Flordeliz "Gigi" Osler (born September 9, 1968) is a Canadian Senator, physician, and assistant professor at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Canadian Medical Association.
Early life and education
Osler was born in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. Her mother was a nurse from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and her father was an Indian physician. As a child she lived on-site in the
Riverview Health Centre
Riverview Health Centre is a community hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the A ...
. She is the great-great-grand niece-in-law of
William Osler
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for spec ...
by marriage.
She studied medicine at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. She remained there to specialize in head and neck surgery and graduated from residency in 1997. Thereafter, she completed a
rhinology
Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...
position at St. Paul's Hospital Vancouver, specializing in endoscopic sinus surgery. Osler later recounted that in the 1990s "surgery was still very much a male-dominated field. I was told, ‘Surgery’s too tough. You should look at pediatrics.’"
Career
Osler is the current Head of the Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at St. Boniface Hospital and is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Otolaryngology at the
University of Manitoba College of Medicine
The Max Rady College of Medicine is a medical college of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and is one of several departments of the University's Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.
Opening in 1883 as the Manitoba Medical College, it is the fi ...
.
In 2011, she volunteered with the Canadian Helping Kids in Vietnam's medical mission to
Long Xuyên
Long Xuyên () is the capital city of An Giang province, in the Mekong Delta region of south-western Vietnam.
History
In 1789, a group of explorers established a small outpost in the Tam Khe canal, naming it Dong Xuyen. Sooner after a marketpl ...
, which focused on delivering medical equipment and educating Vietnamese doctors and nurses. She has also been part of several missions to train surgeons in Africa and has spent several years in
Mbarara
Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyakay ...
. She has been an invited faculty member at the
Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST), commonly known as Mbarara University, is a public university in Uganda. Mbarara University commenced student intake and instruction in 1989. It is one of the ten public universities and degree ...
.
In 2017, Dr. Osler defended the practice of "income sprinkling", which allows high-earning professionals and business owners to reduce taxes by distributing income to family members who may do minimal work.
In 2018, Osler was announced as the president of the Canadian Medical Association. She has been a member of the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (french: Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada) is a regulatory college which acts as a national, Non-profit organization, nonprofit organization established in 1929 by a speci ...
Regional Advisory Committee. She is also a Fellow of the Royal College.
On September 26, 2022, Osler was appointed to the
Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
by the office of Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
. On January 10, 2023, Osler joined the
Canadian Senators Group
The Canadian Senators Group (french: Groupe des sénateurs canadiens) is a parliamentary group of senators in the Senate of Canada founded on November 4, 2019, by eight senators from the Independent Senators Group, two from the Conservative Pa ...
.
Physician health
Osler believes that maintaining the health and wellness of oneself should be incorporated into medical training. In 2015, Osler co-chaired the Canadian Conference on Physician Health.