Remembering Ray Joubert

SEPTEMBER 2021 – The Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy’s Pillar of Pharmacy honouree, Ray Joubert, passed away in August. Former Registrar of the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacy Professionals for more than 40 years, Joubert was a long-time advocate for the profession and an avid supporter of the Foundation, serving as a board member in the mid 1990s.

“Ray was a real ambassador for pharmacy and was always available to pick up the phone when I had questions about changes happening in the profession,” says CFP’s Executive Director Dayle Acorn. “His Pillar award reception was also my first event when I started with CFP back in 2007.”

An outpouring of messages from colleagues across the profession lauded Joubert for his generous spirit and ongoing mentorship of pharmacy students and new pharmacists. They described him as a “titan of pharmacy in Canada” and someone with “professionalism, integrity and kindness.”

When Joubert graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Saskatchewan in 1974, he couldn’t have predicted a six-month trial job at the then-Saskatchewan Pharmaceutical Association would become his professional base for the next four decades. It turned out to be the perfect vantage point to nurture his passion for regulatory pharmacy and the advancement of the profession.

Throughout his career he also served as a lecturer at the University’s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, teaching pharmacy law and ethics. In addition to the Pillar award,  he earned many industry kudos, including honorary President of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in 2018.

In an article in the Regina Leader Post announcing his retirement as registrar in 2018, Joubert  noted: “If I’ve played a small part in ensuring that patients continue to benefit from the wonderful services of the pharmacist, I think I will have accomplished something.”