Dr. Patricia Celan

Discover Patricia Celan’s advocacy work, focused on supporting survivors, promoting justice, and creating systemic change across various causes.

Advocacy

One spark can light a path forward.

Patricia’s life has been profoundly shaped by childhood abuse and a traumatic chapter in young adulthood on Canada’s East Coast, before finding healing back home on the West Coast. These painful experiences have fueled her unwavering commitment to justice and deep empathy for others who, like her, have faced harm.

Driven by a passion for healing and systemic change, Patricia embraces her INFJ-T and 1w2 personality. She advocates for survivors of all forms of abuse, upholds animal rights, and pushes for reforms in corrupt dynamics. Her goal is to foster transparency, accountability, and a future where everyone has access to dignity and justice.

Medical Privacy Breaches & Mistreatment of Medical Trainees
Patricia encourages Nova Scotians to request logs of who has viewed their medical records.
She became a vocal advocate for systemic reform as a result of experiencing a privacy breach at the hands of a fellow resident physician, who faced no consequences due to having left the province after graduation. Her experiences of repeated violations of her privacy highlight how easily such breaches can happen within the healthcare system, particularly when institutions respond with indifference and insufficient accountability. Patricia urges systemic action to establish stronger protections against illegal and unethical invasions of privacy, including meaningful consequences for offenders and safeguards that uphold the dignity and trust of both patients and healthcare professionals.

Drawing from her lived experience with severe workplace bullying during medical training, Patricia developed and led a free two-part public seminar series, 'Surviving Narcissists in the Workplace' and 'Professionalism in Toxic Workplaces', to empower others with practical strategies and insight into navigating harmful professional environments.

Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part II
In collaboration with nationwide efforts from physicians, medical trainees, and supportive media outlets, Patricia played a pivotal role in advocating for the removal of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part II (MCCQEII). This was an outdated and redundant licensing requirement for physicians that was widely regarded as an unnecessary hindrance.

Her efforts, including initiating a Change.org petition that garnered over 5,000 signatures across Canada, highlighted how the MCCQEII impeded timely entry into the medical workforce, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her advocacy contributed to the national collaborative efforts that led to the Medical Council of Canada ceasing the delivery of the MCCQEII, streamlining the licensure process, and enhancing healthcare accessibility for the Canadian public.

Animal Rights
Patricia is a peaceful animal rights activist.
She does not endorse disruptive or aggressive methods, instead preferring to share her message of compassionate and equitable coexistence with animals through education, an appeal to empathy, and logical discussion about values.
For more information on animal rights and how you can join Patricia in regular activism, click here.
For a list of common reasons people resist the idea of ceasing animal exploitation, click here.

Avalon Centre Expansion
Motivated by personal experiences of various kinds of abuse as both a victim and a witness, Patricia served on the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre's Board of Directors from 2020 to 2022, aiming to support trauma survivors.

She contributed to the Board's efforts in securing a $2.8 million annual investment from the Nova Scotia government, enabling the hiring of 13 additional trauma therapists. This expansion more than doubled the province's capacity for trauma therapy, enhancing accessible and culturally responsive services for survivors across Nova Scotia.

Exposing Rental Fraud
After purchasing a condo unit with the intent to provide affordable housing, Patricia prioritized offering a home to good people facing significant challenges. Unfortunately, her compassionate approach led to her being deceived by a serial rental fraudster, who presented a fabricated story to gain her empathy and trust and exploited Patricia for months of free housing. The broken system left Patricia no option but to pay all housing expenses for a stranger who had misled her.

This process led Patricia to become an advocate for reforming the residental tenancies system. The situation escalated when the tenant threatened Patricia’s life and was arrested, charged with uttering threats. Instead of pursuing criminal court, Patricia chose compassion through a restorative justice path, where the perpetrator apologized and agreed to rehabilitation. Sadly, the sincerity of that apology is questionable. Patricia has never received any compensation for the months of stolen rent or thousands of dollars in damages to that newly purchased condo unit.

Patricia identified a fine built into the Residential Tenancies Act that had never been used and advocated for addressing this gap in the system. In addition to speaking with politicians, her advocacy included various speaking engagements and a petition to end rental fraud, which ultimately contributed to some successful legislative changes.

After the rental fraudster's eviction, Patricia provided housing to Ukrainian refugees fleeing war, returning to her goal of offering a home to good people facing significant challenges.

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