CCVO Members
Council members include the Chief Veterinary Officers (CVO) of each federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada. CVO’s are the regulatory and technical leaders in each province that represent their respective government departments.
Chief Veterinary Officers have responsibility within their jurisdictions for the protection and promotion of animal health, and prevention of animal disease, which may include primary or secondary responsibility for animal welfare, wildlife, environment, public health and food safety. By nature, animal health concerns often overlap species and jurisdictions.
The CCVO also includes guest representatives from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada.
Dre. Hélène Trépanier
Chair
Québec
Chief Veterinary Officer
Hélène is the Québec Chief Veterinary Officer since September 2016. She obtained her degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Montréal in 1984 and obtained master’s degrees in veterinary clinical sciences (Montréal, 1987) and in rural economy (Laval University, 1995).
Dr. Cathy Furness
Co-Chair
Ontario
Chief Veterinary Officer
Cathy received her veterinary degree, with Distinction, from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in 2000. She practiced in both small animal and equine practice prior to returning to the Ontario Veterinary College to complete an MSc in Clinical Studies and a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine.
Dr. Jaspinder Komal
Canada
Chief Veterinary Officer
Jaspinder is the Vice President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s Science Branch, as well as the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Delegate for Canada.
Dr. Mary Jane Ireland
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Representation
Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer Canada
Mary Jane is the Executive Director of the Animal Health Directorate and Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Secretariat
Dr. Andrea Ellis
Secretariat
Veterinary Science Advisor,
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Melanie Watters
Secretariat
Program Coordinator,
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Chief Veterinary Officers
Dr. Mary Vanderkop
Yukon
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Naima Jutha
Northwest Territories
Chief Veterinary Officer
Naima graduated with Distinction from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Ontario in 2015. She practiced small animal veterinary medicine on Vancouver Island, British Columbia before pursuing her graduate studies through the Universities of Calgary and Guelph.
Wanda Joy
Nunavut
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Rayna Gunvaldsen
British Columbia
Chief Veterinary Officer
Dr. Keith Lehman
Alberta
Chief Veterinary Officer
Keith was born and raised in the Vegreville, Alberta area prior to moving onto post-secondary education. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1994 and then from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999.
Dr. Stephanie Smith
Saskatchewan
Chief Veterinary Officer
Stephanie graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015. After graduation, she worked in mixed animal practice in central Saskatchewan and as a poultry extension veterinarian before joining the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.
Dr. Scott Zaari
Manitoba
Chief Veterinary Officer
Scott began his veterinary career as a mixed animal veterinarian providing veterinary services to cow-calf producers in Southern Alberta. He has volunteered and worked internationally with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) supporting large-scale disease control programs.
Dr. Nicole Wanamaker
New Brunswick
Chief Veterinary Officer
Nicole has a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from the Atlantic Veterinary College. Nicole has been a field veterinarian for the last 20 years in the New Brunswick Provincial Veterinary Service.
Dr. Wilma Schenkels
Nova Scotia
Chief Veterinary Officer
Wilma is the Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department Of Agriculture for the province of Nova Scotia. As Nova Scotia’s CVO she is responsible for a range animal health and welfare programs, operations and services, including animal disease surveillance and response and emergency planning.
Dr. Jill Wood
Prince Edward Island
Chief Veterinary Officer
Jill graduated from the Atlantic Veterinary College in 2001. She spent 19 years in private practice before joining the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture and Land as the Chief Veterinary Officer in October of 2020.
Dr. Beverly Dawe
Newfoundland and Labrador
Acting Chief Veterinary Officer
Beverly graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1989 and returned to her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador to spend several years in private practice. Beverly joined the Animal Health Division in 1995 as a regional veterinarian and began the acting role of Chief Veterinary Officer in January 2020.
Invited Guest Representatives
Steven Sternthall
Public Health Agency of Canada Representation
Director General,
Centre for Food-Borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Steven is the Director General for the Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Branch.
Dr. Peter Buck
Public Health Agency of Canada Representation
Manager Senior Public Health Epidemiologist