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Philippe Couillard, P.C., M.D.
Dr. Philippe Couillard was appointed on June 24, 2010, as a Member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC), an agency which provides Parliament and the Canadian public with an external review of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). SIRC also investigates complaints by individuals concerning CSIS and examines reports by Ministers relating to the national security of Canada.
Born in 1957, Dr. Couillard completed his secondary and pre-university studies at Collège Stanislas in Montréal in 1974. He was admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montréal the same year, obtaining his doctorate in medicine (M.D) in 1979. Postgraduate studies in neurosurgery led to his obtaining his specialist status in 1985.
While a consulting neurosurgeon at Hôpital St-Luc in Montréal, Dr. Couillard was appointed department head in 1989 and senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine. In 1992, he was recruited to found a neurosurgery department in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
In 1996, he was recruited by the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke. He was successively assistant professor, training program director and associate professor, being appointed surgeon-in-chief and department head at the university in 2000. As a member of the Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, he took part in the public debate about this country’s healthcare system.
In April 2003, he was elected a Member of the National Assembly for the riding of Mount-Royal, under the banner of the Quebec Liberal Party. He was appointed Minister of Health and Social Services and Chair of the Ministerial Committee on Social, Educational and Cultural Development. After being re-elected in 2007 in the riding of Jean-Talon, in Quebec City, he was appointed Minister responsible for the Quebec City region and Chair of the Priorities Committee.
In 2006, he received the Medicine, Culture and Society Prize from the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Montréal, and he received the Jacques Cartier Medial at the 2007 Entretiens Jacques-Cartier conference in Lyons.
On June 25, 2008, after more than five years of public service, Dr. Couillard announced that he was leaving politics. He embarked on a new career in business, joining Persistence Capital Partners LP, Canada’s first private equity fund dedicated to healthcare, as a partner. In 2009, he was appointed adjunct professor in Health Law at McGill University, a cross-appointment between the Faculties of Medicine and Law. In this capacity, he teaches health care governance and participates in related activities.
Dr. Couillard is currently a director of two Canadian Biotechnology companies (Amorfix Life Sciences and Thallion Pharmaceuticals) listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and member of the board of Directors of Royal College of Canada International. In March 2011, he became the Chair of the Health Research Foundation.
He is currently providing consultation services in the sectors of Health policy and Life sciences, in Canada and abroad, as a Strategic Advisor with SECOR consulting.
Since 2009, Dr. Couillard also sits on the international advisory board of the Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia.