Dr. Nathaniel Day

MD, CCFP, Diplomate ABAM, CHE

Dr. Nathaniel Day is the Chief Scientific Officer for the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence, a crown corporation located in Calgary, Alberta. Dr. Day has developed and implemented programs to support people with addiction to receive timely and appropriate care, including significant advancements such as Alberta’s Virtual Opioid Dependency Program, support for treatment induction in the ED, and access to treatment virtually through community paramedics, including for individuals in police custody, and profound improvements for treatment of individuals facing incarceration. Dr. Day co-chaired the Alberta Recovery Expert Advisory Committee, was a member of the Alberta Minister’s Opioid Emergency Response Committee, is the Provincial Medical Director of Addiction for Recovery Alberta, and has served in various other leadership capacities.

Dr. Imran Ghauri

MD, CCFP AM, cISAM, cCSAM

Dr. Ghauri is the current Provincial Medical Director for Inpatient Care for Recovery Alberta. He has a background in Emergency Medicine and developed a true passion for helping those suffering with addictions in this setting. Dr. Ghauri moved to Canada from the UK in 2012 and continued working in the addiction field, eventually starting work at the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program, where he was able to dedicate his practice to managing patients with addiction. In his spare time he likes to travel and spend time with his family.

Dr. Jess Melle

MD, CCFP

Dr. Jess Melle graduated from the University of Saskatchewan Family Medicine Program in 2009. Since then, he has practised rural medicine and addictions medicine, including developing community-based wrap-around addictions programs that incorporate Indigenous cultural practices in partnership with nearby First Nations communities. Dr. Melle is currently the Primary Care Physician Lead for Correctional Service Canada’s Prairie Region. He provides clinical care at Saskatchewan Penitentiary and Willow Cree Healing Lodge, serves as a Medical Advisor for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan, and is the current President of the Section of Family Medicine at the Saskatchewan Medical Association.

Dr. Sheila Peters

CCFP-EM, FCFP

Dr. Sheila Peters is a Métis woman. Her mother, Shirley Fiddler, was a Treaty woman for Cowessess Nation Treaty 4 and ties to York Factory Treaty 5. Her father, Peter Nychuk, is a Ukrainian settler. She is a niece to eighteen, aunty to sixteen, great aunty to eight, a sister to five, and a mother of three. She was born and raised in the small farming community of Shoal Lake, Manitoba.

Dr. Peters finished a 25-year career at the Health Sciences Centre Emergency in April 2022, where she was an Attending Trauma and Academic Emergency Room physician, involved in all levels of teaching.

Dr. Peters practiced Family Medicine at Access Centre Downtown, 2016–2024, with a focus on maternal-fetal health and pediatric care, serving a community that includes many who are unhoused and experiencing poverty, mental health issues, and addictions. In June 2024, she transitioned her practice to Northern Connections Medical Clinic. She has provided emergency care at the Thompson General Emergency intermittently for the past 25 years, along with Concordia Urgent Care, The Pas E.R., Kenora Emergency, and with VECTRs.

From June 2022 to October 2023, Dr. Peters’ leadership skills flourished at Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM) as a Primary Care Advisor, focusing on Jordan’s Principle, reinventing current EMS systems, providing housing and care for Thompson’s unhoused, Cancer Care, HIV, maternal-fetal health, and mentorship. Bimaashi Migizi Mashkiki Gikinoo’ Amaagewinan: Soaring Eagle Medical Teachings (SEMT) is a consultation business Dr. Peters established in 2023, focused on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), wellness, mentorship, and Indigenous Health Curriculum (IHC). Dr. Peters assumed the role of Medical Director of Stoney Mountain Institution in October 2024.

Dr. Ginette Poulin

RD, MD, CCFP(AM), FCPC, CISAM, CCPE, CMCBT

Dr. Poulin is a Family Physician, an Addictions Medicine expert, a Certified Canadian Executive Physician Leader, a Registered Dietitian, and a former professional dancer, who after venturing to various provinces and countries to pursue her studies, returned to her home province of Manitoba. She contributes both professionally and personally to the well-being of Canadians through education, health services, advocacy, leadership, research, and community development. She has taken roles in Addiction Medicine Leadership including Medical Director of the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, Co-Lead for the RAAM Manitoba under Shared Health, and Medical Director, Concurrent Program at Waypoint Mental Health Care Centre. She supports the Central North Correctional Centre and provides education for correctional facilities across Ontario and Manitoba.

Dr. Martin Robichaud

MD

Dr. Martin Robichaud is a physician and medical leader with Vitalité Health Network in New Brunswick. After 16 years of practice in emergency medicine, including serving 13 years as Department Chief, he now holds several medical leadership positions, including Medical Director of the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre and Regional Medical Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

In addition to his leadership responsibilities, Dr. Robichaud maintains an active clinical practice in correctional medicine, providing direct care to individuals in custody. He also provides medical leadership in correctional health and contributes to the development and improvement of healthcare services within New Brunswick’s correctional system. His career has brought him to the intersection of clinical care, mental health, addictions, correctional medicine, and health system leadership.

He has a particular interest in improving access, quality, and continuity of care for vulnerable populations, as well as in developing more integrated models of care between correctional settings and the broader healthcare system.

Dr Louisa Marion-Bellemare

MD

Dr Louisa Marion-Bellemare graduated from and completed her residency in Family Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. She works at the Timmins and District Hospital in the Pediatric Mental Health Department and as the lead for the addiction medicine program which includes the Acute Withdrawal Medical Unit, Addiction Medicine Consult Service and the Community Withdrawal Management Service. She also works in the addiction clinics in communities along the James Bay Coast. Dr Marion-Bellemare can also be found working at the Indigenous Health Care Centre and in provincial corrections. She previously worked as an emergency room physician, hospitalist and surgical assist.