Ken LeDez, President
Ken LeDez MB ChB, FRCPC is an anesthesiologist and specialist in diving and hyperbaric medicine. He is an Associate Professor, and former Chair of the Discipline of Anesthesia at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. He has years of experience providing medical coverage of inshore commercial diving operations and offshore saturation diving related to the oil and gas industry.
Ken LeDez has extensive experience at national level in the specialty of anaesthesiology, including previously being on the Executive Board of the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society, and a member that organization’s research, economics and other committees. He was on the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia for nine years. Dr. LeDez continues on the Standards of Practice Committee of the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society. He is a member of the anesthesia-related committees of the Canadian Standards Association and the International Standards Organization. Dr. LeDez played a key role in the development of provincial diving regulations in Newfoundland and Labrador and the medical requirements in for the Workplace, Health, Safety and Compensation Committee (WHSCC) in the province. His brief guidebook to diving safety is still available for free download as a PDF (Handbook-Diving) on the website of the WHSCC:
http://www.whscc.nf.ca/publications.whscc
Ken LeDez enjoys underwater video and video editing. His diving experience extends from above the Arctic Circle, to both coasts of North America, the Caribbean, South Pacific and Australia. His training in diving and hyperbaric medicine includes a fellowship at the University of Toronto and courses in Europe, North America and Australia. He is a keen sailor and a former pilot.
Dr. LeDez was born in Toronto, finished his schooling in England and graduated medical school at the University of Dundee in Scotland. His anesthesia training includes positions in the U.K., Toronto and Halifax. He has worked in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, since 1991 and established the hyperbaric medicine treatment program. He is Medical Director of the Hyperbaric Medicine Service of Eastern Health and is experienced with multiplace and monoplace hyperbaric treatments. He has published research, case reports and editorials in medical journals on both anesthesia and hyperbaric medicine topics.
Ron Linden, President-elect
Ron Linden MD, CCFP is a diver and an avid sailor who has specialized in diving and hyperbaric medicine for over 20 years. He is the Medical Director and CEO of Ontario Wound Care, a Canadian registered charity and the Medical Director of the Judy Dan Research and Treatment Centre in Toronto, a University Health Network affiliated research satellite. He is a staff physician in the Hyperbaric Unit of the Toronto General Hospital and
North York General Hospital, a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, the medical consultant and lecturer for Seneca College’s Commercial Diving Program and clinical instructor for the Diver Medic Program.
Dr. Linden is currently involved in a major research study on the treatment of diabetic wounds funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, working with faculty from McMaster University and the University of Toronto. Dr. Linden has published numerous articles on diving and hyperbaric medicine.
Dominique Buteau, Officer-without-portfolio
Dominique Buteau MD, CCFP (EM) has graduated from the Medical Faculty of the Sherbrooke University in 1993. He has completed his family medicine training at the Laval University in 1995. He has an Emergency Medicine certificate from the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
In 2001 Dr Buteau completed his diving medicine training at the NOAA facility in Seattle Washington. His hyperbaric medicine training was done at the Nix Medical Center in San Antonio Texas. He his also a Professor at the Faculty of Family Medicine at the Laval University. He is currently the Medical Director for the Quebec Diving Medical Center.
Jocelyn Boisvert, Secretary
Jocelyn Boisvert, CD1 CHT is Certified Hyperbaric Technologist, diving and hyperbaric specialist and the coordinator for the Centre de médecine de plongée du Québec. Mr. Jocelyn Boisvert was a Canadian Navy Clearance Diver for 21 years. He was a supervisor, technician and a diver for the development of the DCIEM diving tables and the Canadian MCM rebreathers. He holds a Hyperbaric Safety Director qualification with the ATMO.
He also acts as a Hyperbaric Safety Director (Locum) for the King Edwards hospital in Bermuda. He is an associate for the UHMS and a hyperbaric sub-comity member for the CSA Z275.1. He joined the CMPQ in 2004 as the Emergency Coordinator.
Sherri Ferguson, Treasurer
Sherri Ferguson is currently the Director of the Environmental Medicine and Physiology Unit at the Simon Fraser University. She is the Vice-President of the Canadian Association for Underwater Science. She is also a Diving Safety Officer at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria. She is an Executive voting member of the CSA Z275 committee on Occupational Diving and Hyperbaric standards and an instructor trainer for both recreational SCUBA and Technical Diving and rebreathers. Sherri is a trained commercial diver and instructor from the Commercial Diving Group at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She was the regional manager for TDI/SDI and worked for both Poseidon and Dräger as their service technician instructor.
David Harrison, Vice-President
David Harrison MD, CCP(EM), FRCPC received his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1983. He complete residencies in Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine in 1986 and Emergency Medicine in 1990 and is board certified in both specialties. Dr Harrison worked as an attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital form 1990 to 2008. He was the Director of the Royal College Emergency Medicine Residency at UBC from 1993 to 1998. He served as a Trauma Director for the Department of Emergency Medicine from 1998 to 2003. Dr Harrison has been involved in the practice of Hyperbaric Medicine since 1998. He assumed the position of Medical Director of the Vancouver General Hospital Hyperbaric Unit in July 2003 during the planning phase of the new hyperbaric chamber at VGH. His current activities are in clinical hyperbaric medicine, practice, teaching and research. Dr Harrison has served as a Diving Medicine consultant for the Canadian Military, WorkSafe BC, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, the BC Ministry of Health, and the BC Coroner’s Office. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia.
Georges Harpur, Past-President (honorary)
