Charles Auld is an expert in public - private sector relations in the British health system. For 13 years he was CEO of UK based General Healthcare Group, which controlled 46 acute hospitals and was one of Europe's largest hospital groups. He was a Labour government appointed member of the British National Health Service Modernization Board. He was founder and co-chair of the health care panel of the Confederation of British Industry. He was previously chairman of Independent Healthcare Association.

Mary Anne Bobinski is Dean and Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia. She was previously the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of Law and Director of the Health Law and Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Centre and was Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Dean Bobinski's research and teaching interests include Torts, health law, health care finance and bioethics. She is a co-author of two leading law school casebooks, Health Care Law & Ethics and AIDS Policy and Law; the co-author/co-editor of a two volume set on medical ethics; and has authored a number of law review articles and book chapters on health law topics.

Dr. Jacques Chaoulli is a Quebec physician and successful appellant in the Supreme Court of Canada challenge. He is a Senior Fellow at the Montreal Economic Institute. Jacques Chaoulli was born in France and obtained his medical doctorate from Université de Paris VII. He received a master's degree in education from Laval University in 1982. He has practiced medicine in Quebec since 1986. As a first-hand observer of the difficulties of access to health services, he began, in 1996, to make a particular examination of these problems, notably by analyzing the health systems of countries comparable to Canada. Since 1997, he has studied the legal frameworks governing health-care systems in Quebec and Canada.

Bruce Davidson is a lawyer and Director of Southern Cross of New Zealand. Southern Cross is a non-profit mutual cooperative and the largest provider of complementary private insurance in New Zealand. He has intimate knowledge of the development of New Zealand's health care system and has a long association with a number of health care organizations. He is a director of a number of companies, and trustee of a number of charitable Trusts. He was previously President of the Auckland District Law Society and Vice President of the New Zealand Law Society.

Dr. Brian Day was born in Liverpool. He graduated in Medicine from Manchester University. He holds a M.Sc. degree from UBC, where he took his orthopaedic training, and he received the Samson Award, for outstanding orthopaedic research in Canada. He is Associate Professor in orthopaedics and is past Chair of the Royal College Orthopaedic Test Committee. He is Past President of the Arthroscopy Association of North America, one of the world's leading academic medical societies. He has been a visiting professor at many universities around the world. He was the 80th Osler lecturer of the Vancouver Medical Association. He is the President and CEO of Cambie Surgeries Corporation, a private company that developed the first private health care facility of its type in Canada.

Hon. Madam Justice Janice R. Dillon is a judge of the BC Supreme Court and a former lawyer specializing in health law. She is author and co-author of several books, including "What's Law Got to Do with It? - Health Care Reform in Canada". She is a member of the Attorney General's Rules Revision Committee. Madam Justice Dillon's experience extends into law reform, health law and criminal and civil litigation. She is also co-author of the standard reference text "British Columbia Annual Practice".

Robin Elliot Q.C. is Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Administration and Finance at UBC. He holds an LL.M. degree (London). He has written extensively in the area of Constitutional Law, including works on both the Charter and Canadian federalism. He has served as the Executive Legal Officer of the Supreme Court of Canada. He has adjudicated cases under provincial and federal human rights legislation and has been involved in the litigation of several important Charter and other constitutional cases. He previously served as Associate Dean, Student Affairs. He published a Canadian Bar Review "References, Structural Argumentation & the Organizing Principles of Canada's Constitution" and teaches on Canadian Federalism and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Nadeem Esmail, M.A. is Senior Health Policy Analyst and Manager of Health Data Systems at The Fraser Institute. He has researched extensively on Canadian and international health systems and published and presented widely on health economics and health care policy. He completed his B.A. (Honours) in Economics at the University of Calgary, and his Masters in Economics at the UBC. He has written on a number of health care topics, including How Good is Canadian Health Care?, and the annual study Waiting Your Turn: Hospital Waiting Lists in Canada, co-authored with Michael Walker. His articles have been published in newspapers across Canada.

Gordon Gibson is a Senior Fellow at The Fraser Institute. He received his BA(Honours) in Mathematics & Physics and an MBA from Harvard Business School followed by research work at the London School of Economics. His current areas of study include federalism, governance, and aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations. In 2002, He was commissioned by the BC Government to design the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform. His columns appear frequently in the national press. He has served as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister.He was elected twice to the B.C. Legislature and served as both MLA and Leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party. He is currently on the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee of the Westshore Terminals Income Fund.

Dr. Mark Godley is a consultant anaesthesiologist and the Medical Director of the False Creek Surgical Centre in Vancouver and the Maple Surgical Centre in Winnipeg. He was born in South African, took his early medical training there and later moved to Saskatchewan where he practiced as a family doctor in a small community for two years. He attended both the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia, graduating in 1995 as an Anesthesiologist. After graduating, he found that securing a permanent hospital position was difficult due to reduced operating times in the hospitals. He worked as a consultant Anaesthesiologist at the Peace Arch Hospital until making plans in 1997 to open an ambulatory surgical centre.

Ida J. Goodreau is President and Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health. She was previously Senior Vice President, Global Optimization & Human Resources, of Norske Skog Industrier in Oslo, Norway and previously President of Fletcher Canada's pulp operations in Vancouver and Managing Director, Tasman Pulp and Paper, in Auckland New Zealand; Senior Vice President, Human Resources with Fletcher Canada in Vancouver and Vice President Human Resources, Union Gas Limited in Ontario. Ms. Goodreau holds a Masters of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Windsor as well as a Bachelor of Arts in English and Economics.

Johan Hjertqvist is the founder and president of the Health Consumer Powerhouse in Brussels and Stockholm. He is a former director of Timbro Health Policy Unit in Sweden. Mr Hjertqvist has a background in health care policy and led a four-year-project analysing the transformation of health care in the Stockholm region. He is an internationally renowned expert on health care reform.

Christopher E. Hinkson Q.C. is a partner in Harper Grey LLP, Vancouver, and maintains an extensive law practice in the areas of medical malpractice, litigation, and administrative law. He represented the families in the Auton case before the Supreme Court of Canada. Chris Hinkson, QC maintains an extensive practice in the area of medical malpractice, plus personal injury litigation, professional negligence, insurance litigation, products liability, and administrative law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has served as a Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, UBC and as a lecturer for CLE, Continuing Medical Education, and Inns of Court

Peter Hogg C.C., Q.C., Ph.D., F.R.S.C. is a Canadian lawyer, author and legal scholar. He is best known as a leading authority on Canadian constitutional law. He earned his LL.B. from the University of New Zealand in 1962, his LL.M. from Harvard University in 1963, and his Ph.D. from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 1970. In 1970, he is a former Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School and was appointed Dean in 1998. Hogg has written several books, including Constitutional Law of Canada, the single most-cited book in decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada. Recently, he was lead counsel for the Canadian Government in the Supreme Court's Same-sex Marriage reference. In 2003 he accepted a position as scholar in residence at the law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP.

Senator Michael Kirby is Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. He has a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws at Dalhousie University. Senator Kirby was Assistant Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister (1974 to 1976) and President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy. He has served as Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations and Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council. He was deeply involved in the patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the inclusion of the Charter of Rights in the Constitution. He has been Senior Corporate Vice-President of Canadian National and Vice-President of Goldfarb Consultants, an international market research firm headquartered in Toronto and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of several companies. Prior to first entering government in 1970, Senator Kirby held faculty positions at Dalhousie University, the University of Chicago and the University of Kent (England).

Preston Manning is a graduate in economics from the University of Alberta. He served as a Member of the Canadian Parliament from 1993 to 2001 and founded the Reform Party of Canada. He is former leader of the official Opposition. He is a Senior Fellow of two major Canadian research bodies and is President of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. He is a Distinguished Visitor and lecturer at the University of Toronto. He has published numerous articles and books, most recently, "Think Big, My Adventures in Life and Democracy".

Gary McLeod is President of Advocis and a former chair of the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU). He is currently involved in several national health care public policy initiatives. He is Executive Vice-President responsible for the Group Benefits Division of PPI Financial Group. Gary has been involved in the design, implementation, and management of employee benefit programs for over 30 years.

Dr. Ian McPherson is CEO of Southern Cross Healthcare in New Zealand (NZ). He spent time in general practice, later becoming the first non-Swiss to be appointed as a Medical Coordinator for the International Red Cross. He served in war zones during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan and worked with refugees on the Thai/Cambodian border and boat people in Malaysia. He has been CEO of several hospital boards and worked in the Prime Minister's Department and the Ministry of Health, advising on NZ health reform. He became Executive Chairman of Aetna International (NZ), and worked extensively in Asia. Prior to joining Southern Cross he was a regional general manager for Allianz Asia Pacific Ltd, overseeing health insurance operations in Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Zoltan Nagy is Executive Vice President and Cofounder of CIMCA. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a diploma in marketing management. He is the Director of Marketing at International PET Diagnostics Inc., a medical imaging company that provides positron emission tomography (PET) scans and builds radiopharmaceutical production facilities. He has served as a director on the boards of numerous health service organizations.

William L. Orovan, MD is Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, McMaster University. He graduated at McMaster and has been a member of the Faculty since 1981, where he has also served as Interim Dean and Vice President for the Faculty of Health Sciences. Dr. Orovan has an MBA from Queen's University. He has also served as Chief of the Department of Surgery and as Chief of the Medical Staff at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. He is a former President of the Ontario Medical Association and Board member of the Canadian Medical Association. He has a longstanding interest in public policy issues pertaining to health care. He has spoken widely on issues of health care delivery.

Jane Petruniak is a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt's Western Canada Group and Health Care Practice. She has been involved in the development of group products and in reinsurance markets across North America. She also designs and redesigns full benefit plans for large companies from diverse sectors, including retail, food and consumer packaging, financial and pharmaceutical. Jane is a University of Toronto graduate, and has earned both FLMI and CLU designations. She is an instructor in the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist curriculum, a faculty member for WorldAtWork, a published author and a frequent speaker on the subject of matching benefit plan design with organizational goals and objectives.

Sally C. Pipes is president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. She is a Past-President of the Canadian Association for Business Economics. She is a prolific writer and speaker, and gives invited testimony at the national and state levels on key health-care issues facing America. She has addressed many national and international audiences on such issues. As a Canadian residing in the United States she has a unique insight into the health systems of both countries.

Tom Sackville is Chief Executive of the International Federation of Health Plans, the leading global network of the health insurance industry. He served for 14 years as Conservative MP in Britain. He was Government Whip, and a Health Minister and Home Office Minister. He is a trustee of several UK medical charities. Tom graduated in Modern History and Spanish Literature from Oxford University and began his working life in financial services in New York before entering British politics. He founded the All Party Committee on Drug Misuse. He acts as advisor to various business interests.

John Saunders graduated in law at the University of Western Ontario and is a Vancouver based lawyer with Davis and Co LLP. Although he now specializes in taxation law, he is also very knowledgeable in matters relating to the issues raised at the Supreme Court of Canada in the Chaoulli-Zeliotis case. This knowledge includes U.S. and European experience in health care delivery issues. He is a former member of a hospital medical ethics committee and has served on the Board of Governors of the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Marvin R.V. Storrow QC was born in Vancouver and graduated in law from UBC. He has practised law in British Columbia since 1963 and is a senior litigation counsel engaged in both civil and criminal law. His practice has involved appearances at all levels of the provincial and federal court systems, including numerous appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Storrow was lead counsel on a number of notable and leading Canadian commercial cases. Mr. Storrow is recognized in the LEXPERT Directory as one of the leading lawyers in Canada. He is a frequent lecturer at many conferences and universities. He is a Life Bencher of The Law Society of British Columbia. Mr. Storrow was counsel for several Intervenors in the Chaoulli case before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Dr. Les Vertesi is the B.C. representative on the Health Council of Canada and is a Health Research Consultant at Simon Fraser University. He graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto and has specialty certification in Emergency Medicine. He holds a Master's Degree in Health Sciences and Clinical Epidemiology from U.B.C. Dr. Vertesi served as Head of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster and later as Medical Administrator. He founded the Advanced Life Support paramedic ambulance program in BC. He often speaks on health policy issues and has authored a book on Canada's health system.

Linda West RN, PhD, MBA, is a healthcare and business consultant, and teaches business/government relations and health leadership in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba. She was Executive Director for Health Labour Relations and Director of Specialty Care Reform at Manitoba Health and prior to that was Executive Director of the Winnipeg River Health District. She appears frequently as a commentator and author on healthcare policy in the local and national media.

John Williamson is the Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. He has extensive experience in financial issues and has written extensively on public policy issues, including health financing and taxation issues. Prior to joining the CTF he worked as a journalist and with various political organizations in the areas of policy development and communications. After working in Hong Kong for two years, he returned to Toronto in 1998 to join the National Post as an editorial writer and a member of the paper's Editorial Board. His writing focused primarily on public policy issues, dealing with taxation, social policy, government spending, and parliamentary reform.

Judy Wilson is a partner with Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP and has extensive experience in health law. She has taught at Carlton University's Department of Law. She has advised international, provincial and local governments in relation to the involvement of the private sector in government infrastructure projects. She was previously Solicitor for the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton.