Last week, the Alberta lieutenant governor approved several orders in council recommended by Tyler Shandro, minister of health.
In them, Shandro put forward the names of several persons to sit on various boards and councils related to the management of health services in Alberta.
For example, he proposed that John Liu and John Pantazopoulos sit as public members on the council of the Alberta College of Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technologists.
Liu is a Calgary-based accountant and the chief financial officer with Westmount Charter School. Liu and Shandro served together on the Calgary Police Commission.
Pantazopoulos is a senior finance professional, who’s held executive roles with several institutions, including as CFO and vice-president finance at Petro-Reef Resources, CFO and senior vice-president finance and Tangle Creek Energy, and vice-president corporate financial services at ATB Financial. In 2015, Pantazopoulos donated $1,342.50 to the Wildrose Party. He also worked on a royalty review steering committee that consulted with the provincial government in 2015.
He also recommended that Aquaeno Ekanem be appointed a public member of the council of the Alberta College of Pharmacy. Ekanem is a family doctor in Edmonton and also operates an occupational medical practice, through which he consults for lawyers and insurance companies. In 2018, he donated $262.50 to the UCP Edmonton–Whitehead constituency association. He also donated $1,024 to Kaycee Madu’s 2019 election campaign; Madu is a UCP MLA and was made the minister of justice last summer.
Shandro recommended Nuvyn Peters, vice-president of development and alumni engagement at the University of Calgary, to be a public council member of the Alberta Dental Association and College.
Tamara Jones, a marriage commissioner in Calgary, was his recommendation for public member to the council of the College of Acupuncturists of Alberta.
Finally, he recommended Michele Stanners, a cultural strategist in Calgary, as a public member to the council of the College of Alberta Psychologists. Stanners donated $287.50 to the NDP in 2018.
As members of these councils, all the individuals above are eligible for the following remuneration for council business:
- $105 for each period up to and including 4 hours
- $175 for each period 4–8 hours
- $280 for each period over 8 hours
They’re also entitled to paid travelling and living expenses.
All these appointments expire in 2024.
According to section 13 of the Health Professions Act, public members cannot be a regulated member of the college they’re sitting on the council of. They also can’t be involved in collective bargaining related to regulated members or who sets professional fees for regulated members. Each council, according to the act, must have at least 25% of its members be public members.
