General Assembly
The GA sets priorities and makes recommendations to address challenges facing the profession
The OMA General Assembly comprises the General Assembly Steering Committee, the Priority and Leadership Group, panels and working groups. Network chairs participate alongside delegates representing each constituent network, ensuring networks are actively engaged throughout the General Assembly. Through workshops on current issues, networking opportunities and other collaborative activities, networks help shape the General Assembly's work.
Updates from the GASC chair
Steering committee
Priority and Leadership Group
Panels and working groups
How the General Assembly works
The General Assembly continues to grow as a mechanism for grassroots engagement, helping to bring member perspectives directly into the work of the organization.
This structure is part of the modernization of the OMA governance model that represents members more effectively. The GA sets priorities and makes recommendations to address the opportunities and challenges facing the profession. It empowers all members by connecting them more directly to elected bodies and the decision-making process, while providing transparency into how the association functions.
General Assembly groups and membership
General Assembly Steering Committee
The General Assembly Steering Committee is an oversight committee that ensures the General Assembly, with its various entities, fulfills its mandate and functions effectively. The GASC reports directly to the Board of Directors and ensures the General Assembly has clear and transparent communications, and that all entities, activities and processes adhere to the OMA governance policies and the General Assembly charter.
Committee members:
- Dr. Alykhan Abdulla, chair
- Dr. Janet Hurst, vice-chair
- Dr. Elisheva Chernick, member-at-large
- Dr. Ross Male, member-at-large
- Dr. Cindy Wang, member-at-large
Priority and Leadership Group
There are 125 Priority and Leadership Group delegates. The Priority and Leadership Group is made up of delegates appointed by OMA sections, district, and fora. Each constituency is allocated a set number of delegate positions to ensure broad representation from across the profession.
Delegates represent diversity in their type of medical practice, leadership experience, region, gender, as well as other characteristics. In their work, they not only represent the interests of their constituency groups, but the larger physician community. As a member of a constituency group’s elected leadership, delegates consistently solicit feedback from members within their constituency, while acting as their information resource and bringing the issues emerging from their constituency to the Priority and Leadership Group.
Contact us
Questions? Send us an email for more information about the General Assembly. For questions specific to your section, please connect with its executive members.
Key dates
Fall 2026 General Assembly meeting
- Nov. 21—22, 2026
Spring 2027 Priority and Leadership Group meeting
- May 29—30, 2027
Fall 2027 General Assembly meeting
- Nov. 20—21, 2027
Panels
Panels are accountable to both the OMA Board of Directors and the General Assembly Steering Committee (GASC), with regular reporting to the board, the CEO, the Governance and Nominating Committee and the GASC.
In addition to their advisory responsibilities, panels oversee the development of recommendations on Priority and Leadership Group (PLG) priorities for consideration by the OMA board and determine whether dedicated working groups are needed to address those priorities.
Advocacy, communications and engagement panel charter 
ACE panel members:
- Pamela Liao, chair
- Julie Kovacs, vice-chair
- Dr. Rebecca Hicks, OMA president
- Douglas Bell
- Karen Devon
- Hamidah Meghani
- Vincent So
- Dannica Switzer
Health policy panel members:
- Audrey Campbell
- Travis Carpenter
- Dharmendra Doobay
- Michael Finkelstein
- Charlotte Moore
- Jane Purvis
- Madeline Verhovsek
- Kevin Wasko
General Assembly Panels Charter
Compensation panel members:
- Robert Dinniwell
- Kathleen Gregory
- Eric Goldszmidt
- Jane Healey
- Mark Kaluzienski
- David Schieck
- Laura Targownik
Progress to date
More than 400 ideas have been submitted by members across the province, with submissions becoming increasingly strategic through improved intake and prioritization processes. To date, the Priority and Leadership Group has established 14 formal priorities, leading to board-supported recommendations that have shaped key initiatives, including the 2024–2028 PSA negotiations process, informed the Stop the Crisis advocacy campaign, improvements to OHIP rejected claims processes and ongoing work to advance centralized diagnostic imaging referrals.
GA-related structures and policies have continued to evolve based on member feedback to increase efficiency, and build stronger, more coordinated member voice in OMA decision-making. OMA working groups formed through the GA process have also drawn external recognition. Physicians participating in these groups have been asked by the Ministry of Health, Ontario Health and other system partners to share insights on their work and contribute their expertise – extending the impact of the GA beyond the association itself.