Speaker profiles

Raymond Gros-Louis

Born in 1945, Raymond Gros-Louis is a Huron-Wendat resident of Wendake. After being a mechanic for several years, in 1992, he decided to take a leap and live from his culture. Today he is recognized as Eider by different Nations across Canada as well as Wise man in his community. His knowledge and expertise are sought for First Nations cultural awareness sessions with various organizations, whether business, school or government. ln addition, it is important to highlight his significant contribution in the past to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

After 33 years of dedicated service to helping our Aboriginal brothers and sisters on their journey of healing in federal correctional institutions, on November 15, 2010, he received a certificate of recognition from a prestigious organization. A certificate thanking him for his implementation of the principles of restorative justice in the service of justice and peace.

On July 27, 2022, he received an invitation to the Citadelle of Quebec by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon Governor General of Canada, to welcome on the Nionwentïo territory His Holiness Pope Francis.

On February 21, 2025, he was a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal awarded, at Wendake, by Manon Jeannotte Governor General of Quebec.

Linda Silas, RN, BScN

President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

A 5-foot feminist dynamo with a soft heart and strong stomach who is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives.

Linda Silas has been the President of the 250,000-strong Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) since 2003. As the dynamic and charismatic leader of Canada’s largest nurses’ organization, Linda is recognized as the foremost advocate on behalf of nurses in Canada.

Starting her tenure as a full-time labour activist as the single mom of a 13-month-old son has shaped Linda in a very distinctive way.

Linda has earned a reputation for being a caring listener who is focused and solution-oriented in everything she does. A proud New Brunswicker, Linda credits her home province for both her impressive work ethic and her well-known zest for life and adventure.

Linda has fine-tuned her skills as a union leader at the local, provincial, national and international levels over the course of two decades. She is a passionate speaker whose straight-talking in both official languages inspires nurses and earns the respect of policy-makers and stakeholders. Linda’s favourite public speaking engagements are always for students, as she believes that mentoring the next generation of activists is an important responsibility we all share.

Linda champions greater understanding and action on social justice, the social determinants of health and key policies that will enhance socio-economic equity, such as retirement security for all workers, a national pharmacare program, universal child care and greater access to public services for Indigenous communities.

Linda was previously the President of the New Brunswick Nurses Union for 10 years. Linda is a graduate of l’Université de Moncton, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and has practiced in the ICU, emergency, and labour and delivery.

Linda believes health care, like education and decent work, is a human right. She embodies the CFNU motto “Where knowledge meets know-how.”

Isabelle Renaud

Executive Vice-President of the Savings Market for the Fonds de solidarité FTQ

Isabelle Renaud has had an inspiring career. With a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Université du Québec à Montréal, she got involved with the labour movement in 2003.

She is a founding member of the Syndicat des étudiant-e-s employé-e-s de l’UQAM and participated in the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s (affiliated with the FTQ) push to organize the university sector. For several years, Isabelle provided personal finance and savings training.

She served as Vice-President, Laval for the FTQ Montreal-Metro Area Council from 2004 to 2014 and sat on the board for the Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine for the FTQ.

Isabelle was a PSAC union advisor from 2005 to 2023, during which time she also served as Vice-President of the Caisse Desjardins des travailleuses et des travailleurs unis for 13 years, as well as President of the Group Caisses Division of Desjardins.

In spring 2023, Isabelle joined the FTQ Solidarity Fund team as Head of Retirement Savings Development and Training Centre and of the Economic Training Centre.

On May 22, 2024, she became the Executive Vice-President, Savings Market. She has also served on the board for Centre St-Pierre since 2021. She joined the cause for Auberges du cœur, and has been involved in the campaign office since 2025-2027.

Catherine Éthier

Columnist, author and writer with a festive spirit, Catherine Éthier is a weekly contributor on the Tout un matin and De l’huile sur le feu sur ICI Première broadcasts. In addition, she hosts the 7th season of the documentary series Kébec and she also contributes in the summer to the Bonsoir Bonsoir broadcast on ICI Télé. She is the proud sponsor of the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale. She published her first novel, Une femme extraordinaire, in 2022.

Caroline Quach Thanh

Pediatrician, microbiologist-infectious disease specialist and full professor in the Departments of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology and Pediatrics at the Université de Montréal. She is the director of the POPCORN network and one of the co-directors of the health crisis prevention network, Précrisa. She is also president of the Quebec Immunization Committee, which reports to the INSPQ. Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh actively works to transfer cutting-edge knowledge to public authorities to support decision-making on infection prevention and management.

Baba Aye

Baba Aye is the health and social care sector officer of the Public Services International (PSI). He is co-president of the Geneva Global Health Hub (G2H2). Baba worked for 25 years with the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), the largest PSI health sector affiliate in Africa, leaving as Deputy Secretary General. He was also the pioneering coordinating secretary of the West African Health Sector Unions’ Network (WAHSUN), and Deputy National Secretary of the Labour Party (Nigeria).

Vincent Pasquier

Associate Professor, Department of Human Resources Management at HEC Montréal. His research focuses on how technology is transforming work, labour relations and unionism. He is also interested in the socio-ecological transition and the role of labour relations in this dynamic. He is a member of the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) and the International Observatory on the Societal Impact of AI (Obvia).

Jérôme Leclerc

Jérôme Leclerc is a nurse clinician by training. With 10 years’ experience in the health network, he has held management and project management positions in the homecare sector. Involved since 2019 in the Réseau d’action pour la santé durable du Québec (RASDQ), he took part in its founding and contributed to a number of the organization’s achievements, including the promotion of the case for a more sober and carbon-neutral health network through various forums. He has held the position of coordinator of the RASDQ since February 2024.

Martine Delvaux

Feminist novelist and essayist, Martine Delvaux is the author of numerous books, including Blanc dehors, Le monde est à toi, Thelma, Louise & moi et Pompières et pyromanes. Her essay, Le boys club won the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal award. Her most recent work, Ça aurait pu être un film, was shortlisted for the Prix Médicis du meilleur essai in France. It is also a finalist for the Janette Bertrand prize.

Anne Jackson

Anne Jackson, B.S., RN, has been a union nurse for almost 40 years in a country where only about 20% of the nursing workforce is unionized, almost all of which has been in pediatric care. Her union work has included 19 strike days in 1989, which helped gain her union’s biggest pay increases to date. She has served on the board of directors of Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) and of National Nurses United. As a former delegate of the MNA for 10 years, she is now a delegate of the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation. She served as interim president of her local bargaining unit MNA-UMPNC of 6,000 nurses during a raid on her union in 2021. But, most proudly, she acted as chief troublemaker for her union. Anyone who knows her has heard her say she serves because her union gives her a voice and the tools to fight for the safety of all of our patients. Ultimately, that is why we are all here.

Louise Boivin

Louise Boivin defines herself as a feminist researcher. For the past twenty years, she has been producing and publishing studies on care work, its privatization and union action. Her main areas of study are home assistance services and residential long-term care. She is also interested in migrant work. She regularly gives talks for union and community organizations. She was a professor in the Industrial Relations Department of the Université du Québec en Outaouais, UQO, for ten years and remains affiliated with several research groups.

Anne-Renée Gravel

Anne Renée Gravel is a professor at the École des sciences de l’administration de l’Université TÉLUQ. Her work focuses on the right of pregnant workers to preventive withdrawal and on the management of employment conditions and occupational health and safety in organizations. Ms. Gravel adopts an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to her research, fostering partnerships to deepen her understanding of issues related to her area of expertise. As a researcher affiliated with a number of institutions, including the interdisciplinary research team SAGE (Santé, Égalité, Genre) and the Réseau québécois en études féministes (RéQEF), she contributes to the production of knowledge in areas crucial to the promotion of equality and health in the workplace.

She is the author of: Les centres de la petite enfance: Un mode de gestion féministe en transformation published by the PUQ Presses de l’Université du Québec in 2007 as well as Grossesse en milieu de travail: Défis de santé et de justice au travail, published in 2025 in the Collection Organisations, ressources humaines et relations de travail, at the Presses de l’Université du Québec.