MNO and ICES sign Memorandum of Understanding during Health Summit
The MNO and ICES sign a Memorandum of
Understanding on February 23, 2015 during the
MNO Health Summit. (Left to right:
Dr. Michael Schull, President and CEO of the
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES),
MNO President Gary Lipinski and
MNO Chair France Picotte.

On February 23, 2015, the first day of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Health Summit in Toronto, the MNO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). Much of the Métis health research that was launched at the Health Summit was a product of the partnership between the MNO Chronic Disease Surveillance Program and ICES. This research used the MNO Citizenship Registry that includes the records of over 18,000 MNO citizens in Ontario.

ICES is an independent, non-profit corporation whose core business is to conduct research that contributes to the effectiveness, quality and equity of heath care in Ontario. Considering the centrality of this relationship to the research discussed at the Health Summit, it was fitting that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the two partners during the event.

President Lipinski, MNO Chair France Picotte and Dr. Michael Schull, President and CEO of ICES all signed the MOU. During the signing ceremony, President Lipinski explained: “The ultimate goal [of our partnership] is prevention and positive health outcomes, so being able to continue working together with that data and that knowledge base in the future [will be very beneficial]. Dr. Schull also emphasized the importance of cooperation stating: “This is not just about data exchange. That is just a first step towards an exchange of much deeper knowledge, and that’s knowledge on many levels. It’s scientific knowledge, it’s cultural knowledge, it’s historic knowledge, it’s about social knowledge. It’s all of that. Today makes for this kind of remarkable, and I think in many ways ground-breaking, partnership for our organization, and I would say it is a model for us to look at as we engage with other partners and stakeholders in many [areas] of our society.”

The MNO Health Summit will conclude the afternoon of Tuesday, February 24, 2015.