10 Northern Lights

Bragging is so un-Canadian, but given that it’s our big birthday bash, we thought it was appropriate to shine the spotlight on a few health heroes who are making life north of the 49th a more authentic experience for all citizens.

- Jill Buchner

UNIVERSAL CARE CRUSADER

DR. DANIELLE MARTIN

VICE-PRESIDENT OF MEDICAL AFFAIRS AND HEALTH SYSTEM SOLUTIONS, WOMEN’S COLLEGE HOSPITAL

To Dr. Danielle Martin, being a doctor and a healthcare activist is a package deal. Though she deals with patients one-on-one at Women’s College Hospital, she also advocates for the need for improvements to medicare to ensure that our health doesn’t fall through the cracks (she even wrote a book on the subject called Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians). She suggests solutions for improving prescription drug coverage, reducing wait times and doing away with unnecessary tests. But she also looks at the big picture. “To improve health, you can’t just look at issues one person at a time,” says Dr. Martin. “When we see that larger scale social change is needed to protect or improve the health of our patients, we have an obligation to use our skills as best we can to advocate for that change.”

EQUAL OPPORTUNIST

CINDY BLACKSTOCK

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FIRST NATIONS CHILD & FAMILY CARING SOCIETY OF CANADA

For years, Cindy Blackstock has been fighting tirelessly as a social worker and member of the Gitxsan First Nation to ensure that indigenous people, especially children, have the same access to healthcare as others across Canada.

PLANT PIONEER

ANGELA LIDDON

BLOGGER BEHIND OH SHE GLOWS