Canada’s healthcare system is built on principles of universality and access, yet many patients and families experience delays, confusion, barriers and frustration when trying to secure the care they need.

In this timely conversation, Michael Decter and Mike McCarthy draw on decades of experience from inside the system and on the front lines of advocacy to explore what navigating healthcare actually looks like in practice.

Based on their new book, The Canadian Health Care Guerrilla Handbook: How to Fight for What You Need, this discussion will examine why persistence, strategy and informed advocacy often matter as much as policy; what healthcare leaders and institutions can learn from patient experiences; and how Canadians can better understand the system they rely on.

This session will offer practical insights, compelling real-world stories and thoughtful discussion for healthcare leaders, administrators, policymakers and providers.

Book: The Canadian Health Care Guerrilla Handbook: How to Fight for What You Need

A practical survival guide for navigating Canada’s healthcare system, offering real stories, strategies and tools for patients and families facing delays, denials, and barriers to care.

Book Sales Information

Copies of The Canadian Health Care Guerrilla Handbook will be available for purchase onsite before and after the event.

Payment: Cash / Debit / Credit Card accepted.

Artificial intelligence holds enormous promise for improving healthcare outcomes, efficiency, and experience – but realizing that promise at scale remains a challenge. This session explores how health system leaders and innovators are moving AI from concept to practical application in real world healthcare settings. Drawing on system level insight and on the ground experience, the conversation will examine where AI is creating meaningful opportunity, the conditions required to support successful deployment, and the leadership, governance, and organizational enablers needed to sustain impact. Through practical examples and case discussion, the session will offer concrete takeaways for healthcare, policy, and innovation leaders seeking to translate AI innovation into measurable improvements in care delivery.