Health Equity Community of Practice for Ontario Family Physicians
About this Community of Practice
The Health Equity Community of Practice (CoP) is offered four to six times per year to enhance the ability of family physicians to provide high-quality care to patients facing marginalization and adverse social determinants of health, such as refugee newcomers, people living in poverty and people experiencing homelessness.
Content focuses on practical strategies that primary care providers can implement to advance trauma-informed, quality care responsive to patient needs. Sessions are designed to be highly interactive and create a space to learn from others providing care to marginalized populations.
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Dr. Doug Gruner completed both his undergraduate studies and medical school at McMaster University in Hamilton and selected McGill University for his residency program. Additionally, in 2008, he became a fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. With more than 25 years of clinical work to his credit, Dr. Gruner began his career as an emergency room physician and lent his services to several communities in Northern Ontario, prior to permanently setting roots in the Ottawa area. In Eastern Ontario, he has continued to work in emergency medicine and has split his time with family medicine and teaching at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Gruner has published nearly a dozen research papers, contributed to a number of textbooks, made regular conference presentations and been the recipient of tens of thousands of dollars in grants while dedicating significant time to important international health work. Over the course of his career, Dr. Gruner has given back to his community through leadership and advocacy efforts, largely dedicated to ensuring the health of newcomers and refugees, including his three-year term as Director of Global Health at the University of Ottawa. Today, Dr. Gruner continues in his academic post as an Associate Professor in the University of Ottawa’s Department of Family Medicine while seeing patients at his practice at Bruyère Family Medicine Centre in Ottawa.
Showing biography of Dr. Vanessa Redditt .
Dr. Vanessa Redditt is a family physician at the Crossroads Refugee Clinic, a specialized primary care clinic for refugees at Women’s College Hospital, and a lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Department of Community and Family Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She is passionate about advancing health equity and tackling social determinants of health. Vanessa’s clinical care, research, teaching and advocacy focus on enhancing the health of marginalized communities, particularly refugee newcomers and migrants. She has also contributed to education, policy, and programmatic work on primary care systems strengthening — from local community health worker programs to health worker training in Rwanda with the Ministry of Health and Partners in Health. Dr. Redditt completed her undergraduate education at McGill University, her medical studies at Harvard Medical School and her family medicine residency and Global Health and Vulnerable Populations fellowship training at the University of Toronto.
Showing biography of Dr. Ritika Goel .
Dr. Ritika Goel is a family physician and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at University of Toronto based at the St. Michael’s Hospital Family Health Team. Dr. Goel’s clinical work focuses on serving various marginalized communities, including unhoused people, people who use drugs, refugees and uninsured migrants, as well as trans and non-binary folks. She has worked in a variety of settings including community health centres, shelters and drop-in centres. Dr. Goel has been engaged in health-related activism, speaking and writing on issues at the intersection of health and social justice throughout her career. She has served as the Social Justice, Anti-Oppression and Advocacy Theme Lead for the MD program and PGME at University of Toronto, and the Chair of the Social Accountability Working Group at the College of Family Physicians of Canada. She currently serves at the Health Equity Lead for St. Michael’s Hospital Family Health Team. Dr. Goel is passionate about bringing lenses of anti-oppression and social justice into medicine, including medical education, clinical care and systemic change.
Showing biography of Dr. Sarah Funnell .
Dr. Sarah Funnell, MD, MSc, CCFP, FRCPC, is a recognized leader in Indigenous health education, research, and clinical care. Her background is mixed Algonquin and Tuscarora ancestry, and she grew up among the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation and is a current band member of Kitigan Zibi First Nation. Her Algonquin name, Minwanimad, meaning “Pleasant Breeze,” reflects the Indigenous values she lives by—truth, honesty, care, and compassion. These principles guide her commitment to advancing culturally safe healthcare and health equity for Indigenous peoples.
She is Associate Dean and Research Chair for Indigenous Health at Queen’s University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Funnell also practices as an academic family physician with the Queen’s Family Health Team. Previously, she was the founding director of the Centre for Indigenous Health Research and Education at the University of Ottawa, where she helped integrate Indigenous knowledge into medical education and research.
Dr. Funnell earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Ottawa’s Aboriginal Medical Program, completed family medicine residency, and specialized in public health and preventive medicine. Her MSc in Epidemiology strengthens her research focus on Indigenous health inequities, data governance, and community-driven approaches to care.
Her leadership extends nationally, where she holds roles in the College of Family Physicians of Canada—including an upcoming term as President—and contributes to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the Medical Council of Canada. She also serves as senior editor for the *Canadian Journal of Public Health*, advocating for Indigenous perspectives in health scholarship.
Dr. Funnell’s work has been recognized with awards such as the D2L Innovation Award for Teaching, the Mentorship Award from the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and the Glenn Sawyer Award from the Ontario Medical Association. Her research projects include culturally informed health programming and initiatives addressing food sovereignty and climate-related health challenges in Indigenous communities.
As an educator, Dr. Funnell is passionate about fostering anti-racist, culturally safe medical training, engaging learners to promote systemic change and Indigenous self-determination.
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Our Partners
The Ontario College of Family Physicians has partnered with the Department of Family and Community Medicine to deliver this community of practice.
This Community of Practice has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for Mainpro+Ⓡcredits.
Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to experience significant health inequities shaped by historical and ongoing systems of colonization and discrimination.
