Western University

Aptia Announces Jeff Williams as U.S. President

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 5, 2024

New health, benefits, and pensions administrator Aptia today announced the appointment of Jeff Williams as U.S. President and CEO.

Key Points: 
  • New health, benefits, and pensions administrator Aptia today announced the appointment of Jeff Williams as U.S. President and CEO.
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240305369517/en/
    Based out of Aptia’s U.S. headquarters in Boston, Jeff will be responsible for Aptia’s benefits administration services book of business and will report directly to Bala Viswanathan, Aptia Founder & Group CEO.
  • “We are excited to welcome Jeff to Aptia as he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in the North American benefits administration industry,” said Viswanathan.
  • “I am incredibly excited to join Aptia and embark on this journey of growth and innovation,” said Williams.

PomeGran Appoints New CEO and CFO to Execute Strategic Scaling Initiatives as Canada’s Leading Fibre-centric Rural Broadband Provider Expands

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 22, 2024

PomeGran Inc. , Canada’s leading fibre-centric rural broadband provider, announced today the appointment of two telecom veterans to the C-suite, to add executive leadership strength and increase the company’s focus on strategic scaling initiatives for its hyper-expansion across rural Canada and the US.

Key Points: 
  • PomeGran Inc. , Canada’s leading fibre-centric rural broadband provider, announced today the appointment of two telecom veterans to the C-suite, to add executive leadership strength and increase the company’s focus on strategic scaling initiatives for its hyper-expansion across rural Canada and the US.
  • PomeGran has appointed Brent Johnston as CEO and Kurban Khanbhai as CFO, both effective immediately.
  • Johnston is a seasoned telecom executive, with his most recent tenure as President of Rogers Wireless.
  • Over the next six months, Brent and Kurban will be supporting PomeGran’s expansion strategies, including additional acquisitions and broadband network expansion projects.

D2L Expands Leadership Team

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

"We are thrilled to welcome Amy and Lee to the D2L executive leadership team," said John Baker, CEO and Founder of D2L.

Key Points: 
  • "We are thrilled to welcome Amy and Lee to the D2L executive leadership team," said John Baker, CEO and Founder of D2L.
  • Amy's appointment is a strong addition to our team, and we look forward to her work in building a company culture in which talent thrives.
  • With over a decade at D2L, most recently as Senior Vice President, Sales & Customer Success, Lee brings a wealth of experience from within the organization.
  • Lee's accomplishments at D2L, coupled with his background in sales at BlackBerry, help equip him to drive revenue growth and go-to-market excellence globally.

Government of Canada reappoints president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Through its suite of programs that support research training, insight and partnerships, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is playing a key role by promoting collaboration with public, private, not-for-profit and community organizations, as well as with Indigenous peoples.

Key Points: 
  • Through its suite of programs that support research training, insight and partnerships, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is playing a key role by promoting collaboration with public, private, not-for-profit and community organizations, as well as with Indigenous peoples.
  • He played an instrumental role in mobilizing social sciences and humanities research expertise to help Canada navigate the pandemic and ensure a strong recovery.
  • "Congratulations to Dr. Hewitt on his reappointment as president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
  • SSHRC is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports research and training in the humanities and social sciences.

Enerflex Ltd. Appoints Preet Dhindsa as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enerflex Ltd. (TSX: EFX) (NYSE: EFXT) ("Enerflex" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of Mr. Preet Dhindsa as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), effective March 1, 2024.

Key Points: 
  • CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enerflex Ltd. (TSX: EFX) (NYSE: EFXT) ("Enerflex" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of Mr. Preet Dhindsa as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), effective March 1, 2024.
  • "Preet has provided solid leadership and financial stewardship since joining Enerflex in October, and our company benefits from his financial acumen and experience leading diverse, complex, multi-national businesses, including through post-merger integration activities," said Marc Rossiter, Enerflex's President and Chief Executive Officer.
  • Mr. Dhindsa is a seasoned financial leader with more than 25 years of experience, primarily in the energy and financial services sectors.
  • Mr. Dhindsa previously served as CFO and Chief Administrative Officer at AMP Energy, a solar energy developer with a global footprint.

Western University of Health Sciences chooses OpenScholar for their research sites

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

BOSTON, Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenScholar LLC announced today that Western University of Health Sciences will be leveraging OpenScholar's research visibility platform to promote the important research taking place across the university. Western University's faculty and PIs will join a growing network of over 40,000 researchers at leading universities and teaching hospitals who leverage OpenScholar to increase their research visibility, attract new sources of funding, and expand collaboration opportunities.

Key Points: 
  • OpenScholar's research visibility platform to be used at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA to showcase faculty and lab research content
    BOSTON, Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenScholar LLC announced today that Western University of Health Sciences will be leveraging OpenScholar's research visibility platform to promote the important research taking place across the university.
  • Western University's faculty and PIs will join a growing network of over 40,000 researchers at leading universities and teaching hospitals who leverage OpenScholar to increase their research visibility, attract new sources of funding, and expand collaboration opportunities.
  • "The OpenScholar platform will empower our scientists to showcase and share their research programs with external communities and ignite discoveries by facilitating new collaborations," said Andrea Giuffrida, PhD, MBA, Senior Vice President of Research & Biotechnology at Western University of Health Sciences.
  • "The density and quality of the research at Western University of Health Sciences makes them an ideal partner for OpenScholar.

Black Londoners of Canada: Digital mapping reveals Ontario’s Black history and challenges myths

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, February 11, 2024

The archival traces of her life tell the story of a migration from one Black community with British and American affiliations to another with strong Caribbean influences.

Key Points: 
  • The archival traces of her life tell the story of a migration from one Black community with British and American affiliations to another with strong Caribbean influences.
  • As research associates on the Black Londoners Project at Western University, we are finding historical clues about people like Aurelia Jones and exploring the Black history of London, Ont., by using a digital mapping approach.
  • The migrations of Black individuals often reflect the geographic and cultural connections of Black communities across borders and further into the African diaspora.

Black geographies, Canadian myths

  • Scholars such as Katherine McKittrick, professor and Canada research chair in Black Studies, have highlighted how understanding Black history means being attentive to how geography, culture and race intersect in the formation of Black communities.
  • Such considerations challenge persistent myths of Canada’s past.
  • Read more:
    Meet the Black snowshoers who walked 1,000 kilometres across Canada in 1813

    Shifting the focus from nationalist discourse to migrations among Black communities helps us better understand everyday Black life.

Digital Black history projects

  • The Black Londoners Project approaches Black history geographically by supplementing the narratives of 16 Black refugees from slavery and racial oppression in the U.S. with archival evidence (among others, personal narratives, census information and newspaper articles) of their lives in London, Ont.
  • The website will also connect with other digital Black Canadian History projects:


The Black Press in 19th-century Canada and Beyond explores the history of journalism as intellectual activism in Black Canadian and international history. It is led by Boulou Ebanda de B'béri, research director and professor in the department of communication at University of Ottawa, and Nina Reid-Maroney, history professor at Huron University College;
Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives presents a map of museums and archives that house records of Black-centred histories and is led by Cheryl Thompson, associate professor of performance studies and director for the Laboratory for Black Creativity at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Black oral history, digital mapping

  • Digital mapping of Black migrations allows us to centre Black historical presence in public memory and examine Black oral narratives outside of their abolitionist framing.
  • The teacher and white abolitionist, Benjamin Drew, published narratives of Black refugees in Ontario in his 1856 anti-slavery report, The Refugee; or, A North-Side View of Slavery.
  • However, the attitude of many Black Canadians toward the potential of equality in Canada would change after the 1850s as, for example, access to education became increasingly segregated.
  • Many would move within Canada, to the U.S. and other places in search of support from and community with the African diaspora.

Aurelia Jones

  • B. Jones’s account, we learned of his spouse, Aurelia Jones (née Bonsor), in the marriage register of Upper Canada/Canada West.
  • Following A. B.’s death around 1860, there are few records of Aurelia living in London.
  • However, Aurelia reappears in Hutchinson’s Nova Scotia Directory of 1867 and in the 1881 Canada census for Nova Scotia, living in Halifax.
  • There, Aurelia lived on Creighton Street with a Black couple from Antigua and Jamaica.


Nova Scotia’s Black communities emerged from layers of migration; for example, Black Loyalists arrived during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83), and African Caribbean peoples came looking for work in the 19th and 20th centuries. Creighton Street was a centre of Black Haligonian life well into the 20th century.

Migrations, diasporic connections

  • We recognize the irony in writing this piece during Black History Month.
  • For Black communities as well as activists and scholars, remembering Black history happens every day of the year.
  • Visualizing Black geography asks us to think of more permanent, transnational ways of commemorating Black history and honouring lives like that of Aurelia Jones.
  • The Black Londoners Project receives funding from Western's Strategic Priorities Fund.
  • David Mitterauer works for Dr. Miranda Green-Barteet and Dr. Alyssa MacLean's Black Londoners Project at Western University.
  • Patrick Kinghan works for Dr. Miranda Green-Barteet and Dr. Alyssa MacLean's Black Londoners Project at Western University.

Black Londoners of Canada: Digital mapping reveals Ontario Black history and challenges myths

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, February 11, 2024

Aurelia Jones was a prominent member of the Black community in mid-19th century London, Ontario, Canada, and the spouse of Abel Bedford Jones, a Black entrepreneur and religious and political leader.

Key Points: 
  • Aurelia Jones was a prominent member of the Black community in mid-19th century London, Ontario, Canada, and the spouse of Abel Bedford Jones, a Black entrepreneur and religious and political leader.
  • As research associates on the Black Londoners Project at Western University, we are finding historical clues about people like Aurelia Jones and exploring the Black history of London, Ont., by using a digital mapping approach.
  • The migrations of Black individuals often reflect the geographic and cultural connections of Black communities across borders and further into the African diaspora.

Black geographies, Canadian myths

  • Scholars such as Katherine McKittrick, professor and Canada research chair in Black Studies, have highlighted how understanding Black history means being attentive to how geography, culture and race intersect in the formation of Black communities.
  • Such considerations challenge persistent myths of Canada’s past.
  • Read more:
    Meet the Black snowshoers who walked 1,000 kilometres across Canada in 1813

    Shifting the focus from nationalist discourse to migrations among Black communities helps us better understand everyday Black life.

Digital Black history projects

  • The Black Londoners Project approaches Black history geographically by supplementing the narratives of 16 Black refugees from slavery and racial oppression in the U.S. with archival evidence (among others, personal narratives, census information and newspaper articles) of their lives in London, Ont.
  • The website will also connect with other digital Black Canadian History projects:


The Black Press in 19th-century Canada and Beyond explores the history of journalism as intellectual activism in Black Canadian and international history. It is led by Boulou Ebanda de B'béri, research director and professor in the department of communication at University of Ottawa, and Nina Reid-Maroney, history professor at Huron University College;
Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives presents a map of museums and archives that house records of Black-centred histories and is led by Cheryl Thompson, associate professor of performance studies and director for the Laboratory for Black Creativity at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Black oral history, digital mapping

  • Digital mapping of Black migrations allows us to centre Black historical presence in public memory and examine Black oral narratives outside of their abolitionist framing.
  • The teacher and white abolitionist, Benjamin Drew, published narratives of Black refugees in Ontario in his 1856 anti-slavery report, The Refugee; or, A North-Side View of Slavery.
  • However, the attitude of many Black Canadians toward the potential of equality in Canada would change after the 1850s as, for example, access to education became increasingly segregated.
  • Many would move within Canada, to the U.S. and other places in search of support from and community with the African diaspora.

Aurelia Jones

  • B. Jones’s account, we learned of his spouse, Aurelia Jones (née Bonsor), in the marriage register of Upper Canada/Canada West.
  • Following A. B.’s death around 1860, there are few records of Aurelia living in London.
  • However, Aurelia reappears in Hutchinson’s Nova Scotia Directory of 1867 and in the 1881 Canada census for Nova Scotia, living in Halifax.
  • There, Aurelia lived on Creighton Street with a Black couple from Antigua and Jamaica.


Nova Scotia’s Black communities emerged from layers of migration; for example, Black Loyalists arrived during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83), and African Caribbean peoples came looking for work in the 19th and 20th centuries. Creighton Street was a centre of Black Haligonian life well into the 20th century.

Migrations, diasporic connections

  • We recognize the irony in writing this piece during Black History Month.
  • For Black communities as well as activists and scholars, remembering Black history happens every day of the year.
  • Visualizing Black geography asks us to think of more permanent, transnational ways of commemorating Black history and honouring lives like that of Aurelia Jones.
  • The Black Londoners Project receives funding from Western's Strategic Priorities Fund.
  • David Mitterauer works for Dr. Miranda Green-Barteet and Dr. Alyssa MacLean's Black Londoners Project at Western University.
  • Patrick Kinghan works for Dr. Miranda Green-Barteet and Dr. Alyssa MacLean's Black Londoners Project at Western University.

Chiesi Global Rare Diseases Announces Health Canada Approval of MYALEPTA™ (metreleptin for injection) for the Treatment of Patients with Lipodystrophy

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 5, 2024

BOSTON, Feb. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of the Chiesi Group established to deliver innovative therapies and solutions for people affected by rare diseases, is pleased to announce the Health Canada approval of MYALEPTA™ (metreleptin for injection).

Key Points: 
  • BOSTON, Feb. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of the Chiesi Group established to deliver innovative therapies and solutions for people affected by rare diseases, is pleased to announce the Health Canada approval of MYALEPTA™ (metreleptin for injection).
  • As an adjunct to diet, MYALEPTA is indicated as a replacement therapy to treat the complications of leptin deficiency in lipodystrophy (LD) patients with confirmed congenital generalised LD (Berardinelli-Seip syndrome) or acquired generalised LD (Lawrence syndrome) in adults and children two years of age and above.
  • MYALEPTA was developed by Amryt Pharma, which was acquired in April 2023 by the Chiesi Group, an international, research focused biopharmaceuticals group that develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in respiratory health, rare disease and specialty care.
  • “Being a lipodystrophy patient myself and having lost my mother and sister to complications from this devastating disorder, our work is helping to advocate on behalf of patients and caregivers.”

How better and cheaper software could save millions of dollars while improving Canada’s health-care system

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 5, 2024

Billions of Canadian tax dollars have been funnelled to private companies to develop proprietary medical software.

Key Points: 
  • Billions of Canadian tax dollars have been funnelled to private companies to develop proprietary medical software.
  • More tax dollars were then paid to the same companies to use the software to run our medical system.
  • The health system might be better prepared for these challenges if literally billions of dollars had not been squandered on proprietary software development.

Undoing waste


Although the Canadian federal government has invested over $2.1 billion developing health information technology (HIT), all 10 provinces still have their own separate HIT systems. Besides being an obvious source of redundancy and waste, these systems:

  • We chose something easy and straightforward that all the provinces needed and settled on the common billing, lab results and diagnostic imaging (BLD) functions of these separate systems.
  • Then we proposed using a free and open-source software system called HermesAPI to provide BLD for Canada.

Proprietary software vs. open source

  • Another approach that immediately eliminates that waste is called free and open source software (FOSS).
  • That last bit is the core viral idea of open source development: if anyone makes an improvement in the software, they must share it back with the community.
  • In fact, today, open source software is the dominant way to develop software in industry because it tends to be technically superior and more secure.
  • Every internet company you use, from Facebook to Amazon to Wikipedia, is built on a stack of open source software.

A better way to develop medical software

  • Our study found the cost to develop and maintain HermesAPI would be about $610,000, but would prevent $120,000 per software development company per province in development costs, for a savings of $6.4 million.
  • The real secret of open source software is that it encourages competition in capitalism.
  • FOSS prevents vendor lock-in and monopolistic companies, both of which are common with our current proprietary software model.
  • Fifteen years ago, Ontario’s Auditor General found that by implementing a unified medical records system, we could save at least $6 billion.
  • Joshua M. Pearce has received funding for research from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Mitacs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Defense, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
  • In addition, his past and present consulting work and research is funded by the United Nations, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, many non-profits and for-profit companies.
  • He has no direct conflicts of interests.