Ottawa, ON – June 30, 2026 – Santis Health is pleased to welcome two accomplished professionals to our Government Affairs team: Ophelia John, who joins as Senior Consultant, and Maryam Mughal, who joins as Consultant. Both bring deep federal government experience and a strong grounding in health and social policy that will further strengthen the strategic counsel Santis provides to clients across the health care and life sciences sectors.
Ophelia John brings a distinguished record in federal politics and policy, having served four Cabinet Ministers across three government mandates. Most recently, as Senior Advisor and Deputy Director of Policy to the Minister of Health, she led a policy team on files spanning public health, research, healthy aging, and pharmaceutical policy. Over her career in public service, she has helped shape landmark initiatives including the Canadian Dental Care Plan, Canada’s post-pandemic vaccine strategy, and historic increases in federal research funding — among them the $2.6 billion dedicated to research in the 2024 federal budget. Her combination of policy expertise, stakeholder engagement, and insight into government decision-making establishes her as a trusted advisor across a wide range of health and life sciences files.
Maryam Mughal joins the Federal Government Affairs team as a Consultant, where she provides strategic advice, policy analysis, and political insights to help clients navigate Canada’s evolving health care landscape. Before joining Santis, she advised clients on regulatory and public policy issues in the financial services and payments sector. Earlier in her career, she served in the federal public service, including at Health Canada, where she supported compliance work related to the Canada Health Act, and held roles at the Embassy of Canada to Germany and Employment and Social Development Canada. Her experience across government, consulting, and the non-profit sector — including research on participatory policy design in health and disability care — gives her a wide-ranging perspective on the forces shaping Canada’s health system.
“Ophelia and Maryam bring exactly the kind of experience our clients value – real depth in how government works, paired with a genuine commitment to better health outcomes,” said Clare Michaels, Vice President, Ontario Government Affairs at Santis Health. “Their addition strengthens our ability to help health care leaders turn ambitious policy goals into meaningful, lasting results.”
To learn more about Ophelia, Maryam, and the rest of our team, visit santishealth.ca/our-team.
Santis Health is a public affairs, strategic advisory, public policy, marketing and communications consultancy that is dedicated to providing first-class counsel and support for clients exclusively in the health care and life sciences sectors. We believe in the same things our clients do: better outcomes and better health, for all of us.
Maryam and Ophelia join a team of over 40 experts across Canada who specialize in helping organizations not only respond to shifts in Canada’s health care ecosystem, but emerge as leaders. Learn more about our work here.