
The CDHA Board appoints representatives to the International Federation of Dental Hygiene (IFDH). A report was received from IFDH Directors Wendy Stewart and Alexandra Sheppard.
Written reports were received from the Federation of Dental Hygiene Regulators of Canada, the CDHA Nominations Committee, and WO/Adj. Myrna Kinslow, RDHA, CD, from the Canadian Armed Forces.
Audit and Budget
- One of the key roles of the Board of Directors is its fiduciary responsibility. To ensure ongoing competency in this regard, the Board had a financial education session and approved the draft governance budget for the next fiscal year.
- In addition, the Chair of the Audit Committee, Kathy Yerex, presented an update of the audit committee meeting.
- The Board reviewed the audit engagement proposal and approved the signing of the audit engagement letter with KPMG.
Meeting with Canada’s Chief Dental Officer
Dr. Taylor joined the CDHA Board of Directors to provide updates on different projects underway at the office of CDO.
Awards
Award of Merit - Leanne Huvenaars
The CDHA Award of Merit is given annually to a maximum of 4 individuals who have voluntarily made a meaningful contribution to dental hygiene and their community on a regular basis in a selfless, professional manner.
Distinguished Service Award – Sophia Baltzis
The CDHA Distinguished Service Award recognizes a dental hygienist or other individual who has made a significant contribution over a minimum four-year period to the advancement of the dental hygiene profession in Canada or nationally to the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association.
Nominations
An election will be held this year for the Director positions in the Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec.
DEI Strategy
The Board received a report from CDHA’s DEI consultant and approved the following Vision statement for their DEI journey:
Working collaboratively to inspire and empower leadership in diversity, equity, and inclusion where everyone can thrive in the profession of dental hygiene.
Sustainability
The Board discussed the topic of environmental sustainability in oral health care and have added this to the Board’s Annual plan of work.
Date and times of future meetings
Summer 2023 Meeting
via Zoom
August 1, 2023
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. EST
Fall 2023 Meeting & Summit
Winnipeg, Manitoba
October 19, 21(pm), 22 (am): Fall Board Meeting
October 20-21, 2023 – Summit
October 21 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm - AGM
Board Lobby Day
Prior to the board meetings, Directors participated in CDHA's annual lobby day on Parliament Hill. 19 meetings were held with members of parliament, senators, and senior policy staff with three key objectives:
- Federal Dental Care program
- Access to care for Seniors
- Student loan forgiveness.
Meetings included many key parliamentarians including:
- Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, Adam Van Koeverden
- Minister of Official Languages and Atlantic Economic Opportunity, Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor
- Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the NDP
- Minister of Seniors, Kamel Khera
Meeting with Jagmeet Singh
Meeting with Kamel Khera, Minister of Seniors