Heavenly Father, we lift Hon Helena Jaczek to you today. We thank you for her commitment to serve our community and the wisdom in the areas of health she has risen to. Watch over her and her family now and We pray that as she goes forward it will be with your favour upon her.
Dr. Helena Jaczek was first elected as the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the riding of Oak Ridges - Markham in October 2007 and was re-elected in October 2011 and June 2014.
Helena currently serves as the Minister of Community and Social Services and is the Vice-Chair on the Health, Education and Social Policy Cabinet Committee. She has previously served as the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of the Environment and to the Minister of Health Promotion.
Helena has served as Caucus Chair and was a sitting member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Social Policy. She has also served on several other Standing Committees including Government Agencies, Finance and Economic affairs, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on General Government.
To date, Helena is most proud of her work as a member of the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions, a non-partisan committee. This special Committee appointed by the then Premier of Ontario, Hon. Dalton McGuinty, held public hearings around the province and visited mental health and addictions facilities and several First Nations communities to better understand the Mental Health and Addictions program challenges facing Ontario. Their work and recommendations were presented in the report Navigating the Journey to Wellness and can be found online at http://www.ontla.on.ca.
At age 12, Helena came to Canada from England and later went on to receive her medical degree and Master of Health Sciences from the University of Toronto. She holds certification from the Canadian College of Family Physicians and Canadian College of Health Service Executives. Helena also has a Master of Business administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
After many years in general practice on staff at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, Helena became the Medical Officer of Health and Commissioner of Health Services for The Regional Municipality of York. During her 18 years in this position, she had responsibility for public health, land ambulance and long-term care in a Region of over 1 million people.
Helena has been actively involved with numerous community organizations including the Ontario Great Lakes Renewal Foundation, the York Centre for Children, Youth and Families, the York Region District Health Council, Giant Steps Toronto and the Newmarket Stingrays Swim Club. She has volunteered with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and mentored foreign-trained professionals.
Dr. Jaczek’s involvement with numerous health and community organizations has earned her prestigious awards from the University of Toronto’s Public Health Sciences Alumni association, the Association of Local Public Health Agencies and York Region. In 2016, Dr. Jaczek received the Ontario Psychological Association Public Service Award and the Ontario Medical Association, Life Membership Award. And in April 2017, she was awarded the Helen Keller Award by the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons and the Canadian Hellen Keller Centre for the contributions she has made to hearing and visually impaired Ontarians.
Helena first moved to York Region in 1980 where she now lives with her partner Hershel. She is the mother of 2 adult children, Natasha and Nicholas.
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