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BRITISH COLUMBIA
Yuen Pau Woo
Born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Yuen Pau Woo came to British Columbia at the age of sixteen on an academic scholarship and later immigrated to Canada. Over the past 28 years, Mr. Woo has worked on public policy issues from coast to coast, with a special emphasis on Canada’s relations with Asia, and has been a spokesperson for British Columbia and Canada in the Asia Pacific. He has been a champion for openness in trade, capital, and people flows, encouraging innovation and risk taking, and fostering public good. Mr. Woo has helped many entities - public and private - understand the importance of Asia for their business and has contributed to policymaking on Canada-Asia relations. As President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada from 2005 to 2014, he led a major expansion of the organization and spearheaded the “National Conversation on Asia”, a three-year cross-Canada campaign to highlight the growing importance of Asia in the world and for Canada. For ten years, he represented Canada on the Standing Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Currently, he serves as President of HQ Vancouver, a public-private partnership established to promote British Columbia as a head office location for global firms. He co-founded a not-for-profit organization that promotes Chinese art and culture in Canada. Mr. Woo has contributed to Canada’s international economic policy and foreign affairs through teaching and scholarly research, consultations with senior officials, business and community leaders, and public advocacy. He is currently a Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia as well as a Senior Resident Fellow at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. He has worked effectively with leaders from First Nations and a variety of civil society organizations. Mr. Woo has served as a member of many advisory councils, boards and committees, working on a variety of policy issues such as the standardization system, immigration and multiculturalism, economic policy, and Canada’s place in the world.
MANITOBA
Patricia Bovey, FRSA, FCMA
Patricia Bovey is an art historian, guest curator and arts consultant in governance, strategic and business planning and policy development. She clearly articulates the importance of art and culture to social and economic wellbeing, and has increased access to the arts through her leadership and innovative work. She has facilitated the health of community arts organizations through governance stability and audience engagement, and given voice to artists’ work, including Indigenous creators, through research, publications, ground-breaking exhibitions and new public programs. The former director of two major Canadian art galleries, she teaches at the university level, and has lectured and published extensively. Internationally, she has been involved in a number of projects, touring exhibitions and artist exchanges. She has been a member of, or chaired the boards of, several academic institutions, including the University of Manitoba, as well as arts organizations such as the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. She has participated in federal and provincial cultural policy reviews, international cultural policy discussions, the drafting of ethical guidelines for Canadian museums – including those regarding Nazi looted art – and the development of recommendations for new and amended legislation. Her volunteer commitments have included working in the area of cultural diversity, as well as with youth and intergenerational organizations, presenting workshops for Islamic youth leaders, and serving on St. Boniface Hospital’s Patient Advisory Council. She has received numerous awards and honours recognizing her contributions and, in 2006, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts in the United Kingdom.
Harvey Max Chochinov
A professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit, Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov is recognized internationally as a leading scholar, researcher and proponent of palliative care. Dr. Chochinov also holds a Ph.D. in Community Health Sciences. His publications addressing the psychosocial dimensions of palliation have helped define standards of end-of-life care. His work has transformed his field and improved the care and compassion provided to dying patients, in Canada and around the world. He was recently appointed by the Government to chair the External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada. He previously served seven years as a member of the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). Dr. Chochinov has been a guest lecturer in most major academic institutions across the country and in the United States; he has also lectured around the globe. He holds the only Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and is the only psychiatrist in Canada to be designated as a Soros Faculty Scholar, Project on Death in America. He is the Chair for the Canadian Virtual Hospice, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. From 1987 through 2010, he served as an itinerant, fly-in, psychiatric consultant to The Pas and understands the challenges and opportunities of living in rural northern communities. His contributions and achievements have been recognized with many awards, including the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada.
Professor Marilou McPhedran, C.M., B.A., LL.B., LL.M., LL.D. (honoris causa)
Marilou McPhedran is a lawyer, educator and advocate who has done extensive work to promote human rights through systemic reform in law, medicine, education and governance in Canada and internationally. In 1985, she became the youngest lawyer to be named a Member of the Order of Canada for her co-leadership of the Ad Hoc Committee of Canadian Women on the Constitution, a grassroots movement for strengthening equality rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She has co-founded several non-profit systemic change organizations, including the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC). Currently a professor at the University of Winnipeg Global College, Ms. McPhedran has previously served on the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, as Chief Commissioner of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, and as the Principal (dean) of the College. She has received a long list of awards and honours in recognition of her work to ensure that the voices of marginalized people are heard. She was granted an honorary doctorate of laws degree from the University of Winnipeg in 1992 and completed her Masters in Law (LL.M.) in comparative constitutional law at Osgoode Hall in 2004.
NEW BRUNSWICK
René Cormier
René Cormier has a record as a professional in Canada’s arts and culture community, but also as a social actor and a leader within the international Francophonie. He has unparalleled experience and expertise within the arts and culture community in Canada and speaks from his own experience and life as a Francophone New Brunswicker and from his vision of the development of the Acadian people. He has served as President of the Commission internationale du théâtre francophone, Director of the Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, President of the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française, and board member of the Canadian Conference of the Arts, and is currently the Artistic Director of Zones Théâtrales at the National Arts Centre and President of the Société Nationale de l’Acadie, the lead organization for the International Strategy for the Promotion of Acadian Artists. His knowledge of Canada’s legislative process and Constitution is based on his professional experience and his volunteer activities in cultural and linguistic files associated with various legislation, including the Status of the Artist Act, the Broadcasting Act, the Copyright Act, and the Official Languages Act. Mr. Cormier is recognized for his ability to build bridges between often divided cultural groups. He has received awards for his contribution to the cultural sector by various organizations, including the Ordre des francophones d’Amérique. He is also a Knight of Arts and Letters of France.
Nancy Hartling
Nancy Hartling has played a prominent role in promoting social change and is one of New Brunswick’s most dedicated advocates on issues affecting women. With a career focused on families and social issues, she is well versed in matters of mental health, poverty, violence against women and economic development. As a divorced mother raising two young children, she realized the need to continue her education and learned quickly about the barriers that one faces while trying to earn a living and contribute to society. She completed two university degrees and founded the non-profit organization Support to Single Parents Inc. (SSPI) of which she was the Executive Director for thirty-four years. She has advocated locally, provincially and nationally on socio-economic issues facing single parents and their children, and has spearheaded innovative programs to address the challenges for low-income single mothers. She also founded St. James Court Inc., an affordable housing complex for single parents. She has contributed to programs for the elderly and has been researching healthy aging and population needs. In her work, Ms. Hartling built and maintained partnerships with all levels of government, community agencies, universities and educational institutions, businesses and media. Her involvement on women’s issues has been extensive, including co-chairing the provincial Minister’s Working Group on Violence against Women, serving on the Board of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research, co-chairing for New Brunswick for the Women’s World March 2000, as well as lecturing at the University of New Brunswick. Ms. Hartling’s record of achievement in community service, in organizational leadership and in advocacy has been recognized with several awards, such as the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, the Community Spirit Award from the United Way of Greater Moncton and Southeastern New Brunswick, and the Order of New Brunswick.
NOVA SCOTIA
Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard, PhD, C.M., O.N.S.
Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard is a highly regarded social worker, educator, researcher, community activist and advocate of social change. She has worked in mental health at the provincial level, in rural community practice at the municipal level, and, since 1990, as a professor at the Dalhousie School of Social Work, where she also served as director for a decade. In 2016, she was appointed Special Advisor on Diversity and Inclusiveness at Dalhousie University and she is the first African Nova Scotian to hold a tenure track position at Dalhousie University and to be promoted to full professor. Dr. Thomas Bernard has worked with provincial organizations to bring diversity to the political processes in Nova Scotia and teach community members about Canada’s legislative process and citizen engagement. She is a founding member of the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) which helps address the needs of marginalized citizens, especially those of African descent. As a member of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and as its current Chair, she has been instrumental in the development of advice to ministers regarding frameworks for gender violence prevention and health equity. At the national level, she has served as a member of the National Coalition of Advisory Councils on the Status of Women. She has served as an expert witness in human rights cases and has presented at many local, national and international forums. Dr. Thomas Bernard has received many honours for her work and community leadership, notably the Order of Nova Scotia and the Order of Canada.
Daniel Christmas
Daniel Christmas, a lifelong resident of the Mi’kmaw community of Membertou, has been active in a number of international, national, provincial and local organizations in a range of fields including Aboriginal and treaty rights, youth, justice, policing, education, health care, human rights, adult training, business development and the environment. As the Director of Advisory Services for the Union of Nova Scotia Indians, Mr. Christmas coordinated its political and litigation strategy on Aboriginal and treaty rights, led the Mi’kmaw response to the Report of the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution, and helped ensure the implementation of many of the report’s recommendations. Over the past two decades as Senior Advisor for Membertou, he has played a key role in transforming his home community from a First Nations on the verge of bankruptcy into one of the most successful in Canada. Mr. Christmas is also a consultant with Membertou Quality Management Services, providing services to a number of Mi’kmaw organizations. He has served with or chaired many provincial and national boards, advisory committees, and organizations. For 18 years, he chaired a local charitable organization, Educational Program Innovation Charity, which was recognized as the best run non-profit organization in Canada by the Donner Canadian Foundation in 2010. He has received numerous awards and distinctions for his work, including an honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Dalhousie University.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Diane Griffin
Diane Griffin is recognized provincially and nationally as a leader in natural area conservation who has contributed to sustainable land management, the protection of ecologically significant lands, and the improvement of her community. She has worked in the environmental non-profit sector, the provincial public service, including as PEI’s Deputy Minister of Environmental Resources, as well as in municipal government. Over the course of her career, she has advised senior political leaders on environmental issues and policy, and has been involved in drafting and enforcing legislation related to ecological reserves conservation and environmental protection. For the past 13 years, Mrs. Griffin has served on the Stratford Town Council, where she has been a strong voice for balancing environmental sustainability with social and economic sustainability. Mrs. Griffin is also a tireless community volunteer contributing her time to organizations such as hospitals, universities, heritage groups and health-related charities. For her leadership in natural area conservation, she was awarded the Governor General’s Conservation Award and an honorary degree from the University of Prince Edward Island. She also received the Order of PEI in recognition of her volunteerism and contribution to Island life.