LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
School of Public Policy and Administration
William V. Baker
Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the CRA
William V. Baker was appointed Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the
Canada Revenue Agency on April 2, 2007.
As Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Baker is responsible for daily
operations within the Agency. He is charged with maintaining the trust of Canadians
in the Agency's integrity and reliability; identifying and securing new business for the
Agency; and engaging clients and stakeholders in delivering results by building
coalitions.
Mr. Baker began his career with the Government of Saskatchewan in 1979. In 1987,
Mr. Baker joined Revenue Canada Taxation as Director of Program Evaluation,
Internal Audit and Evaluation Directorate, and later held the positions of Director of
the Corporate Development Division and of the Administration Consolidation Task
Force.
Mr. Baker was Director General of the Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs
Directorate before becoming the Assistant Deputy Minister of Appeals Branch in
1997 and Assistant Commissioner of Compliance Programs Branch in 1999.
In 2003, Mr. Baker joined the Canada Firearms Centre as Commissioner.
He was appointed Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of the Canada
Revenue Agency on May 23, 2006.
Mr. Baker earned both a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology and a
Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University. He is a graduate of
the ICD Corporate Governance College, Directors Education Program, September
2007. He also obtained the professional ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of
Corporate Directors in November 2007.
In March 2008, Mr. Baker was awarded the 2008 Alumni Award for Distinctive
Contribution to the Public Sector by the Carleton University’s School of Public Policy
and Administration.
He and his wife, Nicole, have six children.
Brock Carlton
Chief Executive Officer
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
FCM’s new Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Brock Carlton, has a commitment to strong
municipal government and believes that a national association of municipal
government is a critical actor in any nation’s effective governance.
Since joining FCM 16 years ago, Brock has established himself as a leader on the
international stage in municipal government strengthening. He has managed ideas,
resources and opportunities to create FCM’s global program that focuses on
strengthening municipal government, local governance and enhancing policy
frameworks toward local sustainability. The program now encompasses 22 countries
including such diverse places as Guyana, Burkina Faso, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Sri
Lanka and China.
He represented Canada on the OECD Urban Municipal Development Secretariat’s
Sustainable Cities Working Group in the early 1990s. He has also been a faculty
member of the Local Government Leadership Institute at the Banff School of
Management, and an occasional faculty member on the Business and Environment
Program, Cambridge University, in Cambridge, England.
Brock sat on the Business Advisory Committee for Industry Canada’s Sustainable
Cities Initiative, and the Governing Council for FCM’s National Guide to Sustainable
Municipal Infrastructure.
While pursuing his undergraduate degree, he was captain of the men’s
intercollegiate basketball team at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.
He has lived and worked overseas in Kenya, China and Namibia, and has a master’s
degree in International Affairs from the Norman Patterson School, Carleton
University, in Ottawa, Ont.
Brock looks forward to working with the vast network of members and stakeholders
in achieving our collective interest of strengthening municipal government for a
stronger Canada.
Gail Cook Bennett
Bio is to come.
Ronald L. Doering
Partner, Gowlings Lafleur Henderson LLP
Ronald L. Doering, B.A., LL.B., M.A., LL.D., is a partner in the Ottawa law offices of
Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP where he practices law with the Government
Relations and Regulatory Affairs Group. He is the former President of the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency and now practices primarily in the area of agriculture, food
and drug law. He has written extensively on many public policy issues including a
chapter on Foodborne Illness for the new book Public Health Law and Policy in
Canada. He writes the popular monthly columns on food law for Food in Canada and
Food Safety and Quality Magazine, the leading trade magazines for the food
industry. Dr. Doering is an adjunct professor at the University of Guelph (OAC).
Cassie J. Doyle
Deputy Minister, Natural Resources Canada
Cassie Doyle was appointed Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada in June
2006. Ms. Doyle is an accomplished leader with 25 years of experience building
successful public service organizations at the municipal, provincial and federal levels
of government in Canada. Prior to joining NRCan, she served as Associate Deputy
Minister, at Environment Canada.
Ms. Doyle came to the Government of Canada from the British Columbia Assets and
Land Corporation, where she was President and CEO. From 1992 to 1999, Ms. Doyle
held senior positions in the Government of British Columbia, including Deputy
Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks; Small Business, Tourism and Culture; and
Housing and Consumer Services, as well as Assistant Deputy Minister of Municipal
Affairs.
Ms. Doyle holds a Master of Social Work degree in Public Policy and Administration
and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.
Brian Frank
President
BP Energy Company, North American Gas & Power
Brian Frank has energy. He is president of BP Energy Company and president of BP’s
North America Gas and Power business based in Houston, Texas; the regional head in
the Americas for BP’s Integrated Supply and Trading presence; a member of the
board of directors of BP America, Inc.; and he serves on the BP America Operations
Advisory Board and on the Washington, D.C. based Natural Gas Supply Association.
Prior to his current appointment in June 2006, Frank held the position of president
and CEO for BP Canada Energy Company in Calgary, Alberta. Frank has 25 years of
energy industry experience, the past 13 years with BP Canada and its predecessor
company Amoco Canada.
Before joining Amoco Canada in 1995, Frank served in several senior positions with
the Department of Natural Resources Canada. Frank began his career in the energy
sector with NOVA Corporation where he worked in the economic studies and
planning departments. Brian Frank currently serves on the Leadership Council for the
School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton.
Justin Henry
President, MAPA Society
Carleton University
Justin Henry was born and raised in Saskatchewan, the oldest of three boys. In the
year 2000, he moved to Ottawa to pursue an undergraduate degree at Carleton. He
went on to complete an honours degree in Directed Interdisciplinary Studies in 2005.
After completing his B.A he decided to do some travelling including a 12 week period
in Australia and New Zealand.
Justin started the M.A in Public Administration program in the fall of 2007 at Carleton
University. He will be graduating in May 2009 with both the Policy Analysis and
Innovation Science and Environment concentrations. He became the President of the
Master of Arts in Public Administration (MAPA) society in May of 2008.
Lawson Hunter
Executive Vice-President and Chief Corporate Officer
BCE Inc. and Bell Canada
Lawson A.W. Hunter is Executive Vice-President and Chief Corporate Officer of Bell
Canada, Canada’s largest communications company.
Mr. Hunter oversees regulatory and competitive affairs as well as a broader agenda
of public policy issues. He also coordinates activities across the corporate centre Finance, Human Resources, Procurement and Supply Chain, Strategy,
Communications, Legal and Regulatory - to ensure that the corporate centre is fully
aligned with the goals and strategies of the operating units and that the latter are
supported as efficiently and effectively as possible
Previously a Partner with Stikeman Elliott, Mr. Hunter is one of Canada’s leading
competition and trade lawyers with extensive experience in both the public and
private sectors. In the public sector, Mr. Hunter served as Director of Investigation
and Research under the Competition Act and as Assistant Deputy Minister of
Industry responsible for the Bureau of Competition Policy. He is viewed as the
primary author to Canada’s Competition Act, which became law in 1986.
Mr. Hunter received his LL.B. from the University of New Brunswick and his LL.M.
from Harvard University.
Steve Kanellakos is the Deputy City Manager of City Operations at the City of
Ottawa. Steve is responsible for over 11,500 city employees, with a budget of $1.3
billion. Steve oversees the operations and delivery of services to residents of
Ottawa, such as fire, paramedic, social services, recreation and culture, surface
operations, traffic and parking, and corporate support services.
Steve has held several senior positions during his 23 years in municipal government
within the Ottawa region. These include 15 years with municipal police services as
Director of Administration, Gloucester Police Service and Director General of
Corporate Services, Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police. In 2000, Steve was appointed
General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services for the newly amalgamated
City of Ottawa. In 2004, Steve was appointed Deputy City Manager of Community
and Protective Services and in 2008, he was appointed Deputy City Manager of City
Operations, both with the City of Ottawa.
In each one of his appointments, Steve has been responsible for leading significant
change and amalgamation of numerous services. Steve is currently focused on
making city services financially responsible and ensuring that city services are client
focused.
Steve has a Masters of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Administration
(Honours) from Carleton University.
John Lahey
President and CEO
Alterna Savings Credit Union, Alterna Bank
John Lahey is the President and CEO of Alterna Savings Credit Union and Alterna
Bank. He also serves as a Director of Alterna Bank.
Prior to joining Alterna in July 2007, John served as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Hamilton-based FirstOntario Credit Union for six years. He joined the
credit union after spending almost 25 years with CIBC in increasingly senior roles.
John’s background includes a broad range of experience. He spent 12 years in Human
Resources at CIBC, the last five as lead for the retail and commercial bank. During
the latter part of his bank career, John was Region Head for retail and small business
in southwestern Ontario (225 branches; $20 billion in assets), and spent two years
responsible for CIBC’s 1,350 domestic branches across Canada, which employed
more than 20,000 people and handled more than $200 billion in funds under
management. Just before leaving CIBC to join the credit union system, John served
as Senior Vice-President and Chief Operations Officer in the E-Commerce division of
the bank.
Like many other credit union leaders, John volunteers his time to help build a better
credit union system. He is currently Chair of the National Credit Union Special
Strategy Committee on Bank Mergers and is a former Director of Selient
Technologies Inc. and the CUMIS Group. John is Chair of the ABCP 2008 Limited
Partnership, Director of Ficanex Ltd., and a member of the Central 1 Legislative
Affairs Committee. He is also a former Governor of the University of Guelph.
John has a BAA from Ryerson University and an MBA from York University. In
November 2005, Ryerson University honoured John by awarding him with the
coveted Alumni Award of Distinction.
MARK MACDONALD
Director, Public Sector Advisory
KPMG LLP
Mark is one of KPMG’s leading public sector practitioners. Mark focuses primarily
on assisting government organizations become more efficient, effective and manage
their risk through better resource allocation decisions, while staying clearly focused
on the results that their public programs must deliver to citizens.
Mark has over a decade of experience providing counsel to senior public sector
decision-makers at all three levels of Canadian government. He holds a Ph.D. in
Public Policy, and is a member of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada,
the Canadian Evaluation Society, the Toronto Area Business Economists Association,
and the American Economic Association.
Maureen O’Neil
President, Canadian Health Service Research Foundation
Maureen O’Neil is President of the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
(since September 2008). Previous positions include President of the International
Development Research Centre, Interim President of the International Centre for
Human Rights and Democratic Development, President of the North-South Institute,
and Deputy Minister of Citizenship for the Government of Ontario.
Ms. O’Neil is Chair, of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute for
Environment and Development , a member of the Board of World University Service
of Canada, a member of the Board of International Institute for Sustainable
Development, Chair of the International Advisory Group, Think Tank Initiative (IDRC
and Hewlett Foundation) a member of the Leadership Council, School of Public Policy
& Administration, Carleton University, a member of the International Board of
Governors of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and chair of
the Advisory Council on Corporate Social Responsibility of Canada’s Export
Development Corporation. She is also a Fellow of the School of Policy Studies of
Queen’s University. She has been a member and/or Chair of numerous Boards,
including: Chair and member of the Board of Governors of Carleton University. She
has also represented Canada on the UN Commission on the Status of Women and on
OECD committees, and has been a member of the UN Committee for Development
Planning and the Board of the UN Research Institute for Social Development.
Ms. O’Neil has a BA in Sociology from Carleton University and Honorary LLDs from
Wilfrid Laurier University, Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.
Hilary Pearson
President, Philanthropic Foundations Canada
Hilary Pearson’s career has spanned all three sectors, public, private and not-forprofit. She began her career with the Canadian federal government where she spent
over 12 years as a policy analyst and senior manager. Moving to Montreal in 1993,
Ms Pearson became Vice-President, Strategic Development, at Royal Bank of Canada.
In 1996, she became a management consultant and began to work in the non-profit
sector, with a wide range of clients, from national membership organizations and
operating charities to local organizations in the health, cultural and social services
field. In November 2001, she was named President of Philanthropic Foundations
Canada, a member association for Canada’s independent and family foundations.
PFC is based in Montreal.
Ms. Pearson is a member of several nonprofit boards, including the nonprofit sector
umbrella organization, Imagine Canada, as well as the United Nations Association in
Canada and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada.
Ms. Pearson holds a BA and an MA in Political Economy from the University of
Toronto.
Grant Perry
Director
Federal Affairs and Reimbursement
GlaxoSmithKline
As Acting Vice President of Public Affairs, he leads a nationwide team dedicated to
fostering an environment in Canada that supports scientific innovation and the needs
of patients.
As Director, Federal Affairs and Reimbursement Strategy for GlaxoSmithKline, Grant
Perry leads a team responsible for a variety of key initiatives and public policy issues.
He oversees areas including: federal government affairs, reimbursement in both
primary care and public health, and policy research and analysis.
A graduate of Carleton University with an Honors BA in Public Administration, Grant
began his career with the Federal Department of Industry providing the
government’s data analysis of the changes to the Patent Act for pharmaceuticals (Bill
C-91). He then moved to Rx&D (Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical
Companies) where he assumed roles of increasing responsibility and accountability
culminating with the position of Director of Federal Government Relations and
Regulatory Affairs. Grant joined GlaxoWellcome in 1999 to establish the company’s
Federal Government Relations office in Ottawa. Prior to assuming his current role,
Grant spent a year in the UK building GSK’s Corporate Responsibility capabilities.
Saäd Rafi
Deputy Minister of Energy and Infrastructure
Province of Ontario
Saäd Rafi was appointed Deputy Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, effective
September 2, 2008. Mr. Rafi was formerly the National Infrastructure Advisory and
Project Finance Practice Leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Rafi previously served
as the Deputy Minister of Transportation and the Deputy Minister of Community
Safety in the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services. He was
seconded to the Ontario SuperBuild Corporation, Ministry of Finance, as Vice
President, Public/Private Partnerships and Assistant Deputy Minister, Hydro One. He
has held a number of senior management positions in the Ministry of Transportation,
Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism. Mr.
Rafi holds a BA in Psychology, an Honours BA in Law, and a Master’s in Public
Administration from Carleton University.
Michael Robinson
Principal
Michael W. Robinson has spent the last twenty-five years as one of Canada's premier
public affairs consultants and is recognized as an industry leader in the field of
government relations and public policy consulting.
Mr. Robinson served as Executive Assistant to a federal cabinet minister in the mid70's serving in portfolios including Science and Technology, Indian and Northern
Affairs, and the Treasury Board. He has also held a number of senior volunteer
positions within the Liberal Party, including serving in such varied capacities as Chief
Financial Officer, Chair of a Federal Liberal leadership campaign and as head of
transition planning for an incoming Prime Minister.
Mr. Robinson is a frequent commentator on the subject of government and public
affairs and he is a regular participant on Newsworld’s “Political Insiders” panel. He
was educated at Dulwich College in London, England, and at the University of
Calgary.
Paul G. Smith
Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Founder
Grey Horse Corporation
Paul G. Smith is Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Founder of Grey
Horse Corporation (TSX: GHC), as well as a member of its board of directors. Through
its wholly owned subsidiaries, Grey Horse provides transfer agent, corporate trust,
corporate secretary, foreign exchange and limited market dealer services to
corporations in North American capital markets.
Prior to Grey Horse Corporation, Paul held various management positions within Bell
Canada and its affiliates including Chief Financial Officer of Bell Conferia Inc. and
Director of Finance at Bell Zinc Corporation. He served as Executive Assistant to the
Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable M. Brian Mulroney, and worked as
an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs then to the Minister of International
Cooperation. Originally from Ste. Anne, Manitoba, he is fluent in French and English,
and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD (France), a
Master in Public Administration (MPA) from Carleton University (Ottawa) and undergraduate degrees from the University of Ottawa.
Paul is a member of the boards of directors of VIA Rail Canada Inc. (where he chairs
the board’s Planning & Finance Committee) and of the Atlantic Council of Canada. He
is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Financial Services Research Initiative and a
member of the Canadian International Council. He is also a former Governor of The
Canadian Unity Council.
Michael Wernick
Deputy Minister
Indian and Northern Affairs
Michael Wernick was appointed Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development in May 2006. His previous position was Deputy Secretary to the
Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, at the Privy Council Office.
Since joining the federal public service in 1981, Mr. Wernick has worked at the Social
Policy Division of the Department of Finance, Consumer and Corporate Affairs
Canada, the Economic and Regional Development Policy Secretariat of the Privy
Council Office, and the Constitutional Affairs Secretariat of the Federal-Provincial
Relations Office. From 1996 to 2003 he served as Assistant Deputy Minister and then
as Associate Deputy Minister at the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Mr. Wernick received B.A. and M.A. degrees in Economics from the University of
Toronto.
Howard I. Wetston
Chair, Ontario Energy Board
The Honourable Howard I. Wetston, Q.C. was appointed Chair of the Ontario Energy
Board (the Board) on June 30, 2003. Immediately prior to his appointment to the
Board, Mr. Wetston served as Vice-Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission
starting January 13, 1999.
From June 16, 1993 to June 12, 1999 Mr. Wetston served as a Judge of the Federal
Court of Canada, Trial Division and ex-officio member of the Federal Court of Canada,
Appeal Division. From October 1989 to June 1993, he was the Director of
Investigation and Research (DIR) (now Commissioner of Competition), Bureau of
Competition Policy and from October 1986, he served as Senior Deputy DIR where he
was accountable for the overall direction and management of mergers and
acquisitions.
Previously, Mr. Wetston was in private practice in Ottawa, associated with the firms
of Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer in Calgary and Phillips & Vineberg in Montreal.
Before entering private practice, he served as General Counsel to the Canadian
Transport Commission and Assistant General Counsel to the National Energy Board.
Prior to that, he served as General Counsel to the Consumers' Association of Canada
and Legal Counsel to the National Energy Board. From 1976 to 1980, he was a
member of the Department of Justice as Crown Counsel and previous to that, Crown
Counsel in the Nova Scotia Attorney General's Department.
Mr. Wetston was educated at Mount Allison University and Dalhousie University. He
was appointed Q.C. in 1990 and is a member of the Ontario and Alberta Bars.
Mr. Wetston is a member of the Board of Directors of Mount Sinai Hospital in
Toronto (2004).