Children's Health Topics

Healthy Active Living Champions

Members:

Dr. Glenn Berall is Chief of Paediatrics at North York General Hospital and is the head of the paediatric nutrition clinic which provides service to children across South Central Ontario. He has his designation from the American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists, and is an Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Graduate Studies, at the University of Toronto. Dr. Berall speaks widely on the topics of childhood obesity and childhood nutrition. He is involved in research on appetite, Prader Willi Syndrome (a rare genetic obesity condition), and childhood nutrition. 

Dr. Tracey Bridger is a paediatric endocrinologist at the Janeway Child Health and Rehabilitation Centre and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics and Endocrinology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is co-founder of the Lifestyle Clinic, a health service designed for children and adolescents with obesity. Through education and intervention, the Lifestyle Clinic interdisciplinary team aims to help clients develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to live healthy active lives.

Dr. Michael Dickinson is a community paediatrician and Head of Paediatrics in Miramichi, New Brunswick. He is a past president of the New Brunswick Paediatric Society. He is a vocal advocate of healthy living in his community. He recently led an initiative to create a "healthy" school food and nutrition policy in Miramichi. He is a competitive swimmer and enjoys tennis, kayaking, and cross country skiing.

Dr. Emmett Francoeur is a community paediatrician in Montreal, Quebec, who also works in the Montreal Children’s Hospital as Director of the Child Development Program. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University and works at a national level in support of children on the advisory board of the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development. 

Dr. Kristen Hallett is a consultant paediatrician in Owen Sound, Ontario. She is advocating for an exercise and nutrition clinic locally to serve the Grey-Bruce region and local native population. Kristen remains active daily, both on her own and with her husband and three children. She also has as interest in public education and speaks at local schools on the effects of bullying.

Dr. Johanne Harvey is a paediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine in Chicoutimi, Quebec. She is the Medical Director of the Adolescent Medicine Multidisciplinary Clinic at the Regional Health Center in Chicoutimi. This clinic provides services to adolescents with various health problems such as chronic conditions, mental health problems, and eating disorders. She is particularly interested in public health issues including childhood nutrition and childhood obesity, breastfeeding and smoking cessation.

Dr. Marie-Claude Lebeau is a community paediatrician who provides services to children in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. She is an active participant and volunteer in the Yellowknife Multisport Club which organizes events such as running, biking and triathlons throughout the year.

Dr. Claire LeBlanc is an associate professor at the University of Alberta and a paediatric rheumatologist at Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. She is board certified in sport medicine and is the current Director of Pediatric Sport Medicine at the Glen Sather Sport Medicine Clinic. Dr. LeBlanc is a longtime champion of healthy active living for children and youth, and a passionate and sought-after speaker on the issue. Dr. LeBlanc was also involved in the development of Canada’s Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth. She is chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society’s Healthy Active Living and Sports Medicine Committee, and represents the CPS at the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Stan Lipnowski is a community paediatrician in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is the former head of the Department of Pediatrics at Victoria General Hospital. He sits on numerous committees at Winnipeg’s Children’s Hospital and he is the paediatrician for Child and Family Services. As a former couch potato and born-again fitness fanatic, Dr. Lipnowski has thrown himself into cycling and cross country skiing. After volunteering at cycling events he is now an active participant in the local racing circuit and actively trying to recruit young people to experience the joy of cycling.

Dr. Michelle McTimoney is a paediatrician with specialty training in sports medicine. She practices paediatric emergency medicine at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, and has a clinic for children with sports injuries at the Orthopaedic and Sport Medicine Clinic of Nova Scotia. She spends most of her free time skiing and running and enjoys the challenge of the occasional marathon.  

Dr. John Philpott is a paediatrician in Toronto. He is a lecturer at the University of Toronto, Division of Community Paediatrics and is a member of AAP’s Section on Sports Medicine and Fitness.  He is certified by the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine and routinely sees children and teens with various sports and musculoskeletal concerns. He also consults on obese youth, focusing on the role of physical activity. 

Dr. Jorge L Pinzon is a paediatrician, an adolescent medicine specialist and a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the University of Calgary. He completed his paediatric and adolescent medicine training at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in 1995. Since then he worked at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he participated in the development of the Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program and the Youth Health Program. Dr Pinzon’s academic interest spans from medical complications for children and adolescents with eating disorders, to youth with special health care needs, the transition to the adult oriented health care system and the medical education field.

Dr. Ron Siemens is practicing emergency paediatrics in Saskatoon. He is the father of five and grandfather of one. He is presently training for his eighth marathon, playing cello in the local community orchestra and returning regularly  to teach and work in a rural hospital in Mozambique.

Dr. Thomas Warshawski is a consultant paediatrician at Kelowna General Hospital. He is chair of the BC Forum on Childhood Obesity and the Childhood Obesity Foundation.

Dr. Mitch Zelman is a paediatrician in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.