Health Canada hosts a series of annual lectures given by distinguished Canadians in the health field.
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Dr. John A. Amyot
1867-19?? |
The lecture series honours Dr. John A. Amyot, who became Deputy Minister when the Federal Department of Health was created in 1919. Dr. Amyot's career was noted for significant public health accomplishments and for his career in the public service. Born in Toronto in 1867, he is widely credited as being one the first proponents in North America of preventive medicine. He established the first post graduate course in public health at the University of Toronto and developed the first diphtheria antitoxin in Canada. Dr. Amyot was closely associated with the development of the typhoid and smallpox vaccines and with the introduction of two public health measures that are now taken for granted: the filtration and chlorination of water and the pasteurization of milk. For his military service in the first world war, Dr. Amyot was decorated by both the British (Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George) and the French (Knight of the Legion of Honour) governments.
Health Canada's "Amyot Lecture" is given each year in his honour. The lecture series is designed to recognize excellence and to foster innovation and debate on leading health policy issues.
SOURCE: Ministry of Health.
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