Drug shortages are an ongoing and growing challenge in Canada—affecting not just supply chains, but the daily lives of people who rely on medications to stay well.

Join the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) for a one-hour discussion on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 exploring findings from our recent report, Broken Chains: Drug Supply Disruptions Impact Patient Lives. This webinar will bring together patient leaders, researchers, and system interest holders to explore what drug shortages mean in practice—and what needs to change to better support patients. The full report is available on the CAPA website at the following address: https://arthritispatient.ca/en/broken-chains-drug-supply-disruptions-impact-patient-lives/

This webinar will cover various topics, including:

• How drug shortages are experienced by people with arthritis across Canada
• The real-world impacts on treatment, health outcomes, and daily life
• System-level drivers of shortages and gaps in communication
• Opportunities for improving coordination, transparency, and patient support

This conversation will feature:

• Laurie Proulx, Managing Director, CAPA
• Linda Wilhelm, President, CAPA
• Dr. Mina Tadrous, Pharmacist and Researcher, University of Toronto
• Stephanie Di Trapani, Health Canada

Whether you are a patient, healthcare provider, or policymaker, this webinar offers important insights into one of the most pressing—and often invisible—issues in Canada’s healthcare system.

We encourage you to register and participate in this informative and engaging session. The webinar will be recorded and shared on our website and YouTube channel for those unable to attend live. Live captions in both English and French will be available.

PANELIST BIOGRAPHIES

Laurie Proulx has lived with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 25 years, and it is her experiences that led her to the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) where she advocates for increased arthritis awareness and the adoption of more inclusive, patient-centered policies and practices. She is currently an ex-officio member of CAPA and has been actively involved in the organization for over 10 years. In this role, she represents the patient voice on various health policy issues, leads projects to support people with arthritis, navigate pregnancy and parenting, and supports their participation in the workplace. She also works extensively as a patient partner in research. Laurie lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.

Linda Wilhelm is the President of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, a virtual, grass-roots, patient-driven, independent, national organization with members across Canada. She frequently participates in Health Canada expert advisory panels and conferences concerning access and drug safety issues. She is a former member of the Expert Advisory Committee for Vigilance of Health Products, the CIHR’s Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network’s steering committee and The Canadian Pain Taskforce. Linda has been an active advocate for treatment access and quality of care for all patients both regionally and nationally for over twenty years, is a past board chair for the New Brunswick Division of the Arthritis Society, as well as a past Board Member of The Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation. Linda has been living with Rheumatoid Arthritis for over thirty-five years. She and husband Kerry have been married for over thirty years, have three grown children, six grandchildren, and live in Bloomfield, Kings County, New Brunswick.

Dr. Mina Tadrous is an Assistant Professor in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Real-World Evidence and Pharmaceutical Policy. He is also a Scientist at Women’s College Hospital, a WIHV Fellow, Co-Director of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, and an Adjunct Scientist at ICES. Mina completed a PhD in pharmacoepidemiology at the University of Toronto, a Master’s degree in Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Tennessee, and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy. His research evaluates drug policies and medication safety, using large health data sets to study real-world effectiveness and improve medication use for patients, providers, and health systems.

A graduate of Dalhousie University, Stephanie Di Trapani joined Health Canada in 2005. In 2020, she became Director of the Drug Shortages Division within the Health Product Compliance Directorate of the Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch (ROEB). In April 2024, the Drug Shortages Division transitioned into the newly created Health Products Shortages Directorate, where Stephanie now serves as Director of the Operations Division, overseeing both drug and medical device shortages.
Previously, Stephanie led compliance and enforcement activities related to human and veterinary drugs and natural health products within ROEB. She has also held several positions within Health Canada’s Health Products and Food Branch.