This talk has been postponed until 2026-2027. 

Dr. Sanjay Ruparelia is a Professor of Politics and the inaugural Jarislowsky Democracy Chair at Toronto Metropolitan University. Sanjay serves as co-chair of Participedia, an international network that studies democratic innovations, and co-hosts On the Frontlines of Democracy, a monthly podcast and lecture series with TMU School of Journalism and the Toronto Public Library, respectively.

Abstract: The challenges of the Canadian healthcare system are multifactorial: this talk will focus on physician components of the complexities, including physician numbers, payment systems and structures, and practice features.

Dr. Lisa Tannock is Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Director of the School of Medicine at Queen’s University, and CEO of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO). She completed her MD and internal medicine training at the University of Toronto, and subspecialty training in endocrinology, metabolism, and nutrition at the University of Washington. Dr. Tannock’s career started as a clinician-scientist where she conducted basic biomedical research on diabetes, lipid metabolism, and cardiovascular disease, and she also maintained a clinical practice in Endocrinology.  She previously held senior academic and leadership roles at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center before joining Queen’s in July 2025.

DEBORAH MATTHEWS was elected to the Ontario Legislature representing London North Centre in 2003, and served as a Member of Provincial Parliament until 2018. She held a range of ministerial portfolios, including Deputy Premier, Children and Youth Services, Poverty Reduction, Health and Long-Term Care, President of the Treasury Board and Advanced Education and Skills Development. Her proudest accomplishments from her political life include being a driving force behind the Ontario Child Benefit, which helped reduce the number of children living in poverty by 50%, and the transformation of OSAP, the Ontario Student Assistance Plan. As a result of those changes, hundreds of thousands of people were able to afford a post-secondary education. Deb earned a PhD (2005) from Western University in Social Demography, with an interest in the impact of immigration on Canada. She currently serves on the UHN Foundation Senate, is a senior fellow at both the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and at York University’s Glendon College and works as a consultant in the health sector.

ABSTRACT: How might the Carney government’s major resource projects agenda—particularly the creation of the Major Projects Office to fast-track approvals on Indigenous lands—affect Indigenous laws and the state’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples? This talk explores this question drawing on contemporary examples of Indigenous resistance rooted in Indigenous laws (stories, ceremonies, art, and land-based practices). 

LINDSAY BORROWS is an Assistant Professor and holds the Queen’s Law Professorship in Indigenous Law and Governance. Prior to joining Queen’s in 2022, she worked as a lawyer and researcher at the Indigenous Law Research Unit (University of Victoria Faculty of Law), and as a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. In both positions she provided legal support to Indigenous communities and organizations engaged in the revitalization of their own laws for application in contemporary contexts. She has worked on community-engaged projects with different legal traditions including Anishinaabe, Denezhu, Haíɫzaqv, Nlaka’pamux, nuučaan̓uł, St’át’imc, Syilx and Tsilhqot’in. She is particularly passionate about the possibilities within land-based legal education, and since 2014 she has co-facilitated various ‘on-the-land’, community-engaged Anishinaabe Law Camps in partnership with different law schools and communities across Ontario. Her book Otter’s Journey Through Indigenous Language and Law (UBC Press, 2018) explores the connections between language and law. Lindsay is otter clan and a member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation. 

The School of Policy Studies is excited to welcome our incoming MPA graduate students for our 2025 Orientation.

Our events on Friday, September 5 are open to all. Everyone is welcome to attend. 

Agenda: 

The Master's of Public Administration (MPA) at Queen's University is a one-year, multi-disciplinary program for full-time students. 

Prospective students are invited to join MPA faculty, students, and staff for the MPA Online Information Session on Monday, February 9 at 4:00 pm EST on Zoom.

Our program focuses on public policy and the social, economic, and political environments in which public organizations operate. It prepares future policy leaders by building strong skills in policy analysis and practical implementation. Recognizing that policy and management are inseparable, the program equips graduates to turn sound ideas into effective action and meaningful goals into real-world results. Our students benefit from close interaction with instructors and classmates from diverse academic, professional, and personal backgrounds. The program offers a strong learning community and a broad network of policy expertise, helping experienced professionals gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence to advance their careers.

Applications for the MPA Program are now being accepted for September 2026.

MPA Program Admissions process.

ABSTRACT: Canada’s vaunted social program, “Healthcare”, underperforms, is structurally misaligned to purpose, is expensive and requires a new foundation. Current geopolitical and economic realities will challenge our ability to adapt.

DAVID WALKER is Professor Emeritus, Emergency Medicine, and former Dean of Health Sciences at Queen's University. He is cross-appointed to the School of Policy Studies, where he is a Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy. He is also a member of the consultant staff at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC). Born in England, Dr. Walker attended Harrow School then immigrated to Canada. He graduated with an MD from Queen’s and was certified in internal medicine. He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1975. A career in academic emergency medicine at Queen’s and KHSC led to roles as department head, associate and vice-dean. From 1999 to 2010, he was Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, director of the university’s School of Medicine and CEO of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization (SEAMO). Dr. Walker has been President of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario and Chair of the Council of Ontario Faculties of Medicine. He has served government (by Order in Council) as Chair of the Expert Panel on SARS and Infectious Disease Control. He served as inaugural Board Chair of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario), and as an advisor to ministers of health on policy areas concerning public health and ageing, and more recently to the Auditor General of Ontario and Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission. At Queen’s, Dr. Walker chaired the Principal’s Commission on Mental Health as well as the coordination and planning for the university’s 175th anniversary, served for three years as interim executive director of the School of Policy Studies and, most recently, was Special Advisor to Principal Patrick Deane on COVID-19. He chairs the Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team’s Transitional Leadership Collaborative and teaches in the schools of medicine and policy studies at Queen’s.