New leadership added to Northern Ontario's medical school
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) announced its first chancellor and board of governors on Thursday.
18 governors with various education and backgrounds were selected, including the inaugural chancellor.
Cindy Blackstock, an Indigenous activist and McGill University professor, was chosen as the university’s chancellor.
Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM University president, said Blackstock’s name kept coming up when they were looking at eligible candidates.
“We wanted to be sure there was synergy amongst her values and ours and it’s so obvious,” she added.
Blackstock said she was honoured to be selected for the role, adding that her passion for equality led her to this role.
“That no person, living in a remote or rural community is left behind by a universal healthcare system,” Blackstock said.
“That people receive the loving and respectful healthcare that honours their diverse experiences.”
Verma told CTV News there were over 100 applicants to go through, which wasn’t easy.
“You want to be sure you have that balance-east, west, gender, Indigenous, francophone,” she said, adding that the people chosen checked off all the boxes in terms of what they were looking for.
With new leadership and official recognition under its belt, Verma Said the university is a blank canvas. She said she visualizes northern Ontario universities collaborating to address the healthcare worker shortage in the province.
“I see us creating a matrix, a very powerful matrix, that will get that voice heard at Queen’s Park,” said Verma .
The first medical university was formerly a part of Laurentian and Lakehead universities and applied for standalone status last year. It was formerly recognized as a university on April 1.
NOSM was first established in 2002 to address the doctor shortage in northern Ontario.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.