Some of Ontario’s old trees survive because of their connection to history; maybe they were present during the battle of Queenston Heights in 1812, or grew along the Toronto Carrying Place Trail. Other trees were overlooked because they grow on cliffs or in swamps. A few were preserved as intentional choices by landowners. All have stories woven around them, and written into their trunks, branches, and bark to be read by those who know how. Michael Henry will guide you to Ontario’s oldest and most remarkable trees with colourful photos and stories. You may find yourself more hopeful and inspired than you started out, which is the natural outcome of time spent with old trees – and you’ll likely never see trees quite the same way again.

BIOGRAPHY

Michael Henry is the author Old-growth forest walks: 26 hikes in Ontario’s Greenbelt, and Ontario’s old-growth forests. He maintains the list of Ontario’s oldest trees and has found a few himself. He works with volunteers and NGOs like the Wilderness Committee to protect old-growth forests, including the remaining old growth and large roadless areas in Algonquin Park. He is also involved in natural building, and his next book will bring together his broad interests in sustainability and climate solutions. He is currently living with his wife and two kids in Peterborough, Ontario, where he grows native plants in his yard and works to reduce the impact of invasive species on his local forests.

Dr. Jane Philpott’s talk will inform the audience about the important mandate of Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team, tasked with ensuring that everyone in the province is attached to primary care by 2029. She will outline progress made over the past year, including a $2.1 B investment in the plan built on three pillars: interprofessional care teams, digital tools, and the health workforce. Using a data-driven approach, a geographic focus, and the local knowledge of Ontario Health Teams, the initiative has demonstrated how much can be accomplished through collaboration and a focus on continuous improvement.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Jane Philpott was appointed Chair of Ontario’s Primary Care Action Team in December 2024 with a mandate to ensure that everyone in Ontario is connected to primary care by 2029. Dr. Philpott is a family physician who served as the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University and director of its School of Medicine. She previously held several senior roles in the Government of Canada, including Minister of Health, Minister of Indigenous Services and President of the Treasury Board, and spent more than 30 years in family medicine and global health. She is the author of “Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada,” that outlines her vision for rebuilding our health systems to provide primary care access for everyone.

Major developments and scientific innovations have revolutionized the field of clinical genetics from Charles Darwin’s day in the mid nineteenth century to the delivery of personalized medicine in patient care in the twenty-first. In this lecture clinical genetecist Dr. José-Mario Capo-Chichi will lead us through this story: the origin of species, Mendelian genetics, the double-helix structure of DNA, DNA sequencing, animal models and the latest in personalized medicine – ie., using an individual’s unique genetic profile, lifestyle, and environment to tailor disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. There will be many other stops along the way. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

BIOGRAPHY

José-Mario Capo-Chichi is a clinical geneticist at the Genome Diagnostics Laboratory at University Health Network in Toronto/Canada, an assistant professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto and a clinician investigator at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Research Institute. His clinical and research interests are centered on the use of novel genomic tools to improve the clinical diagnosis and management of patients with acquired and inherited genetic disorders. He helped identify and characterize novel disease causing genes in neurodevelopmental disorders using animal models.