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Profiles

Council of Canadian Academies

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) is a Canadian non-governmental organization based in Ottawa, Ontario.

Its purpose is to perform independent, expert assessments of the scientific evidence that is relevant to important public issues. The CCA's assessment scope includes the natural, social and health sciences, engineering and the humanities.

History

The CCA sponsored the 7th Canadian Science Policy Conference from November 25-27, 2015.[1]

COVID-19

During the declared COVID-19 pandemic, the CCA was "leveraged to build surge capacity for evidence review, synthesis, and dissemination" on behalf of the Government of Canada and provincial/territorial governments.[2]

On January 26, 2023, the CCA published a report titled Fault Lines: Expert Panel on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation, prepared for and funded by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) by the organization's Expert Panel on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation. The report provides an analysis of the landscape of “misinformation” and “disinformation” during the declared COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[3]

Organization

Layout services are provided to the CCA by gordongroup.[3:1]

Funding

The CCA is funded by the Government of Canada.[4]

Personnel

Name Position Notes
Elizabeth Dowdeswell President and Chief Executive Officer (former)[5] Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health, United Nations, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Environment Canada

Expert Panel on Medical Assistance in Dying

Name Role Affiliation(s)
Jennifer Gibson Panel Member[6] University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics
Ross Upshur Panel Member[7] Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute

Expert Panel on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Science and Health Misinformation

Name Role Affiliation(s)
Alex Himelfarb Chair[3:2] Canada Centre for Policy Alternatives
Andreas Boecker Panelist University of Guelph
Marie-Ève Carignan Panelist University of Sherbrooke, UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism
Timothy Caulfield Panelist Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, ScienceUpFirst, University of Alberta
Jean-François Cliche Panelist Le Soleil
Jaigris Hodson Panelist Canada Research Chair in Digital Communication for the Public Interest, Royal Roads University
Ojistoh Horn Panelist Akwesasne Medical Clinic, McGill University
Akwatu Khenti Panelist Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Black Scientists' Task Force on Vaccine Equity
Stephan Lewandowsky Panelist University of Bristol
Noni MacDonald Panelist Dalhousie University
Philip Mai Panelist Social Media Lab, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University
Sachiko Ozawa Panelist UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Joanna Sterling Panelist Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Jennifer Gibson Panelist University of Toronto
François Abraham Translator -
Amanda Bennett Research Associate -
Hui-Han Chen Modeller University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jody Cooper Editor -
Tijs Creutzberg Director of Assessments -
Jenn Snider Cruise Project Coordinator -
Colleen Rose Higgins Modeller (independent contractor) UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Michael Jewer Research Associate -
Suzanne Loney Senior Research Associate -
Anita Melnyk Project Director -
Kundai Sibanda Project Coordinator -
Jean Woo Project Director -
Weronika Zych Senior Project Coordinator -
Peter Backx Oversight York University
Veldon Coburn Peer Review Institute of Indigenous Research and Studies, University of Ottawa
John Cook Peer Review Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University
Ève Dubé Peer Review University of Laval, National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)
Josh Greenberg Peer Review Carleton University
Devon Greyson Peer Review University of British Columbia
Jim Hoggan Peer Review Hoggan & Associates
Peter Hotez Peer Review National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
Ellen Rafferty Peer Review Institute of Health Economics
David Rothschild Peer Review Microsoft Research
Jon Roozenbeek Peer Review University of Cambridge
Emily Vraga Peer Review Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota

Publications


  1. Canadian Science Policy Conference 2015: Directory. (2015). Sched. http://archive.vn/2022.05.05-014451/https://canadiansciencepolicyconfer2015.sched.com/directory/sponsors ↩︎

  2. Bhatia, D., Allin, S., & Di Ruggiero, E. (2023). Mobilization of science advice by the Canadian federal government to support the COVID-19 pandemic response. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01501-8 ↩︎

  3. Fault Lines. (2023, January 26). CCA Reports. https://web.archive.org/web/20230128035132/https://www.cca-reports.ca/reports/the-socioeconomic-impacts-of-health-and-science-misinformation/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. Evaluation of the Council of Canadian Academies - Audits and evaluations. (2018, August 23). Government of Canada. http://archive.vn/2022.05.05-161749/https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ae-ve.nsf/eng/h_03873.html ↩︎

  5. Elizabeth Dowdeswell. Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. Retrieved January 29, 2025, from https://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/member/elizabeth-dowdeswell ↩︎

  6. Jennifer L. Gibson. Council of Canadian Academies. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from http://archive.vn/2022.05.05-160518/https://cca-reports.ca/experts/jennifer-l-gibson/ ↩︎

  7. Ross Upshur. CCA Reports. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from http://archive.vn/2023.03.14-025025/https://cca-reports.ca/experts/ross-upshur/ ↩︎