Experts by Experience
Advocating for Canadians who Live with Pain
People with Lived Experience (PWLE) provide The Canadian Pain Society with valuable insights and the continuous support needed to further our vision.
People with Lived Experience share their impactful stories, offer advice and strategies for managing pain, and help to raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by those living with chronic pain. Additionally, they also participate in our ongoing research projects and bring their unique perspective to our Board, Committees, and Leadership Teams.
Side by side, those with lived experience and The Canadian Pain Society can help to create a better future for those living with chronic pain.
Our Pain Champion, Tara Moss
It is an honour to be named Pain Champion for the Canadian Pain Society. As someone who lives with 24/7 pain, I know too well that pain remains misunderstood in the general public and in the health care system, and this can create significant barriers to pain treatment and quality of life for millions of people living with pain in Canada. Championing discussions around pain and pain management, and de-stigmazing chronic pain and pain medications remains more important than ever.
Just because pain is invisible doesn’t mean that it isn’t there, or doesn’t matter. Pain matters.
Treatment for pain without discrimination is a fundamental human right. The UN estimates that 3/4 of the world’s population has either no access, or severely limited access to pain relief treatments, and even in Canada, many people living with pain come up against significant barriers. Together I believe we can highlight these challenges and work to overcome them and improve the lives of those living with pain.
Best wishes,
Tara
Tara Moss is the author of 14 bestselling books of fiction and non-fiction, and an outspoken advocate for people living with chronic pain and disabilities. She is an Edna Ryan Award winner, UNICEF Ambassador, and Pain Australia Pain Champion. In 2021 she was named a ‘Global Change Maker’ in disability advocacy (Conscious Being magazine, UK), and was a recipient of the Victoria Honorary Citizen Award, the City of Victoria’s highest public honour, for her accessibility advocacy and contribution to the arts, and in 2018 she was named one of the Global Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life, along with Angelina Jolie, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and more. As a disabled woman with CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) after a hip injury in 2016, Tara uses her public profile to help de-stigmatize disability, mobility aids, and chronic pain. She has given talks for hundreds of organizations, schools and festivals, and has brought her advocacy and passion to multiple TV and media appearances across the globe. As a speaker, writer, and commentator, she brings public focus to issues relating to inclusion, disability, and breaking down stigma and stereotypes. taramoss.com
Chair
Virginia McIntyre
Nova Scotia
‣ People with Lived Experience Committee
‣ Commnications Committee
Vice Chair
Jennifer Daly-Cyr
Ontario
‣ People with Lived Experience Committee
‣ Scientific Programs Committee
‣ National Pain Rounds
Keith Meldrum
British Columbia
‣ People with Lived Experience Committee
Tara Moss
British Columbia
‣ People with Lived Experience Committee
‣ Our Pain Champion
Therese Lane
Ontario
‣ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
Sandra Woods
Québec
‣ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
Janice Sumpton
Ontario
‣ People with Lived Experience Committee
‣ Scientific Programs Committee
Lesley Singer
Québec
‣ Scientific Programs Committee
Emeralda Burke
Ontario
‣ Awards and Grants Committee
Carley Ouellette
Ontario
‣ Scientific Programs Committee
Laurie Proulx
Ontario
‣ Awards and Grants Committee
Vina Mohabir
Ontario
‣ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
Patricia Simmons
New Brunswick
‣ Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
Our People with Lived Experience
All Canadain Pain Society committees include people with lived pain experience. Each member brings their expertise from experiences and strives to uphold and maintain the integrity of the organization as dedicated volunteers.
Working with Pain Canada
Home-base for the eight million people in Canada living with chronic pain and creates new opportunities for action by connecting people, ideas, organizations, and resources to enable a national movement.
Health Canada's Report: An Action Plan for Pain in Canada
Pain Canada was created in response to Health Canada’s 2021 report An Action Plan for Pain in Canada. Among many other recommendations, the Action Plan called for national mechanisms to improve coordination, create community capacity, develop and disseminate pain-related guidance and best practices and to enable collaboration among governments, regulators and health professional organizations, people with lived experience, non-governmental organizations, researchers, employers, and other stakeholders with a role to play in the Action Plan’s implementation.
Our Work within the Canadian Pain Society
The purpose of the Canadian Pain Society (CPS) Person with Lived Experience (PWLE) inclusion is to uphold the vision and mission of the CPS by providing a formal mechanism for integrating the lived experience perspective of pain and expertise at all levels within CPS. While they may hold roles outside of CPS committees, the primary role of PWLE within CPS Committees is to bring their expertise and perspective of a person with lived pain experience.