About us...

Who we are

We are the Allergy/Asthma Information Association (AAIA), a federally registered Canadian charity. We were founded in 1964 by a group of parents whose children had severe allergies.

Our mission

The AAIA creates safer environments and improves quality of life for Canadians affected by allergy, asthma, and anaphylaxis by empowering individuals and providing education, leadership, and a national voice.

We are the only Canadian patient association that deals with all aspects of allergy, including asthma, allergic rhinitis and anaphylaxis. In this capacity, we strive to be the best possible resource for services and information.

We are active in all provinces and territories through our national office in Toronto, five well-established regional offices and a dedicated network of volunteers, including our board of directors. All of our publications and our national programs are available in English and in French.

We are membership-based and operate at the community level. Our goal is to help the estimated 30% of Canadians affected by allergy, asthma and anaphylaxis enjoy lives that are as normal as possible, at home, school, work and play.

To achieve this, our philosophy is based on 3 A's: Awareness, Avoidance, Action. We encourage patients to obtain accurate medical diagnosis from a professional allergist, to learn about allergen avoidance and proper use of medications, and to know how to handle emergencies.

Our services focus on education and prevention. We publish quarterly newsletters for our members and offer a variety of free brochures on allergies and asthma. We hold conferences and events that are open to the public and raise money for research and education. With support from Health Canada's Population Health Fund, we have developed asthma and anaphylaxis education programs in English and French and these are disseminated across Canada.

We are affiliated with the Canadian Society of Allergy and Immunology, a professional body of allergy specialists who, amongst other support, medically review all of our publications. We also work in partnership with other related professionals and organizations as well as the food industry and governments.

For information contained in the public portion of our most recent Registered Charity Information Return (from T3010) as submitted to CRA, please click here

Charitable Registration Number BN13176 5174 RR0001

You too can help by Joining, Volunteering and Donating.

Achievements

Please visit our Achievements page to read about our significant contributions.

Contact Us

Please visit our Contact Us page.

Professional Advisors

Dr. Allan Becker, Winnipeg, MB
Wendy Busse, MSc, RD, Red Deer, AB
Dr. Stuart Carr, Edmonton, AB
Dr. Zave Chad, Ottawa, ON
Dr. Antony Ham Pong, Ottawa, ON
Dr. Rhoda Kagan, Montreal, QC
Dr. Harold Kim, Kitchener, ON
Dr. George Luciuk, Richmond, BC
Dr. Bruce Mazer, Montreal, QC
Dr. Peter Vadas, Toronto, ON
Dr. John Weisnagel, Montreal, QC
Marion Zarkadas MSc, PDt, Ottawa, ON

All AAIA publications are medically reviewed by the Canadian Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Board of Directors

Sharon Van Gyzen, Richmond, BC (Chairperson)
Louis Isabella C.A., Vaughan, ON (Treasurer)
Lorraine Gosselin, Montreal, QC
Carol Sleeth, Kingston, ON
Gabriella Szabo, N. Vancouver, BC
Virginia Turner, Pangnirtung, NU