Membership

René is a pork producer from farrow to finish, a dairy farmer and a maple syrup producer. René took over the family business with his brother Mario and runs it with members of his family. René Roy has a PhD in agricultural economics from McGill University.

René is currently chair of the Canadian Pork Council where he contributes to the dialogue on hog health and welfare from a producer's perspective. Previously, he was active in the field of animal health and welfare. He has been particularly involved in the development of the new pork certification program, Canadian Pork Excellence.

René contributes with his experience on several working groups of the Council, in particular the One welfare working group. As an agricultural producer, he knows how the health and welfare of animals is intimately linked to the psychological health of producers.

Dr. Lehman graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 1999 and also holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Alberta.  

After working in private mixed animal practice in Barrhead, Alberta, Keith joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency where he worked in various position prior to joining Alberta Agriculture and Forestry in June 2014.  After two years with the Animal Health Section, he was appointed as Alberta’s Chief Provincial Veterinarian in June 2016.   

Dr. Lehman completed a two-year term as chair of the Council of Chief Veterinary Officers in December 2018.  He has also been involved with early development of the Plant and Animal Health Strategy, CanSURV BSE, the national Antimicrobial Resistance Steering Committee, and serves as an ex-officio member on the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association Council. Dr. Lehman represents the Council of Chief Veterinary Officers on the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council.

Luce Bélanger

is a chicken farmer from the Jacques-Cartier area, near Quebec City, Quebec. She holds a degree in animal science from McGill University (1994) and has been farming for 22 years. Luce took over her family farm in (1999), and then went on to study at Laval University where she obtained an MBA in agribusiness (2004).

Luce has been a Director on the Board of Les Éleveurs de volailles du Quebec since (2017) and has been Quebec’s Alternate Director at Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) since (2018).  She is also a member of CFC’s Production Committee and is a strong supporter of CFC’s Animal Care Program and On-Farm Food Safety Program. Luce joined the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council in 2021 as the CFC representative. Luce enjoys serving on various agriculture organizations because she believes in the importance of providing Canadians with food that is grown to the highest standards.

Carolee Carson is a veterinarian who additionally completed her PhD in veterinary epidemiology in 2010. Her PhD topic involved beef cattle antimicrobial use and associations with antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli.

Carolee began work for the Government of Canada in 2001 and her primary work involves antimicrobial resistance risk assessment, antimicrobial use reporting, and linking science to policy for data arising from the Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance. In addition, she has published over 40 manuscripts and mentored more than 30 university students in the field of antimicrobial use and resistance. She is currently a surveillance manager within the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Centre for Food-borne, Environmental and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.

Carolee has participated on the Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, the Transatlantic Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, and has been a subject matter expert for the World Health Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Dr. Jim Fairles is a veterinarian with 23 years of experience in private mixed practice in Mount Forest, Ontario and two years of international experience in China. Since 2004, Dr. Fairles has been employed as the Client Services Veterinarian at the Animal Health Laboratory at the University of Guelph. He has a DVM (1980) and MBA (1999) degrees from Guelph.

Dr. Fairles has been involved with various veterinary associations on local, provincial and national levels. He is a past president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and a past chair of the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC). He is immediate past president of the Canadian Association of Swine Veterinarians (CASV) and an industry representative (CVMA) on the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council.

Dr. Fairles was elected to the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council, now Aimal Health Canada, in December 2013 and was re-elected in 2016 and 2019.

Cathy received her veterinary degree, with Distinction, from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in 2000. Following graduation, Cathy 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.  Cathy is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine –  Large Animal Internal Medicine.   

In 2013, Cathy joined the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ (OMAFRA) Animal Health and Welfare Branch.  Here, she continued to build her knowledge and experience in emergency management as Lead Veterinarian for Planning and Preparedness.  In this role, Cathy was responsible for provincial-level disease planning and preparedness, disease outbreak response and supporting various commodity and stakeholder organizations to enhance their respective emergency preparedness.   Cathy also supported the development of a training program for first responders in Ontario who may deal with large animals.  Cathy has co-led a public service veterinary medicine rotation at the Ontario Veterinary College and supports training and implementation of the Incident Management system in OMAFRA and with stakeholder organizations.  Cathy is a board member of the National Alliance of State Animal and Agricultural Emergency Responders (NASAAEP) and participates in a network of animal health and welfare emergency responders and managers from across the United States.

In July of 2019, Cathy was appointed Chief Veterinarian for Ontario (CVO).  In her role as CVO, Cathy works in partnership with veterinarians, farmers, industry and the community as well as provincial ministries, provinces and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to support animal health and welfare needs in Ontario.

Cathy lives on a small hobby farm in Rockwood, Ontario which she shares with her family and a menagerie of animals – big and small.

Dr. Mary Jane Ireland is the Executive Director of the Animal Health Directorate, Policy and Programs Branch at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). She is also the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Canada and the OIE Delegate for Canada.

Dr. Ireland graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and a post-graduate degrees in Veterinary Immunology and Business Administration. She began her career in a mixed animal practice in eastern Ontario.

In 2002, Dr. Ireland joined the Veterinary Drugs Directorate at Health Canada and held various positions, including Director General. In 2020, Dr. Ireland joined the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as the Executive Director of the Animal Health Directorate.

As the Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Ireland leads Canada's efforts to effectively manage current and emerging disease threats in order to protect animal health and human health, and to maintain international trust in Canada's inspection and certification systems in support of market access.

As the OIE Delegate, Dr. Ireland represents Canada on the international stage, and plays an integral role in Canada's participation in the OIE standard- setting process for the development and adoption of animal health standards and guidelines. In this role Dr. Ireland works to ensure that the standards are appropriately and consistently implemented in Canada. She is also responsible for notifying the OIE of reportable animal disease occurrences in Canada.

Dr. Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk grew up on a beef ranch in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and is a Professor and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Chair in Animal Welfare in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. Her interdisciplinary approach has focused on identifying measures and ways of improving the lives of animals under our care and she is among the first in her field to combine experimental and qualitative methods when addressing animal welfare issues. She has published over 250 peer reviewed publications and has received numerous awards, including the 2018 Hans Sigrist Foundation Prize, administered by the University of Bern, Switzerland, for her outstanding achievements as an international leader working in the field of sustainable food animal production. She was also awarded the American Dairy Science Associations Extension Award in 2018 and Award for Excellence in Dairy Science in 2013. She has received the Award for outstanding contributions to the field of ruminant well-being by the World Buiatrics Association in 2016.

Luc holds a Master degree in Social Science from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.  He joined the Federal Government in 2000 and worked in several departments such as Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage and joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2005 and has since worked on a variety of files such as rural development, BSE and Growing Forward programs design and delivery.

Luc became the Director of the Animal Industry Division in April 2019 and is involved in initiatives aimed at improving the competitiveness of the livestock sector. Luc took over from Donald Boucher as the AAFC representative on the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council, now Animal Health Canada,  in March 2019.

Dr. Rosengren graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan in 2001. After graduation Leigh worked in mixed animal practice in Humboldt and Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She received a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology from the University of Saskatchewan (2008) and established a consulting service for Canada’s livestock and poultry sectors with their animal health and food safety concerns.  Most recently, Leigh completed a Masters of Agribusiness from Kansas State University (2021) she oversaw the family cow-calf beef operation.

Leigh has recently joined the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association as their Animal Health and Care lead. She also sits on the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association as a director and serves as the Animal Health and Welfare committee chair.

Dave Taylor is the past Chair of the BC Dairy Association and a Director with Dairy Farmers of Canada.  He is a passionate advocate for the BC and national dairy industry.  

He and his brother operate Viewfield Farms in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, although the success of their farm lies with all who are a part of the Viewfield team which involves 3 generations.      

The Taylors have been the recipients of the Top Quality Milk award for Vancouver Island for 8 of the last 10 years and have been in the top 5 herds for milk quality in the province each of the past 5 years.  They are strong advocates of DFC’s quality assurance program proAction.     

In 2008, Dave and his wife Lisa represented their farm in competition in BC, and then nationally in Calgary, where they were awarded the Canadian Outstanding Young Farmers Award.

The Taylors have been dairy farming since Dave’s grandfather bought his first farm in 1946 in Saanichton, just outside of Victoria, BC. They milk 130 registered holsteins.  

Nicole Wanamaker 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.  She has served producers, small ruminant clients and horse owners as well as attending Guernsey and Holstein cattle and other livestock on her own dairy farm.

 Now, as manager of the NB Provincial Veterinary Service, Nicole leads a team of 19 field veterinarians to serve producers and clients all across NB.   In this position she has also become the Chief Veterinary Officer for New Brunswick.

 Nicole represents New Brunswick on several committees such as the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network (CAHSN), the Veterinary Epidemiology Surveillance Network (VESN), The Chief Council of Veterinary Officers (CCVO), The Federal-Provincial Animal Welfare group (FPAW), and the Atlantic Canada Animal Health Surveillance Network.

 Nicole is enthusiastic,  eager and committed to serving her province and the animals and clients that she interacts with.

In September of 2019 Dr. Scott Zaari joined Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development as Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Health & Welfare Branch. Scott holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Calgary with an emphasis in Ecosystem and Public Health and has completed an internship with the OIE in Paris, France. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University.

Originally from Alberta, Scott began his career as a mixed animal veterinarian in Brooks where he provided veterinary services to many of the cow-calf producers in the area. More recently Scott worked for the OIE as a Projects Officer in their Sub-Regional Representation in South East Asia. He supported the development of the OIE’s PVS Pathway Programme in nine member countries. Later he coordinated field projects for the OIE including Rabies control in stray dog populations as well as a large-scale Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) Control program in Myanmar. In this role, he had the unique opportunity to work alongside the Myanmar government and small scale producers to operationalize their largest ever FMD surveillance and vaccination programme in the country that is still active to date.

He has joined the Department from his previous position as a clinical and welfare veterinarian in New York’s largest animal shelter, The Animal Care Centers of NYC. He is honored to accept the position of Chief Veterinary Officer and is looking forward to joining the team and collaborating on the many exciting efforts being undertaken in Manitoba.