Meeting Yves Savoie
The MS Society’s New CEO Steps Up to the Plate
This
article appeared originally in the fall 2007 issue of Abilities.
RAYMOND COHEN, president of the Canadian Abilities Foundation
and publisher/editor- in-chief of Abilities,
met with Yves Savoie, recently appointed president and chief
executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and president
of the Ontario Division, to talk about the organization and its
philosophy of engagement.
RAYMOND COHEN: When you and I first met at
Toronto’s Super Cities Walk
for MS this year, we spoke about people with MS and how they’re
referred to. Some people refer to them as clients, some as consumers.
And you said, “Why deal with either of those? They’re
people — people with MS.”
YVES SAVOIE: The MS Society is here because
there were people with MS or affected by MS who created it. We’re
not standing above the people affected by MS. I’ve been
influenced by people who conceptualize disability as not being
about what’s wrong in the person who has the disability,
but as a reflection of what’s wrong in our society. People
with MS who participate, for instance, in the MS Walk are there
as contributors to the Society. They’re not there as our
clients. They’re our lifeline, the embodiment of what the
Society is all about. To use “client” to refer to
people who volunteer in different contexts, who serve on committees
and boards, reduces their range of impact, and the impact we
have in our relationships.
RC: Historically, the MS Society has been thought
of as a two-pronged organization that does both service and research.
You bring more of a consumer focus – you’ve held
consultations across the country and invited people with MS to
participate.
YS: The MS Society has a dual mission, and
people with MS tell me we must continue to have a dual mission.
We’ve conceived of it as service and research, but let’s
re-conceptualize it for a moment: finding a cure and improving
quality of life. And I think when you focus on quality of life,
one of the things we do a lot of is to be partners with people
in asserting their rights, creating the tools or helping them
navigate the system. Increasingly, we press governments to be
more responsive. In the consultations, I found there is a real
appetite for the Society to play a greater role in making sure
that governments are responsive to MS-related issues.
RC: You’re referring to a domino effect — one
can’t really deal with MS outside of the context of other
disabilities.
YS: Absolutely. The work we do involves collaboration.
For example, there is the reality of episodic disabilities, such
as those experienced by many people with MS. We’re in dialogue
with organizations interested in the reality of people with AIDS/HIV
to possibly seize an opportunity to make changes with the federal
government about employment insurance, so that the system is
better equipped to respond to people who enter and exit the employment
market because of different episodes or the progression of their
disability. The Society will be a rigorous, systematic, evidence-based
partner and contributor to policy conversations.
RC: Can you tell Abilities more about
your national consultations? What did you learn?
YS: I arrived in February, and from March to
June, there were 19 consultations across Canada. Those conversations
were about the future of the Society in terms of vision and plan.
As part of my role, I bring ideas and create a vision, but I
also listen actively to ensure that people who are part of our
shared enterprise – people with MS, people affected by
MS as caregivers, children, parents, volunteers — have
a voice in that process. Part of the personal contribution I
want to make is to increase the level of engagement in decisions
we make, in our work. And that, in large part, is what the consultations
were all about.
RC: What are the next things on the horizon
for MS?
YS: Over the past 15 years, there have been
pharmacological developments that have changed the reality for
some people, particularly those who have relapsing MS, in terms
of slowing the course of the progression. The research agenda
holds promise, and I hear from everyone that Canada plays a very,
very significant role. Leveraging that potential, both the research
community in Canada and the recent significant investments in
our research infrastructure – the creation of the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research and the Society’s capacity
to fund research – will be quite promising. In terms of
quality of life, we’ve talked about government advocacy.
I know the appetite is there. We’ll build on important
work that the Society has done, but I think you’ll also
see a new focused energy and more people involved at different
levels, and that’s in line with my own appetite to contribute
on that front.
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