Speakers

Chris Brooks, Executive Editor, The Journal of Commerce
Peter Tirschwell, Senior Vice President, Strategy, Journal of Commerce
Dawn Desjardins, Assistant Chief Economist, Royal Bank of Canada
Ruth Snowden, Executive Director, Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA)
Andy Ellis, Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Logistics, Walmart Canada
Wendy Zatylny, Executive Director, Association of Canadian Port Authorities
Eric Allard, Head of Global Logistics, Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.
Steve Maguire, National Manager, Road and Rail Logisitcs, Kuehne + Nagel Ltd. (Canadian Operation)
Kevin Doherty, CEO, Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership
Ron Tepper, Chairman and CEO, Consolidated Fastfrate
Doug Fisher, Senior Director, Labor Relations and Strategy, CN
Milos Barutciski, Partner, Bennett Jones LLP
Jason Langrish, Executive Director, Canada-Europe Roundtable for Business
Jean Bedard, President, Maritime Employers Association
Don Krusel, President and CEO, Prince Rupert Port Authority
Dave Bedwell, Executive Vice President, COSCO Canada
Jean-Jacques Ruest, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, CN
Mark Schepp, Vice President and General Manager, Maher Terminals LLC
Jim McKay, Director, Transportation, Walmart Canada Corp.
Peter Leach, Senior Editor, Journal of Commerce
Andrew Dixon, Senior Vice President, Planning and Development, Saint John Port Authority
Michael Bourque, President and CEO, Railway Association of Canada
John Higginbotham, Senior Distinguished Fellow, Transportation Policy, Carleton University & Director, Arctic program, Center for International Governance Innovation
Andrea Charron, Assistant Professor, Political Studies, University of Manitoba
Lt. Commander Ray Snook, Directorate of Maritime Strategy, National Defense Canada
Tanya Faure, Director of Program Strategies, Canadian Coast Guard
The Honorable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labor, Canada

Senior level executives from ports, BCO/Shippers, 3PLs, ocean carriers and other organizations will be speaking and participating on panels at the Canada Maritime Conference. Speakers, moderators and panelists already confirmed include:

Opening Session Speeches and Panel Discussion

Chris Brooks
Executive Editor
The Journal of Commerce
Chris Brooks is Executive Editor of The Journal of Commerce and its online news, analysis and interactive site, www.joc.com. A 25-year company veteran, Brooks’s career has spanned every aspect of the editorial operation, from copy and front-line editing to design, reporting and managing numerous websites. For the better part of the last decade, he has managed the JOC’s day-to-day editorial operation, including its team of award-winning journalists. He also oversees the magazine’s 100-plus special reports a year, including the award-winning Annual Review and Outlook and Top 100 Importers and Exporters issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Pa.

Opening Session Speeches & Roundtable

Dawn Desjardins
Assistant Chief Economist
Royal Bank of Canada Dawn Desjardins joined the Royal Bank Economics team in January 2006. She is a key contributor to the macroeconomic forecasts for Canada and the U.S. and is responsible for the interest rate forecasts for both countries. Previously, Desjardins worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Financial News in Toronto, covering the Canadian bond and currency markets, and was the Canadian bond market strategist for a major U.S. bank for 10 years. Desjardins is a graduate of the University of Toronto.

Ruth Snowden
Executive Director
Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA)
During her extensive and varied career in international freight forwarding, Snowden filled several senior sales, management and executive positions, always with CIFFA member companies. Since joining the association four and a half years ago as Executive Director, Snowden has taken a strong leadership role in advocating on behalf of the freight forwarding industry. She is actively engaged with the CBSA’s eManifest initiatives, contributes to Transport Canada programs, leads many of CIFFA’s working groups and is a frequent guest speaker at industry events. She has also shared her passion for learning with hundreds of adult learners as a teacher in CIFFA’s International Transportation and Trade certificate programs. Snowden embraces a philosophy of life-long learning and has obtained several industry designations in addition to the BA in history she holds from the University of Toronto’s Trinity College. The Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA) represents 247 small, medium and large freight forwarding companies in Canada and has 139 associate members offering products and services to regular members. Please visit www.ciffa.com for details on CIFFA’s robust education programs, including professional training on Transport Canada’s air cargo security program, accredited dangerous goods training and workshops on various subjects. All CIFFA education programs are available to importers, exporters and third-party service providers.

Andy Ellis
Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Logistics
Walmart Canada
Andy Ellis has been Senior Vice President, Supply Chain and Logistics, for Walmart Canada since 2008. In this capacity, he holds operating responsibility over Walmart Canada’s domestic logistics system and for its global supply-chain network. Ellis has over 25 years of retail experience. He began his career in 1983 in the United Kingdom within in-store operations. He moved through a series of diverse roles in the following years before being appointed as a store manager for ASDA in the United Kingdom in 1987. In the 1990s, he transferred within ASDA to work at head office where he took on General Manager positions in replenishment, merchandising and logistics. In 2004 he became ASDA’s director of supply chain.

Wendy Zatylny
Executive Director
Association of Canadian Port Authorities
Wendy Zatylny is a seasoned strategist/executive with a unique skill mix and over 25 years’ experience (international/domestic) in all aspects of communications, including strategic/policy planning and implementation, stakeholder relations, government relations, complex event and media planning, issues/crisis management, media spokesperson, writing, and the production of high-quality print, collateral materials and multimedia/social media products. Most recently, Zatylny spent seven years at Rx&D, the association representing Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies. During that time, she held several senior positions in public affairs and government relations, and played a key role in expanding and strengthening Rx&D’s network of stakeholders, working with them, and concerns. Zatylny developed the Rx&D Guidelines for Transparency in Stakeholder Funding, and best practices that the industry is employing in its stakeholder relations today. She also led the industry’s contribution within Canada to the World Health Organization’s recent examination of access to medicines for patients in developing countries. In her government-relations capacity, she worked with federal and provincial governments to achieve healthcare system reform that places patient interests and innovation issues at the forefront of health policy decision-making across all jurisdictions. Previous to joining Rx&D, Zatylny ran her own business for 15 years, working as a communications consultant to federal departments in Ottawa, including Industry Canada and Foreign Affairs. Many of the projects she worked on were innovative in their own right, including managing the Tele-Health funding program at CANARIE (Canada’s broadband Internet backbone), and overseeing the first-ever webcast of a leaders’ summit (the 2001 Summit of the Americas). Outside of the office, Zatylny is a proud hockey mom to her 15-year-old son, and an avid sailor. Active in her community, she is a recipient of the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada.

The Waterfront and Transportation Labour Environment

Kevin Doherty
President and CEO
Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership
Kevin M. Doherty holds the position of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership located in the Port of Montreal. He is highly regarded in the transportation and terminal management industry today where his vast knowledge spans across various executive management positions held over more than 40 years in Canada, and several years as President in the European sector. Doherty also holds positions as Chairman of the Maritime Employers Association and past Chairman of the Maritime Data Center, and has recently joined the Executive Board for Green Marine as Treasurer. Doherty’s dedication to the industry and known zero tolerance for procrastination and delay keep him a driving force with a clearly defined voice. His dedication to his career is balanced by his passion for fishing with his grandson.

Jean Bédard
President and CEO
Maritime Employers Association
Jean Bédard has been President and CEO of the Maritime Employers Association since January 2008. As such, he is responsible for the negotiation and administration of all collective agreements. Bédard studied law at the University of Ottawa and obtained his law degree in 1976. He became a member of the Québec Bar Association in 1977. He joined the MEA in 1989 as Vice President and has worked in management, labor relations and collective bargaining in the ports administered by the association. Prior to the MEA, he was Director of the Legal Department of the Québec Builders Association (AECQ), which had the mandate to negotiate collective agreements for the construction industry in Québec.

Ron Tepper
Executive Chairman and CEO
Consolidated Fastfrate Inc.
Ron Tepper, currently Executive Chairman and CEO of Consolidated Fastfrate Inc., one of Canada’s 50 best-managed companies, brings more than 25 years of transportation industry experience to his role at this progressive and dynamic company. In 1983 Tepper was a founding partner of the Quebec division of Trans Western Express that was later sold to a public company. He purchased Consolidated Fastfrate Inc. (CFF) in 1994 and, with his team, created a menu of services that includes international and domestic trans-shipping, intra- and inter-provincial trucking, cross-country intermodal LTL, drayage services, warehousing and third-party brokerage. Combined, they have led CFF to be one of Canada’s largest privately owned transportation companies. In an exclusive partnership with Canadian Pacific Railway since 1966, Consolidated Fastfrate Inc. has become Canada’s leading LTL intermodal transportation provider. This strategic move has assured the company a prominent position in the North American marketplace. Tepper joined the Teamsters Canada Pension Fund as a trustee in 2005 and currently sits on the Governance and Investment Sub-Committee. On October 19th, 2006, he won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award 2006 Program in the Business-To-Business Products and Services category. This award was presented at a gala celebration in Toronto, Ontario.

Doug Fisher
Senior Director, Labor Relations and Strategy, CN
CN
Doug Fisher is Senior Director of Labor Relations and Strategy for CN and has responsibility for the negotiations and strategy related to all of CN’s collective agreements in Canada and the U.S. Fisher has led negotiations for CN for over 15 years, including renewal agreements with the Canadian Auto Workers, the Steelworkers, the IBEW and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference. He has also negotiated integration agreements following the acquisitions of BC Rail, Algoma Central, Mackenzie Northern andSavage Alberta Railways. Fisher joined CN in 1996 from VIA where he had been Senior Negotiator and Advisor, Labor Relations, from 1989 to 1996, negotiating and administering all VIA Rail’s non-operating collective agreements. He is Co-Chair of the Administrative Committee for the Canadian Railway Office of Arbitration and Disputes Resolution. He has participated in over 200 arbitrations and board hearings, and is CN’s delegate to and an active member of FETCO, participating in its many activities regularly. In total, Fisher has 25 years of experience in industrial relations and 35 years of service in the rail industry, having worked in the transportation, operations planning, finance, human resources and mechanical departments over the span of his career.

International Trade Agreements and Trade Development

Milos Barutciski
Partner
Bennett Jones LLP
Milos Barutciski chairs the International Trade and Investment Group at Bennett Jones LLP. He has represented international and Canadian clients in matters relating to NAFTA and the WTO Agreements, bilateral trade and investment treaties, trade sanctions, foreign corrupt practices, customs laws, trade remedies and international dispute settlement. Barutciski is recognized as one of Canada’s leading international trade lawyers in the current editions of Chambers Global’s The World’s Leading Lawyers, the International Who’s Who of Trade & Customs Lawyers, Legal Media’s Guide to the World’s Leading International Trade Lawyers, the Canadian Legal LEXPERT Directory, PLC’s Which Lawyer and The Best Lawyers in Canada. He chairs the International Affairs Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Trade and Investment Commission of the International Chamber of Commerce and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, where he is active in relation to trade, investment and anti-corruption matters. He is also counsel to the Canadian Services Coalition, a trade association representing the service sector in trade negotiations. Barutciski is a past President of the International Law Association headquartered in London, England, and a past Chair of the International Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

Jason Langrish
Executive Director
Canada-Europe Roundtable for Business
Jason Langrish is Executive Director of the Canada-Europe Roundtable for Business, an advocacy group that has been deeply involved in the negotiations for a Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. He also serves as Senior Trade Advisor for the Canada-India Business Council, drafting private sector strategy for, and structuring input into, current free trade negotiations between Canada and India. In 2004 he founded The Energy Roundtable, which organizes C-level conferences to facilitate investment into the Canadian energy sector. He has previously worked in the Trade and Commercial Policy Section at the Canadian Mission to the European Union in Brussels and in the City of London. For nine seasons Langrish led a Helitack fire fighting crew for the British Columbia Ministry of Forests. He is the Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Board of Norman Broadbent plc, a Board Member of Romaeris Corporation, Earth Day Canada, Canadian-German think tank Atlantik Bruecke and the International Anti-Corruption Conference of Transparency International. He is also an occasional lecturer at Schulich Business School at York University and The Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. In 2012 Langrish was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Government to Canada.

Creating an Integrated Supply Chain

Moderator: Peter Tirschwell
Senior Vice President
The Journal of Commerce/UBM Global Trade
Peter Tirschwell is Senior Vice President for strategy for UBM Global Trade, parent company of The Journal of Commerce and PIERS Global Intelligence. A career maritime and transportation journalist, Tirschwell joined The Journal of Commerce in 1992, covering international trade out of the World Trade Center headquarters in New York. In 1994 he moved to San Francisco as the newspaper’s West Coast bureau chief. He returned to New York in 1997 as Assistant Managing Editor, and in March 1999 was appointed Editor-in-Chief. At the time The Journal of Commerce was the oldest business newspaper in the United States, founded in 1827 by telegraph inventor Samuel F.B. Morse. He oversaw the transformation of the JOC franchise from a daily to a weekly print format accompanied by a breaking news website, JOC Online, and a growing conference business. In 2004 Tirschwell was named Vice President and Editorial Director in charge of the magazine and conference business of Commonwealth Business Media, Inc. In that capacity, he was a member of the management team that sold Commonwealth, including the JOC and PIERS, to London-based United Business Media plc in July 2006. As Vice President, he had overall responsibility for nine print publications and their accompanying websites, including the JOC, four U.S. sailing schedule magazines, and Canadian Sailings, Traffic World, Air Cargo World and Oil Price Daily. He oversaw the rapid growth of JOC Events, which organizes executive-level events including Trans-Pacific Maritime (TPM) and TPM Asia.

Don Krusel
President and CEO
Prince Rupert Port Authority
Don Krusel was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Prince Rupert Port Authority in 1992. He began his career with the Port Authority in 1987 as Manager, Finance and Administration. Prior to joining the Port Authority, Krusel held management positions with a number of major financial institutions in Vancouver. He holds an MBA degree from the Ivey School of Management at the University of Western Ontario and is a certified management accountant. Krusel is a past Director of the British Columbia Trade Development Corporation and served as Chairman and Director of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities from 1999 – 2001. He is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the Business Council of British Columbia, a Director of the Western Transportation Advisory Council and current Chairman of the Canadian Delegation of the American Association of Port Authorities.

Dave Bedwell
Executive Vice President
COSCO Canada
Dave Bedwell began in the British Columbia ship agency business 32 years ago in sales and marketing, representing ocean carriers such as Manchester Liners, OOCL, Hapag Lloyd and Westwood Shipping Lines. In 1994 he joined with China’s national flag container carrier, COSCO Container Lines. He is Executive Vice President of COSCO’s Canadian headquarters in Vancouver, with subsidiary offices in Toronto and Montreal. Bedwell is passionate about the success of international trade moving via Canadian ports; he is a strong advocate of Canada’s two major west coast gateways. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Shipping B.C. And has been Chairman of the Chamber’s newly formed Northern Committee. For the last 12 years Bedwell has sat on the Board of Directors of the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, representing the west coast longshoreman labor interests and concerns of Vancouver ship owners, focusing on the container sector. During his tenure with the BCMEA he has twice held the BCMEA’s Chairman of the Board position and maintains his elected status on the Boards Executive Committee. He is a past President of the Vancouver Plimsoll Club and the Vancouver Transportation Club, and is a committee member of Transport Canada’s Asian Pacific Gateway Committee and Transport Canada’s Intermodal Committee.

Jean-Jacques Ruest
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
CN
Jean-Jacques Ruest was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer in January 2010, with responsibility for providing the strategic direction and leadership for CN’s sales, marketing and supply-chain solution groups. Ruest joined CN in 1996 as Vice President of Petroleum and Chemicals. He was appointed Vice President of Industrial Products in 2003, Vice President of Marketing in 2004 and Senior Vice President of Marketing in June 2006. Prior to this, he worked for 16 years at a major international chemical company. Ruest holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from HEC Montréal (Université de Montréal) and a Bachelor of Science in applied chemistry from Université de Sherbrooke. He also completed the executive program of the University of Michigan Business School, and CN’s Railroad MBA program.

Mark Schepp
Vice President and General Manager
Maher Terminals LLC
Mark Schepp joined Maher Terminals in 1979 and has held positions there including Operation Superintendent and Container Yard Manager. In 1988 he joined International Transportation Services, a subsidiary of K Line, as Director of Operations to open K Line’s intermodal rail facility in Elizabeth, NJ. In 2006 he returned to Maher Terminals to open the West Coast’s newest gateway in Prince Rupert, BC, for container and intermodal traffic. He oversaw operations development at opening and maintains corporate oversight presently. In 2009 he was named Vice President and General Manager at Maher. He has 31 years of experience in both marine and intermodal operations, with an extensive labor relations background in both. Schepp is a 1979 graduate of Providence College in Rhode Island with BA in economics and labor relations. Maher Terminals LLC is one of the largest multi-user container terminal operators in the world. They have developed North America’s largest marine container terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Fairview Terminal and the Port of Prince Rupert is the closest major North American port to Asia with direct on-dock access to the CN Rail network; ocean carriers and their clients benefit from excellent transit times between Asia and North American markets.

Jim McKay
Director, Transportation
Walmart Canada Corp.
Jim McKay is accountable for transportation at Walmart Canada, overseeing strategy, development and execution of a robust distribution network responsible for over a thousand shipments a day through multiple channels. He joined Walmart Canada in 2010 following 14 years at Praxair, where he held multiple leadership roles in logistics, transportation, continuous improvement and sales. McKay’s prior retail experience includes 12 years at Steinberg/A&P (now Metro) prior to and during his time with Praxair. Along with being a certified management accountant and Six Sigma blackbelt and holding the CITT designation, McKay holds an executive MBA from Queen’s University.

Review of Trade and Transportation Sectors

Moderator: Peter Leach
Senior Editor
Journal of Commerce
Peter Leach rejoined The Journal of Commerce as Senior Editor in 2004 after writing the history of The Journal of Commerce for a special issue commemorating the 175th anniversary of its founding by Samuel F. B. Morse in 1827. He first started working for the JoC in 1973 as a foreign trade reporter and became its Editor-in-Chief in 1978. He expanded the newspaper’s domestic and foreign bureau network, launched an international banking and financial section, and oversaw the paper’s redesign. In 1982, Knight-Ridder Newspapers, which owned the JoC, transferred him to the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he helped pioneer its first venture into electronic publishing as chief operating officer of VU/TEXT Information Services. He subsequently became Vice President of New Media for American Banker-Bond Buyer in New York, then Chief Operating Officer of United Press International in Washington, D.C., and later Editor of IBM’s corporate magazine, Think Leadership.

Andrew Dixon
Senior Vice President, Planning and Development
Saint John Port Authority
Andrew Dixon is a native of Saint John, New Brunswick. He graduated with a degree in business administration from the University of New Brunswick in 1983, joining Sunbury Transport in Fredericton, N.B., and becoming General Sales and Traffic Manager in 1986. In 1991, he went to work for EMCO Distribution in the position of District Branch Manager. In February of 1997, he joined Logistec Stevedoring as Commercial Manager of the forest products and breakbulk terminal in Saint John. This initial assignment was expanded to include Logistec operations throughout the Atlantic Region, focusing on business development and customer service in all marine transportation sectors. In June of 2004, Dixon joined the management team at the Saint John Port Authority, assuming responsibility for all marketing and operational activities. He currently holds the position of Senior Vice President, Planning and Development, and his current responsibilities include property management, engineering, as well as cargo and cruise business development. Dixon completed the requirements to receive certification from the Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation (CITT) in 1989, and completed the executive marketing management course at Western University in 1991. He has been an instructor for “Integrated Logistics” at the local college and served on the National CITT Board of Directors for several years, including a term as Board Chair. Dixon is incoming Vice Chair of the Cruise Committee with the American Association of Port Authorities and serves on the Business and Community Development Committee of the Saint John Board of Trade.

Michael Bourque
President and CEO
Railway Association of Canada
Michael Bourque is President and CEO of the Railway Association of Canada (RAC). The association is the voice of the railway industry, representing Canada’s Class 1 rail companies, CN and CP, and over 50 regional, local, commuter and tourist railway operators. The RAC also has more than 60 associate members who are suppliers and partners of the Rail members. Bourque joined the RAC from the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, which represents a $25 billion industry made up of chemical and related industry companies, including transportation partners. As Vice President of External Relations, Bourque was responsible for parliamentary relations and communications. Prior to that, he was Director of Federal Public Affairs with Bayer Inc., a management consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers and an executive in the federal public service, serving in the Department of Communications and the Privy Council Office. He began his career as a political aide during the Mulroney government as a special assistant to the Honorable Perrin Beatty, in the departments of National Revenue, Solicitor General, National Defence, Health and Communications. Fluently bilingual, Bourque has two sons. He can be followed on Twitter at @BourqRail.

Eric Allard
Head of Global Logistics
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.
Prior to joining Husky, Eric Allard spent more than 17 years in senior roles with some of the world’s leading providers of integrated logistics solutions. Specializing in supply-chain logistics, Allard was focused on international air freight when he was Vice President of Air Freight for DB Schenker; he was also Regional Vice President for Exel Global Logistics in Eastern Canada. He gained experience in business development in senior roles with DHL Global Forwarding, Kuehne-Nagel and Emery Worldwide. He develops strategies to help businesses address global supply-chain challenges and turn those efficiencies into differentiating competitive advantages. He was directly involved for many years with the logistics of the F1 race in Canada. Allard holds a Bachelor of Economics from Concordia University, an SCM Certificate from Ohio State University and a graduate degree in SCM from the University of Montreal (HEC).

Steve Maguire
National Manager, Road and Rail Logisitcs
Kuehne + Nagel Ltd. (Canadian Operation)
Steve Maguire has over 25 years of experience in supply-chain management, working from contract logistics to Director of Supply Chain for a number of organizations. In 2011 he joined the Kuehne + Nagel organization as National Road and Rail Manager. He started his career with Kuehne + Nagel in 1984 working within the Contract Logistics group, managing public warehousing and distribution sites for 15 years. After achieving his post-secondary diploma in supply-chain management, he left Kuehne + Nagel to expand his knowledge in various roles and industry verticals. Maguire held positions directing freight and operations for organizations to gain knowledge within the manufacturing, push-retailer and vendor-managed inventory sectors over the following eight years. He then took on a freight-only position managing a global 3PL road and rail Ontario branch for six years. Through implementing, auditing and monitoring business improvements in various environments as both a provider and buyer of warehousing and freight services, Maguire returned to Kuehne + Nagel Ltd. to focus on client-specific supply-chain solutions.

Shrinking of the Polar Ice Cap and its impact on shipping

John Higginbotham
Senior Distinguished Fellow, Transportation Policy, Carleton University & Director, Arctic program, Center for International Governance Innovation
John Higginbotham is a resident Senior Distinguished Fellow in the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and leads the Arctic Program of the Center for International Government Innovation in Waterloo, Ontario. At Carleton, he is engaged in research and outreach in relation to Canada’s transportation policy and Canada’s relations with the United States and China. He recently concluded his assignment as Principal Advisor and Assistant Deputy Minister Champion for Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, based in Transport Canada, on secondment from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He served for more than four years as Assistant Deputy Minister Champion for the APGCI, including providing advice and support to departmental officials and to Ministers for the Pacific Gateway, and of transport. Before that, he was ADM Policy Planning, Communications, Culture and Federal-Provincial relations in Foreign Affairs and International Trade. On his last international assignment, he was Minister Political/Trans-boundary (including intelligence liaison, immigration, environment, security and federal-provincial relations) at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for six years. Previously, he served as Commissioner for Canada in Hong Kong, Canada’s largest immigration post abroad, for five years, prior to Hong Kong’s retrocession to China. He also served twice at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, first as Trade Commissioner and then as Political Counselor. Higginbotham was educated at the University of Saskatchewan, Ibadan University in Nigeria, McGill University, and Harvard University as a visiting international fellow.

Andrea Charron
Assistant Professor, Political Studies
University of Manitoba
Dr. Andrea Charron holds a PhD from the Royal Military College of Canada (Department of War Studies). She obtained a Master of International Relations from Webster University, Leiden, The Netherlands, a Master of Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Science (Honors) from Queen’s University. Dr. Charron was a participant of Canada’s Management Trainee Program and worked for various federal departments including Canada’s Revenue Agency, Canada’s Border Services Agency and the Privy Council Office in the Security and Intelligence Secretariat. She completed her post-doctorate at Carleton’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and is now Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba, Political Studies. Her main areas of research interest are arctic security and its governance. She is published widely.

Lt. Commander Ray Snook
Directorate of Maritime Strategy
National Defense Canada
Raised and educated in England, Ray Snook joined Britain’s Royal Navy in 1976 as a member of the Executive Branch specializing in aviation. There followed a sequence of sea-going and flying appointments before qualifying as Principal Warfare Officer (PWO) in 1989, specializing in anti-submarine warfare (ASW). In mid-1993 he was appointed as Commanding Officer 810 Naval Air Squadron, responsible for Operational Flying Training and in late 1995 he assumed duties as Executive Officer HMS MARLBOROUGH, becoming heavily involved in counter-drug operations. Immediately prior to joining the Ministry of Defence in London, he completed the U.K. Military’s Advanced Command and Staff Course. Between early 2001 and mid-2004 he underwent an exchange appointment with the U.S. Navy and worked in the ASW requirements directorate within the Department of the Navy in the Pentagon. Having subsequently learnt Turkish, he served, in his swansong appointment, as the Naval and Air Attaché at the British Embassy in Ankara. After a short sabbatical and emigration to Canada, Snook enrolled in the Canadian Forces on October 1, 2009. He received a one-way ticket to Ottawa for a position in the Directorate of Maritime Strategy, where he remains serving.

Tanya Faure
Director of Program Strategies
Canadian Coast Guard
Tanya Faure has been with the Canadian Coast Guard (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) for over a year as Director of Program Strategies, an area responsible for defining CCG’s role in the Arctic. Prior to joining the CCG, she worked at National Defence as the senior Civilian Policy Advisor to the Chief of Maritime Staff of the Royal Canadian Navy. In this capacity, she was involved in and managed a variety of maritime-related files, including international oceans governance, maritime security and Arctic issues. She has also held other strategic policy positions at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and recently completed the National Security Programme at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto. Faure holds advanced degrees from the University of Western Ontario and the Royal Military College of Canada.

Closing Speech

The Honorable Lisa Raitt
Minister of Labor
Canada
Lisa Raitt was first elected to the House of Commons in 2008 and re-elected in 2011. She was appointed Minister of Natural Resources in October 2008 and Minister of Labor in January 2010. Prior to her election to the House of Commons, Raitt was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Port Authority (TPA). She had previously served as the TPA’s general counsel and harbormaster. She was the first female harbormaster in the long history of the Toronto Port Authority. She is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University and holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Guelph. She earned her law degree from Osgoode Hall at York University. Minister Raitt is a proud representative of the people of Halton, a proud resident of the city of Oakville and a proud hockey mom of her two boys, John Colin and Billy.