Modern Treaties and Reconciliation Conference 2020 – Speakers List and Bios

Kluane Adamek

AFN Regional Chief, Yukon

Breakout 1A: Teaching our Citizens about the Treaties
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Kluane Adamek has experience living in rural, urban, northern and southern communities. She is a citizen of the Kluane First Nation and from the Dakl’aweidi- Killer Whale Clan and she loves dancing with the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers, an Inland Tlingit Dance group.  Kluane comes from a diverse background- Indigenous and non-Indigenous- she believes this has given her the ability to view and analyze our world from different perspectives. She has a BA from Carleton, fluent in French and English, and is currently pursuing her MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership at Simon Fraser University.

Kluane’s professional experience includes work with the Yukon College Board of Governors and Kluane Dana Shaw Corporation; leading education initiatives at the Council of Yukon First Nations; building partnerships with Indigenous communities and all levels of Government for Northwestel; and most notably serving as an advisor to former Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo.

Recently, Kluane served as a Senior Advisor for the Yukon Territorial, Hon. Pauline Frost, Minister of Health and Social Services, Environment and Housing. Kluane was a Global Shapers with the World Economic Forum and in 2014 chosen as one of 23 ‘Bold Visionaries’ from across the country for the 2014 Bold Vision Leadership Conference.  Kluane is incredibly passionate about supporting youth and emerging leaders in the north and beyond and through her Northern Fellowship she founded and led the development of “Our Voices”, a collective of northern Indigenous emerging leaders and continues to serve as the Co-Chair of exciting new initiative.

Math’ieya Alatini

Chief Strategist, GSD Strategies
Master of Ceremonies

Breakout: 4A Sustaining Indigenous Languages
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Math’ieya Alatini’s name is synonymous with energy, action and integrity. She’s a capable and experienced leader, known for trailblazing and her no-nonsense approach to getting results. On the heels of two very productive terms serving as Chief of Kluane First Nation, Math’ieya did a quick pit stop working with the Yukon Government Cabinet office and is now bringing her experience and energy to her work for Canada’s Indigenous Governments and Northern communities as the Chief Strategist for GSD Strategies.

She is of Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Russian and Welsh descent and therefore has extensive family and community connections in Yukon and globally! Math’ieya was fortunate to experience both a traditional Indigenous lifestyle and a modern way of living which has given strong foundations to all her endeavours.  The traditional values and “ways of knowing and doing” is also shared by her husband, Tevita, and thereby has been transferred to their two children. Together they ensure their children have the same opportunities for growth and discovery of all cultures and yet are grounded in knowing where they come from.

Math’ieya holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Victoria and has experience in many sectors and in different capacities from Tourism to a Non-Profit Volunteer organizations that specialized in First Nation capacity building.  With the Federal Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) in British Columbia she was responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of capital infrastructure and green energy projects in excess of $400 million for up to 43 different First Nation communities.

Under Math’ieya’s leadership as Kluane First Nation Chief, she guided the nation towards energy self-sufficiency and economic resilience in the small community of Burwash Landing. This was done through the ability to forge partnerships with industry, other Yukon First Nations, Yukon Government and several Federal Departments.   Her demonstrated ability to leverage opportunities, facilitate collaborative partnerships to create economic, social and environmental benefits position her as an established leader and game-changer with the credibility of a proven track record.

Building relationships and sharing knowledge is a strong motivator for her.  Through her company GSD Strategies, Math’ieya brings her ability to skillfully guide partnerships, create collaborative successes in order to launch big picture initiatives and deliver tangible results for her clients.  Her work ethic and vision has earned her a reputation as a leader who can get things done in a good way.

Jim Aldridge, Q.C.

Partner, Aldridge + Rosling

Plenary 3: Whole-of-Government? Challenges and Opportunities
Wed. Feb. 12: 8:40 – 9:30 AM

Breakout 3E: Resolving Basic Differences: Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Other Options
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Mr. Aldridge is a member of the British Columbia Bar and has been an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia. He has represented the Nisga’a Nation in treaty negotiations since 1980, and was lead counsel during most of that time. He was a member of the legal team representing the Manitoba Métis Federation in its action in respect of Métis land rights under the Manitoba Act. Mr. Aldridge has also represented a number of other clients in the areas of Aboriginal law, immigration, constitutional and administrative law. He enjoys lecturing and teaching and routinely participates in or chairs various committees and conferences in the legal community.

John Amagoalik

Plenary 1: History, Diversity, Implications, and Benefits: An Insider’s Overview of Land Claims Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 9:00 – 10:20am

John Amagoalik is sometimes referred to as the “founding father” of Nunavut. He was born at a seasonal camp near Inukjuaq in northern Quebec and at the age of five, along with his family, was relocated to Resolute in the High Arctic.  He later attended residential schools in Churchill and Iqaluit, and began his political career as the Baffin Regional Information Officer with the Government of the NWT, a position he left to work on the Inuit land claim. From the mid-1970s he joined others to call for the creation of an Inuit territory, to be called “Nunavut.”  In the 1980s he served as Vice-President and for two terms as President of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (now Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami).

From 1982 to 1985 he was also Co-Chair of the Inuit Committee on National Issues and took part in national constitutional discussions on Aboriginal and treaty rights. He was also Chair of the Nunavut Constitutional Forum from 1986-7 and an advisor to the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut from 1991-93. Following the ratification of Nunavut land claims agreement, and passing of the Nunavut Act, John was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Nunavut Implementation Commission, a body that oversaw the arrangements leading up to Nunavut’s creation in 1999. He has been honoured for his work on Aboriginal rights and the Nunavut claim, including the ITC’s 20th Anniversary Award, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, and an honorary degree from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Paul Bachand

Partner, Pape Salter Teillet LLP

Breakout 2E: Legal and Policy Updates
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Breakout 4E: The UNDRIP and National Implications for Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed., Feb 12: 1:15-2:45pm

Paul Bachand specializes in Indigenous rights, governance and land law. Paul has more than 25 years’ experience providing service to clients across Canada, particularly in the North. In addition to the negotiating of land claim and self government agreements, Paul’s background and experience allow him to fulfill his passion for implementing Indigenous land and self government agreements, advising on land, land registry, governance and legal issues facing First Nations as they exercise their law-making jurisdiction and land administration. Paul has appeared as litigation counsel before a wide variety of administrative tribunals, courts and courts of appeal.

Paul has extensive experience in issues related to lands and land use planning, and as the former Registrar of Land Titles for NWT he oversaw the implementation and registration of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement land titles, the Sahtu and Gwich’in land titles and engaged with a variety of issues ranging from registration of survey plans to Land Titles Office protocols and implementation of land claim agreements. Paul is also the former Principal Secretary to two premiers of the Northwest Territories and the former Director of the Legal Division for the Government of the Northwest Territories.

Paul has also been involved in the development and implementation of several impact and benefits agreements as counsel on a number of environmental reviews of mining projects, and assisted in the design, development, consultation process and implementation of the Tłı̨chǫ Wene’ke – The Tłı̨chǫ Land Use Plan on behalf of the Tłı̨chǫ Government, one of the most advanced First Nation government land use plans in Canada.

Kevin Bayne

Carcross/Tagish First Nation

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Ethel Blondin Andrew

Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated

Plenary 1: History, Diversity, Implications, and Benefits: An Insider’s Overview of Land Claims Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 9:00 – 10:20am

Karen Bouchard

Breakout 1C: It’s All Connected: Socioeconomic Outcomes and Wellbeing
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Karen Bouchard is a PhD candidate in political science at Université Laval. She is a member of the Northern Sustainable Development Research Chair and the Mining Encounters and Indigenous Sustainable Livelihoods Knowledge Network (MinErAL). Her research is funded by a three-year Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship (SSHRC) and will examine how the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement contributes to Inuit control over the definition and implementation of extractive non-renewable resource development projects within the Nunavut settlement area.

Robin Bradasch

Director, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Robin is a citizen of Kluane First Nation in the Yukon. She spent 12 years negotiating the KFN Final and Self-Government Agreements serving as their Chief Negotiator and Director of Lands, Heritage and Governance. She has served several elected terms as the Deputy Chief of KFN. For the past 14 years Robin has worked for Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Currently, she holds the position of Director of Governance. She continues to be actively involved in the governance of KFN as a member of the Constitution Committee, Citizenship Committee and as a Trustee for the KFN Dana Trust.

Geri-Lee Buyck

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Kirk Cameron

President, northSense Management Consulting

Breakout 2D: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and Indigenous Services: an update on the INAC split
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Breakout 3D: A Modern Treaty Implementation Review Commission
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Kirk Cameron is from Whitehorse, Yukon and has worked throughout his career in the area of governance including the creation of Nunavut, Yukon Devolution, Land Claims and Self-government. During his two decades in public service, Kirk held positions in the Government of Yukon, Province of British Columbia and Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development focusing on policy, planning and legislative development.  In 2003, Kirk moved to the private sector as a governance consultant. During his time as a consultant, Kirk has provided services to most Yukon First Nations, and Indigenous governments/corporations in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.  He has also advised the Land Claims Agreements Coalition representing those Indigenous groups throughout Canada with Modern Treaties. Since June 2016 Kirk has been the federal appointment to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board. In July 2019 Kirk was appointed by Ministerial Order as a Justice of the Peace in Yukon. The same month he was appointed by Order-in-Council as a Member of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation Referendum Committee.

Alastair Campbell

Senior Policy Advisor, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI)

Moderator Breakout 3D: A Modern Treaty Implementation Review Commission
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Breakout 4D: The 2015 Cabinet Directive: Reflections after 5 Years
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Alastair Campbell is Senior Planning and Policy Advisor to Nunavut Tunngavik, the organization that represents Nunavut Inuit.  He has previously worked for the Government of the NWT, the federal government, and the Assembly of First Nations.  He has studied history and the social sciences at universities in Canada, New Zealand and Europe, and he has taught occasional courses in Anthropology and Sociology. He has published papers dealing with northern political development and land claims settlements.

Ronnie Campbell

Breakout 3D: A Modern Treaty Implementation Review Commission
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Ronnie Campbell is a former Assistant Auditor General of Canada.

Following 5 years working with the Hudson’s Bay Company in several Inuit and Cree communities, Mr. Campbell joined the Office of the Auditor General of Canada in 1985.

During his 30 year career at the OAG, he was responsible for a wide range of Performance Audits.  A significant portion of these were audits of programs and services delivered by the Federal Government to First Nations and Inuit.

The Auditor General of Canada is also the Auditor General of each of the 3 territories.  Mr. Campbell was responsible for much of that work.  Having retired in 2015, Mr Campbell served a 3 year term as a member of the Board of Directors of Qulliq Energy in Nunavut.

Heather Castleden, PhD

Canada Research Chair in Reconciling Relations for Health, Environments, and Communities

Breakout 1B: Self-Government
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Dr. Heather Castleden is a settler scholar, trained as a geographer. She undertakes community-based participatory research in partnership with Indigenous peoples, communities, organizations, and Nations, on their priority issues that fall within her areas of expertise: examining the nexus of cultures, places, power and resistance, as well as relational ethics and decolonizing methodologies. For this work, Dr. Castleden holds the Canada Research Chair in Reconciling Relations for Health, Environments, and Communities, and she is jointly appointment in the Department of Geography and Planning and the Department of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University.

She has been working in partnership with Huu-ay-aht First Nations – a signatory of the Maa-nulth Treaty – on modern treaty-related research since 2005, receiving funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Bobby Clark

Director of Communications and Inter-Governmental Relations, Nisga’a Lisims Government

Breakout 1A: Teaching our Citizens about the Treaties
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Bobby is currently the Director of Communications and Intergovernmental Relations with Nisga’a Lisims Government. Bobby currently serves as Chair for the Nisg̱a’a Museum Advisory Committee and is a board member representing his home community of Lax̱g̱alts’ap on the Wilp Wilx̱o’oskwhl Nisg̱a’a Institute (WWNI). Equally matched has been Bobby’s focus on post-secondary education: after graduating from Nisga’a Elementary Secondary School in 1999 he attended Capilano University and the University of Ottawa. In 2014, Bobby graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in First Nations Studies from WWNI and the University of Northern British Columbia.

Nathan Cohen-Fournier

Makivik Corporation

Breakout 3C: Building Sustainable Economies
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Mr. Cohen-Fournier plays a key role in Makivik Corporation as the Head of the Economic Development Department. The files managed in the department are broad and range from mining, to renewable energy, procurement, artistic support, and much more. Nathan is based in the Corporation’s Head Office of Kuujjuaq.

Prior to working at Makivik, Mr. Cohen-Fournier worked for Bombardier. He is a Chartered Financial Analysis (CFA) and holds a Master of International Business from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (USA), as well as a Bachelor’s in Finance from Concordia University.

Mathew Coon Come, O.C.

Plenary 6: Language and Culture – The Foundation for the Future
Wed. Feb. 12: 4:15 – 4:45pm

Matthew Coon Come’s political career began at the age of 16 when he attended the meeting of his community’s elders to discuss Phase One of the James Bay Project.  Since that time, he has emerged as one of the most significant leaders of the Cree Communities of Northern Quebec.  Under his leadership, the Cree have initiated research into resource management, the environmental impacts of hydro-electric development, energy economics and political economy. He oversaw the Cree’s role at the United Nations to draft a Universal Declaration of the Right of Indigenous Peoples.  During the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accord discussions, he made significant contribution to the negotiations on constitutional amendments that would have guaranteed Aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada.

He is known as a negotiator and leader who has signed agreements with the government of Canada to build infrastructure improvements in Cree communities.  He is best known for his work opposing the Great Whale Hydro Electric Project in Quebec, where he showed tenacity of purpose and clarity of vision by insisting on a full, comprehensive and public assessment.  This tenacity led to the Quebec Government’s decision to cancel the project.  Matthew is known nationally and internationally for his environmental work and the leadership of the Cree people of Northern Quebec.

Brian A. Crane, QC

Partner, Gowling WLG

Breakout 4E: The UNDRIP and National Implications for Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Brian Crane, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office. As a senior member of the firm’s Advocacy Law Group, he practises in constitutional, administrative and Aboriginal law.

Brian appears as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and the Ontario courts. He has worked extensively in the negotiation of native land claims, self-government agreements and related litigation, and in arbitration and mediation.

An active member of the Canadian Bar Association, Brian has chaired Bar Committees on Reform of Parliament, the Federal Judiciary, Reform of the Federal Court, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Reform of Civil Justice.

He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1977 and a Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation in 1988. He was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1993.

Brian is recognized by Chambers Global as a Senior Statesman in the field of aboriginal law.

Clifford Daniels

Behchokǫ̀ Chief, Tłı̨chǫ Government

Plenary 2: Building Today: Modern Treaty Organizations and Community Development
Tues. Feb 11: 10:50 – 11:45am

CHIEF CLIFFORD DANIELS has served on the Community Government of Behchokǫ̀, the Chiefs Executive Council, as well as the Tłıchǫ Assembly since 2009. Prior to his current role as Chief, Mr. Daniels was a Councillor and sub-Chief with the Dogrib Rae Band from 1999-2004, and the Chief from 2004-2005.  He has also served as a Director of Rae Band Construction, the Rae-Edzo School Society, The Jimmy Erasmus Senior’s Home, Tłıchǫ Explosives, and the Rae-Edzo Housing Association as well as the chairperson of the Behchokǫ̀ Development Corporation.  He is also active in the Canadian Rangers.

Clifford was born in Yellowknife and spent a great deal of time on traplines around the Horne Plateau and River and especially at Hislop Lake. He was educated in Behchokǫ̀, Yellowknife and in Edmonton at NAIT where he received his Journeyman Certification/Interprovincial Red Seal in plumbing in 1992. He has worked at many jobs from labourer, gardener, wood cutter, short order cook to a housing maintainer and plumber.

Chief Daniels is married and has five children and four grandchildren in the Community of Behchokǫ.

Chief Daniels has a vision of Tłı̨chǫ people and organizations that are prepared for a strong, prosperous and self-governing future.

Adamie Delisle Alaku

Vice President Department of Environment, Wildlife and Research, Makivik Corp.

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Mr. Adamie Delisle-Alaku was born on June 28, 1981. He received his high school diploma in 1999 from Ikusik High School in his hometown of Salluit. Adamie worked at the Raglan mine for Kiewit Nuvumiut, initially as human resources coordinator for seven years, and thereafter as a general open-pit foreman for three years. Prior to being employed at Makivik Corporation, Adamie was a volunteer fireman, and was an active first responder in his home community.

Adamie joined Makivik Corporation in the spring of 2011 as Executive Assistant to then Vice President, Mr. Johnny Peters. In this position, he developed a broad understanding of wildlife issues and the various challenges related to renewable resources facing Nunavik Inuit. He has showed great devotion in ensuring Nunavimmiut were heard and well represented at the regional, national and international levels, including the Arctic Circle, Polar Bear Range State meetings, CITES and various conferences and lobbying efforts abroad.

He is currently a member of the Hunting Fishing Trapping Coordinating Committee where he has been active for the past seven years and Chairman during 2013 and 2017. He is equally co-chair of the Ungava Peninsula Caribou Aboriginal Roundtable.

He is currently a Board of Director to the Société du Plan Nord, the Co-operative Management Board to the Torngat Mountains National Park, and ArcticNet. Most recently, in July 2017, Mr. Delisle-Alaku was appointed for a four-year term as board member to Polar Knowledge Canada, where his experience regarding arctic research issues will be well served.

Adamie is a respected member of his home community of Salluit, and now lives in Kuujjuaq with his partner Victoria and her two children Linus and Louise. Among his many achievements Adamie is fluently tri-lingual (Inuktitut, French and English), and is an accomplished musician.

In his elected capacity at Makivik, Adamie is committed to ensuring he represents the best interests of Nunavimmiut regarding cultural ties to the land and Nunavik’s renewable resources. Mr. Delisle-Alaku is a former Director of: Air Inuit, First Air, Nunavik Creations, Halutik Enterprises, Nunavik Geomatics, Nunacell, and Kautaq Construction.

Jonathan Dewar

Executive Director, First Nations Information Governance Centre

Breakout 3A: Data Relevance, Management and Governance
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Dr. Jonathan Dewar is the Executive Director of the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) in Ottawa. An incorporated non-profit operating with a special mandate from the Assembly of First Nations’ Chiefs in Assembly, FNIGC leads national-level research, including designing and implementing the longstanding and influential First Nations Regional Health Survey and other region-by-region national surveys, and provides OCAP® and information governance education and training. FNIGC envisions that every First Nation will achieve data sovereignty in alignment with its distinct worldview.

Jonathan has been recognized as a leader in healing and reconciliation and Indigenous health and well-being education, policy, and research for over a decade. He has published and spoken extensively on these subjects, with a specialization in the role of the arts in health, healing, and reconciliation, and has lectured nationally and internationally. From 2012-2016, Jonathan served as the first Director of the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre and Special Advisor to the President at Algoma University, where he led research, education, curatorial, and community service programming, and taught courses in Anishinaabe Studies, Political Science, and Fine Arts. He continues to support the Shingwauk Residential School Survivors as the lead curator of a multi-phase historical exhibition called “Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall.” From 2007-2012, Jonathan served as Director of Research at the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, where he led the Foundation’s research and evaluation and knowledge translation efforts.

Jonathan is of mixed heritage, descended from Huron-Wendat, French-, and Scottish-Canadian grandparents with an academic background in Indigenous arts and literatures and Indigenous studies. He completed a doctorate in the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies at Carleton University and holds an appointment as Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Frank Dragon

Ka:yu:’k’t’h’ / Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations

Breakout 1E: Consultation: Guidelines, Expectations and Case Studies
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Breakout 2B: What Should Co-Development Look Like? Modern Treaty Perspectives
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Frank is a member of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, Aklavik Indian Band, and enrolled as a member in the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement, and the Gwich’in Land Act (Bill C-94).  His life encompasses all aspects of his rich cultural heritage from his parents.

Frank has provided advisory services in the areas of the constitution, law development, strategic planning, community development, community engagement, and governance capacity training.  He is the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/ Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations representative at the Maa-nulth Fisheries Committee,  Joint Technical Fisheries Committee, Joint Fisheries Committee, Finance Committee and Implementation Committee.

Frank has 20 plus years experience in the Drug and Alcohol Addictions field, working specifically with First Nations Youth and Young Adults in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. As well, Frank has used his Pastoral schooling and contextualized his training to better suit the needs of First Nations families.  He has been involved on numerous Boards including the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Circle of Eagles Lodge, ACCESS Employment Centre, Greater Vancouver Homelessness Initiative, Greater Vancouver Aboriginal Homelessness Initiative, Hoy Creek Housing Co-operative, and Yes Campaign to Ward System (on behalf of the then Mayor now Senator Larry Campbell of Vancouver).

Frank has also been a part of the Self Governing Indigenous Governments Collaborative Fiscal Policy team which involves Fiscal Policy, Data and Gap collection and their steering committee on Data collection, Housing and infrastructure, culture lands and heritage, lands and resources And Governance.. He’s recently been appointed to Southern Resident Killer Whale Sanctuaries Committee and sits on Canada’s  Halibut Advisory Board.

Chief Negotiatior for Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h First Nations Financial Fiscal Agreement Negotiations on Maanulth Final Agreement. Franks recently been appointed Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h First Nations Interim Lands and Resources Director.

Franks passion is working with the Legislative process of the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations specific to the Constitution and Law Development.  As a result of his efforts, Frank was adopted, by a Che:k’tles7et’h’ Ha’wiih,  in accordance with Nuu-Chah-nulth custom, and given the name Chah Chim Wa Eek-“one who always says good words.”

Hannes Edinger

Managing Director, Big River Analytics Ltd

Breakout 3A: Data Relevance, Management and Governance
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Hannes Edinger is the Managing Director of Big River Analytics Ltd., based in Terrace, BC on Tsimshian territory. Hannes is a member of the Métis Nation, and he founded Big River Analytics Ltd. in 2011 with the objective of providing statistical and analytical capacity to benefit Indigenous peoples, communities, and governments across Canada. Hannes and his team have since served all levels of government in Canada and they continue to provide analytical capacity to local, regional, provincial, and national Indigenous organizations in Canada.

Hannes’ work has always had a data-driven focus. In the past several years, he has managed projects with significant primary data collection requirements. In response to these requirements, Hannes developed community-level strategies and custom online solutions for the collection and analysis of primary data. Hannes has successfully made available some of the critical tools of national-level statistical agencies to municipalities and First Nations communities.

Hannes’ passion for data-based inquiry motivated his graduate training in economics at Queen’s University where he focused on applied econometrics. His research at Queen’s included the application of a new statistical technique to the problem of projecting First Nations populations in Canada under different legislative regimes – work for which he was awarded the Scarthingmoor Prize in Economics.

Upon completion of his graduate studies, Hannes worked for the First Nations Statistical Institute in Ottawa where he continued to work on population projection models, and the development of other statistical tools, techniques, and processes. After leaving Ottawa, Hannes moved to Terrace to pursue the world’s largest Chinook salmon. When he’s not tied to his desk, he’s probably out chasing salmon.

James Eetoolook

Vice President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc

OPENING PRAYER & WELCOME FROM LCAC CO-CHAIRS
Tues. Feb 11: 8:30 – 9:00am

EVENING RECEPTION
Tues. Feb 11: 7:00-8:30PM

CLOSING REMARKS: LCAC CO-CHAIRS
Wed Feb 12: 4:45 – 5:00pm

James Eetoolook has been a leader all his adult life, both at the community and regional levels. His commitment to traditional outdoor pursuits is always present. Mr. Eetoolook was born in Fort Ross in his family’s traditional hunting and trapping area. He went to school first in Spence Bay (now Taloyoak), then in Inuvik. He began his working career with the Hudson’s Bay Company as a clerk. He later became manager of a Co-op Store.

From 1975 to 1989, Mr. Eetoolook worked for Spence Bay as the community’s Settlement Secretary and then as the Senior Administrative Officer for the newly-created Hamlet. His exceptional service was recognized by the Nunavut Association of Municipalities with a special award, named the Eetoolook Award, which is presented annually to the top Senior Administrative Officer.

Mr. Eetoolook was elected President of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association in 1989. He became President of the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN), in .1992 and signed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA) in 1993. After the NLCA was signed, James was elected the 1st Vice-President of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated.  He is currently Vice President of NTI and Chair of the Inuit Wildlife and Environment Council.

Mr. Eetoolook is married, with four children and eight grandchildren. His personal interests include hunting, fishing and camping.

Dakota Erutse

Board Member and Vice-Chair, Sahtu Land Use Planning Board

Breakout 1D: Implementation Organizations: Committees & Co-management Boards
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Dakota Erutse is in constant search for a real Canadian—and hasn’t yet found one. Since he believes that poets and novelists are the voice to life’s edifying lessons, he studies English literature. Since he has an Indian Status Card, he also reads Aboriginal law. Dakota has led community engagement initiatives related to Aboriginal custom election codes and federal-territorial protected area designations. He was a Member of the Technical Working Group for the Protected Areas Act, S.N.W.T. 2019, c. 11. Since 2016 he has been a Member and the Vice-Chair of the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board. He has served on the Sahtu Health and Social Services Authority’s Board of Management and has served the Fort Good Hope Dene Band as a Returning Officer. Dakota is a Participant of the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. He spends his free time preparing for marathons and writing book reviews and essays. He was born in Yellowknife and raised in Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Leena Evic

President, Pirurvik Centre Inc.

Plenary 4: For a Better Tomorrow
Wed. Feb. 12: 9:30 – 10:15am

Leena Evic has been an essential voice in Nunavut, articulating a vision for the territory that is grounded fully in Inuit knowledge and wisdom that have been passed along through the centuries. She works to rekindle the sharing of this living legacy between generations of Inuit as the means to building prosperity and wellbeing in the modern Arctic communities of today.

Leena Evic is the founder and President of the Pirurvik Centre, an Inuit-owned company dedicated to Inuit language, culture and wellbeing.  In 2016, she was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross by Canada’s Governor General in recognition of the transformative programs Pirurvik has created since 2003. Pirurvik wide range of programming explores the highest levels of Inuit knowledge; provides literacy and language enhancement to Inuktut speakers and teaches Inuktut as a Second language to younger Inuit and those from outside the culture. Its well-being programs are designed around the specific needs of Inuit men, women and youth. Pirurvik has also been on the leading edge of creating the computing tools that enable Inuktut speakers to use their language in the digital age.  As Pirurvik’s President, but also as an educator, a facilitator and an entrepreneur, Leena shares her experience and inspiration through speaking events in local communities, throughout Nunavut and the rest of Canada, and on the global stage.

Before beginning Pirurvik, Leena was the Director of Social, Cultural and Educational Development with Nunavut Tunngavik, the Inuit organization that signed Canada’s largest land claims agreement.  She was also the Director of Policy for the Department of Justice in the Government of Nunavut that was created in 1999 as part of the land claim.

Inuit approaches to teaching and learning have been important throughout this time, beginning in her early years when she was immersed in the rhythms of traditional Inuit life in Cumberland Sound, near present-day Pangnirtung.  She has built on that foundation through a career as a teacher, a school principal and as an instructor in the Nunavut Teacher Education Program.  She holds a Bachelor’s in Education from McGill University where she also did her Master’s work on educational leadership and culture-based education.

Nuri Frame

Partner, Pape Salter Teillet LLP

Breakout 2B: What Should Co-Development Look Like? Modern Treaty Perspectives
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Nuri Frame is co-managing partner of Pape Salter Teillet LLP. He specializes in Indigenous rights law, with an emphasis on litigation and dispute resolution, governance, and treaty negotiation and implementation. Nuri’s litigation practice focuses on a range of areas impacting Indigenous peoples, including constitutional law, administrative law, environmental and regulatory law, treaty and self-government issues and disputes concerning implementation of impact benefits agreements. Nuri has appeared before numerous courts and regulatory tribunals in both Canada and the United States. Nuri appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of interveners in the Behn, Keewatin, and Chippewas of the Thames cases.

In addition to his litigation practice, Nuri also provides advice on a range of other legal issues affecting Indigenous communities, including governance, treaty negotiation and implementation, environmental and resource protection and negotiation and consultation with governments and resource developers. Nuri has worked extensively with Indigenous governments in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In his practice, Nuri aims to provide his clients with legal and strategic advice that permits them to access the full range of options available for effectively resolving the issues they are presented with.

Prior to joining Pape Salter Teillet, Nuri practiced as a litigator in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where he worked on a broad range of complex corporate and commercial litigation matters.

Nuri received his LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School, where he was awarded the Bronze Medal, and is called to the bar in Ontario, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and New York State.

Nuri is consistently recognized as a leading practitioner in the field of Aboriginal law in the peer rankings published by Lexpert Magazine and has been repeatedly named a “Best Lawyer” in the area of Aboriginal law by the peer rankings in Best Lawyers in Canada. Best Lawyers in Canada named Nuri the 2018 “Lawyer of the Year” for Aboriginal Law in Toronto.

Roy Francis

Community Development Officer, Tla’amin Nation

Moderator Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Roy Francis is a citizen of the Tla’amin Nation located near the city of Powell River, British Columbia.  Roy has served as the Chief Negotiator for the Tla’amin; who have successfully completed the newest of the Modern Day treaties.  On April 5, 2020 Tla’amin will be celebrating it’s fourth year as a Self-Governing Nation.

Roy now serves as the chairperson for the Nation’s operating board of companies, and as Community Development officer for the Nation. Roy is heavily involved in the implementation of the Tla’amin Final Agreement.

Tla’amin has developed successful business ventures; which in turn provide valuable employment for Tla’amin members; and generate good financial returns to the Nation which helps to support our development and progress.

Adam Fritz

Director, Indigenous Coordination and Engagement Employment and Social Development Canada

Moderator Breakout 1B: Self-Government
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Adam Fritz is the Director of the Indigenous Coordination and Engagement (ICE) Division at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and is responsible for overseeing Indigenous engagement and Modern Treaty implementation for the Department.

Adam Fritz est le directeur de la Division de la Mobilisation autochtone et coordination (MAC) à Emploi et Développement social Canada (EDSC), et il est chargé de superviser la mobilisation autochtone et la mise en œuvre des traités modernes pour le ministère.

Stephen Gagnon

Director General, Canadian Heritage

Breakout 2E: Legal and Policy Updates
Tues. Feb. 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Duane Gastant’ Aucoin

Executive Councillor, Teslin Tlingit Council

Breakout 1C: It’s All Connected: Socioeconomic Outcomes and Wellbeing
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Duane Gastant’ Aucoin is a Yanyeidi Clan (Wolf) member of the Dak Ka Lingit (Inland Tlingit First Nation) and the French Acadian communities living in Teslin, Yukon. He is currently a three consecutive term Executive Councillor and former Director of Health and Social Development with Teslin Tlingit Council (TTC), a modern treaty, Self Governing Yukon First Nation Government. He is also the current Chair of the Lingit Yoo X’atangi ka Haa Shagoon dat Yei Jineix’i (Tlingit Language and Culture Oversight Committee). He led the development of the TTC Language and Culture Act and Implementation Plan as TTC begins to reoccupy this important field.

Gastant’ was also trained by his Elders to be the lead singer/drummer of the Deisleen Kwaan Dancers from Teslin, Yukon. He also performed with Sharon Shorty in the comedy duo, Gramma Susie & Cash Creek Charlie.

Gastant’ also was the co-director with Gord Loverin of the film, My Own Private Lower Post, where he went on a journey with his mother Vicky Jeeneek Bob who was a Residential School Survivor and discovered how he too was a Survivor of a Survivor. The lesson learned was that the intergenerational effects of Residential School effects us all and we all need to work together to heal from this pain so we can finally leave it behind us and move on.

Gregor Gilbert

Director, Department of Environment, Wildlife, and Research, Makivik Corp.

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Gregor has been employed by Makivik Corporation since 2010, and is the Director of the Department of Environment, Wildlife, and Research (DEWR), a position he has held since October 2018.  Prior to his employment at Makivik, he was the Director of Wildlife Management at the then newly formed Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board.

Gregor has extensive experience dealing with wildlife co-management issues, especially those derived from the Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement.  He has worked on a wide number of issues including Inuit harvesting rights, wildlife conservation, international trade of wildlife, food security, research policy development, and environmental impact assessment.  Among his many appointments, he has served as the co-chair to the Canadian Polar Bear Technical Committee and is the Makivik appointed member to the Inuit Qaujisarvingat National Committee.

He holds a M.Sc. (Entomology) and a B.Sc. (Wildlife Biology) from McGill and a Hons. B.A. in English Language and Literature (Western).

Kim Gilson

Partner, Duboff, Edwards, Haight & Schachter

Breakout 2C: Impact & Benefit Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Kim received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Manitoba and has practiced law in Winnipeg since 1989.  She is a partner with the firm of Duboff Edwards Haight & Schachter. Her work is focussed on the areas of indigenous law, economic development, governance and business law.  Along with her work in Winnipeg and northern Manitoba, Kim also practices in Nunavut, with an emphasis on project development and regulation, impact and benefit agreements, governance and treaty negotiations.

A frequent lecturer, Kim has presented for the Law Society of Manitoba, the Manitoba and Canadian Bar Associations, the Government of Nunavut, the University of Manitoba and elsewhere.  She is a past-Chair of the Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security Review Tribunal; of the Aboriginal Law Section of the Manitoba Bar Association; and of the Manitoba Branch of the Legal Education and Action Fund. Kim sits on the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Airports Authority and is Chair of their Governance Committee, and she is a Commissioner with the Workers Compensation Appeal Commission.

Tami Grantham

Senior Manager, Heritage, Lands and Natural Resources, Carcross/Tagish First Nation

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Mike Haberl

Manager of Implementation BC, CIRNAC

Breakout 3B: Collaborative Federal Fiscal Policy Development Process
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Celeste Haldane

Chief Commissioner, BC Treaty Commission

PRESENTATION: UNDRIP Implications
Tues. Feb 11: 11:45 – 1:15Pm

Celeste was appointed Chief Commissioner in April 2017. Prior to this she served as an elected Commissioner for three two-year terms commencing in 2011.

Celeste is a practising lawyer and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2019. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Constitutional Law from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University), and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Bachelor of Arts from UBC. In 2015, she began her doctorate in Anthropology and Law at UBC.

The Provincial Government appointed Celeste to serve on the UBC Board of Governors where she is Chair of the Indigenous Engagement Committee and the Legal Services Society. She is a Director of the Brain Canada Foundation, the Hamber Foundation, and the Musqueam Capital Corporation. She is an active member of both the Canadian Bar Association and the Indigenous Bar Association. In 2015, Celeste attended the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference.

Celeste is a member of the Sparrow family from Musqueam and is Tsimshian through Metlakatla. She is the proud mother of three and grandmother of two.

Kaitlynn Hester-Moses

Youth Grand Chief, Cree Nation Youth Council

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Peter Hutchins

Hutchins Legal Inc.

Breakout 4E: The UNDRIP and National Implications for Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox

Principal Investigator, Modern Treaties Implementation Research Project
Carleton University and Tłı̨chǫTlicho  Government

Breakout 1A: Teaching our Citizens about the Treaties
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Based in Yellowknife, NT, Dr. Irlbacher-Fox has twenty years of experience working for Indigenous peoples’ organizations in the Northwest Territories, Canada on political and community development, including Treaty negotiations and implementation, and the development of public governance institutions in the NWT. From 2003-2014, she was on the negotiating team of the Deline Self Government Agreement. She is currently the Project Director and Principal Investigator of a $2.5M SSHRC Partnership Grant with the Land Claim Agreements Coalition of Canada, undertaking research on Modern Treaty Implementation.

She was the Implementation Director responsible for overseeing technical aspects of setting up the Deline Got’ine Government, combining the Deline First Nation, Land Corporation and municipality with new self government authorities. She continues to provide several NWT Indigenous governments with governance advisory services related to self government negotiations and land claim implementation. Dr. Irlbacher-Fox is also the Scientific Director of Hotii ts’eeda, the NWT SPOR SUPPORT Unit, a CIHR-funded health research initiative hosted by the Tłı̨chǫ Government.  She is the author of Finding Dahshaa: Self Government, Social Suffering and Aboriginal Policy in Canada (UBC, 2009), nominated by both the Canadian Political Science Association and the Canadian History Association for book awards, and a standard text in university Indigenous Studies programs. Raised in Inuvik, NT where she graduated from high school, Dr. Irlbacher-Fox earned a BA and MA in Political Science from the University of Alberta, and a PhD from Cambridge University, England, where she was a Major Scholar at Magdalene College.

Tom Isaac

Senior Counsel, INAC

Breakout 1E: Consultation: Guidelines, Expectations and Case Studies
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Tom was called to the bar in 1991.  Tom was in-house counsel for the Yellowhead Tribal Council whose members included five Treaty 6 First Nations in central Alberta.  Tom moved to Yellowknife in 1999 where he was legal counsel for the Government of the Northwest Territories for two years followed by two years as legal counsel at the Yellowknife Office of the Department of Justice Canada.  In 2003, Tom transferred to  CIRNAC Legal Services where he has been ever since.

Over the years, Tom’s practice has focussed on Indigenous, Environmental and Natural Resource law, particularly in the context of the three northern territories.  He has been lead Counsel on the NWT Devolution file and the Nunavut Devolution file.  Tom is also currently lead counsel for the negotiation and drafting of several initiatives involving the remediation and/or development of abandoned mines in the northern territories.  These arrangements are done in partnership with the territorial governments and affected Indigenous groups.

Jennifer Jansen

Tsawwassen First Nation

Breakout 3A: Data Relevance, Management and Governance
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Jennifer Jansen has been working with Tsawwassen First Nation since 2010.  Along with her main role as Information Management Coordinator, she is also the Tsawwassen Government’s FOI officer, manages TFN’s Registry of Laws, acts as the back-up Indian Registry Administrator, and is the Clerk for the TFN Judicial Council.  Currently Jennifer is leading a project to implement a SharePoint-based content management system across the organization.  Other information management projects she has supervised include a project to digitize oral history tapes with a grant from the UBC Indigitization program, and an on-going project to inventory the records of TFN’s former Treaty Department. Jennifer graduated from UBC’s School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (aka iSchool) in 2003 with a Master of Archival Studies – First Nations Curriculum Concentration. Previously she has worked for the District of West Vancouver as an Assistant Archivist, for the City of Vancouver as a Records Analyst, and as a Claims Researcher for the Indian Residential Schools Resolution sector of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.

Dave Joe

Dave Joe Law Corporation

Plenary 1: History, Diversity, Implications, and Benefits: An Insider’s Overview of Land Claims Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 9:00 – 10:20am

Dave Joe is a citizen of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. He is a distinguished lawyer who was called to the bar in 1977 in the Yukon and in 1999 in British Columbia. Dave has worked as chief negotiator for the Council of Yukon First Nations and a number of Canadian First Nations. He still acts as legal advisor for Yukon, British Columbia, and Northwest Territories First Nations.

hinatinyis (Brittany Johnson)

Huu-ay-aht First Nation

Breakout 1B: Self-Government
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

ʔukłaamaḥ hinatinyis ʔaḥʔaaʔaƛ Brittany Coté huuʕiiʔaqsumaḥ ojibweʔaqsumaḥ histaqšiłaḥ čačasiiʔis ʔuḥukʷaḥ ʔumʔiiqsu Darlene Leonew uḥukʷaḥ n̓uw̓iiqsu Larry Johnson ʔuḥukʷitaḥ nananiqsu Gordon ʔiš Virginia Cook ʔaḥʔaaʔaƛ Kenny ʔiš Joan Johnson. My name is hinatinyis and Brittany Johnson. I am a Huu-ay-aht woman. I am an Ojibwe woman. My mother is Darlene Leonew. My father is Larry Johnson. My grandparents, who are no longer with us, are Gordon and Virginia Cook and Kenny and Joan Johnson.

I was born and raised on Vancouver Island and call c̓uumuʕaas (Port Alberni) my home. After graduating in 2006, I moved to Victoria and worked a variety of jobs and nurtured my love of music. I lived in the city for many years before I found my true passion. With a strong sense of duty and enthusiasm, I packed my things and moved home to work with my Nation. I have had many opportunities to learn and grow while working with Huu-ay-aht but the most life-changing experience was beginning my journey to revitalize the language of my ancestors. Between being a full-time student and a member of the Queen’s University Research Advisory Committee, I am also on the Board of Directors for the Port Alberni Friendship Center and the Portal Players Dramatic Society. Giving back to the communities that shaped the woman that I am today is profoundly meaningful and fulfilling. ƛ̓eekoo ƛ̓eekoo

Dillon Johnson

Tla’amin Nation

Breakout 2E: Legal and Policy Updates
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Dillon is from the Tla’amin Nation, where he served as an elected councillor for six years. He has been providing community and financial planning advice and services to First Nations communities for the past decade with Temixw Planning Ltd. out of North Vancouver, BC. He is an MBA graduate from the University of Western Ontario and holds the Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager (CAFM) designation from the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada. He also serves as Vice-President for the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of BC.

Shakina Johnson

Youth Rep, Kluane First Nation

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Mike Joyce

Breakout 4B: Revenues, Financial Relationships & Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Mike Joyce worked in the federal Treasury Board Secretariat for twenty-five years where is final position was Senior Assistant Secretary responsible for the Board’s Expenditure Management Sector.  On his retirement in 2005 he was appointed as an Adjunct Professor in Queen’s University’s School of Policy Studies.  Over a period of thirteen years he taught various courses in the School’s MPA program where he also developed and taught a course on the politics and process of government budget development.  He has provided consulting services to a number of institutions including the IMF, the World Bank and Nelligan O’Brien Payne (in its representation Nunavut in the land claim law suit).

Jake Kennedy

A/ Senior Director, Fiscal Policy, CIRNAC

Breakout 3B: Collaborative Federal Fiscal Policy Development Process
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Jake Kennedy is the acting Senior Director of Fiscal Policy and Coordination with the Treaties and Aboriginal Government Sector of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Jake has spent more than a decade working with self-governing Indigenous governments and modern treaty organizations on the implementation of agreements, negotiation of fiscal renewals and development of fiscal policies. Jake was the lead federal representative on two workings groups and co-developed the approaches around the guiding fiscal principles for culture, language and heritage; and the interim approach on lands and resources. Jake also led the federal approval process for the initial policy framework and for the collaborative fiscal policy announced in August 2019.

Paul Kishchuk

President, Vector Research

Breakout 3A: Data Relevance, Management and Governance
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Paul Kishchuk MA CE is a public finance economist and Credentialed Evaluator. Paul has completed more than 250 research assignments for a diverse array of private and public sector clients through Vector Research, the independent economic research consultancy he founded in Whitehorse in 1999.  Paul has learned a lot about community-level data by doing outcome evaluations of Yukon programs, socio-economic effects assessments and analyses of First Nation fiscal arrangements. In recent years, Paul has become skilled in data wrangling and analytics, pioneering the use of big data software tools like Tableau on small Yukon data sets. Paul is the Tableau User Group Leader for Yukon and currently serves as President of the Yukon Chapter of the Canadian Evaluation Society.

Rhiannon Klein

Instructor, Yukon College

Breakout 1B: Self-Government
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Rhiannon Klein is an instructor in the Indigenous Governance Degree program at Yukon College (soon to be Yukon University). She is inspired everyday by the students in the program and enjoys being able to share her knowledge with them. Rhiannon is also a PhD candidate in the School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan. Her thesis work examines how partners in the negotiation of a modern treaty have managed the transition from negotiation to implementation and what this transition reveals about the modern treaty process in Canada. For her research, Rhiannon has been working with three Yukon First Nations: Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Government, Vuntut Gwitchin Government and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. Rhiannon’s teaching and research interests include Northern, Indigenous and multilevel governance; modern treaty negotiation and implementation; intergovernmental relations; public policy; community-based research; and Canadian politics.

Diane Lafleur

Associate Deputy Minister, CIRNA

Breakout 2D: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and Indigenous Services: an update on the INAC split
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Diane Lafleur was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) on May 9, 2016.  Pursuant to the announcement that INAC would be dissolved and a new department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs created, Ms. Lafleur was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs in December of 2017.

Prior to joining INAC, Ms. Lafleur had served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Federal-Provincial Relations and Social Policy at Finance Canada since 2013.  Ms. Lafleur joined the public service at Finance Canada in 1997, holding increasingly senior positions prior to being appointed Assistant Deputy Minister.

Ms. Lafleur obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Politics and Economics from Middlebury College in Vermont. She then went on to complete a Master of Arts in Economics and Canadian Studies at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Mme Diane Lafleur a été nommée sous-ministre déléguée aux Affaires autochtones et du Nord Canada (AANC) le 9 mai 2016. À la suite de l’annonce de la dissolution d’AANC et de la création du nouveau ministère des Relations Couronne-Autochtones et Affaires du Nord Canada, Mme Lafleur a été nommée sous-ministre déléguée aux Relations Couronne-Autochtones et Affaires du Nord Canada en décembre 2017.

Avant de se joindre à AANC, Mme Lafleur occupait, depuis 2013, le poste de sous-ministre adjointe à la Direction des relations fédérales-provinciales et de la politique sociale au ministère des Finances Canada. Mme Lafleur a fait son entrée dans la fonction publique au sein de ce ministère en 1997, où elle a progressivement gravi les échelons jusqu’au poste de sous-ministre adjointe.

Mme Lafleur est titulaire d’un baccalauréat ès arts en politique et en économie internationales du Middlebury College, au Vermont. Elle est également titulaire d’une maîtrise ès art en économie et en études canadiennes de la John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Serge Lariviere

Director General, Cree Hunters and Trappers Income Security Board

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Serge Larivière is a biologist with an undergraduate degree from Rimouski in Québec, a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan and an MBA from the University of Québec in Montreal. He started working with indigenous nations first as a biology teacher for the Dene of Saskatchewan through the First Nations University of Canada. After six years in Saskatchewan, two years in Tennessee and three years in Manitoba, he finally moved back to his home province of Québec, where he started working with the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee (James Bay territory).

He has spent the last 15 years overseeing a program that has for mission to provide economic support for people who wish to hunt, fish and trap as a way of life. Promoting participation to traditional activities is important, not only to support subsistence lifestyle, but also as a way to maintain culture, health and social benefits. Dr. Larivière is an avid supporter of life in the bush and an active participant himself!

His expertise in the outdoor field has led him to give conferences and seminars on hunting, fishing and trapping in over 10 countries all over the world. He now works as Director General of the Cree Hunters Economic Security Board in Québec City, Canada.

Sashia Leung

Associate Director, BC Treaty Commission

Breakout 1A: Teaching our Citizens about the Treaties
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Sashia Leung is proud to be both Wet’suwet’en and Chinese, from Wiset (Moricetown), BC. She is a strong advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples and has focused her academic and professional work on advancing reconciliation and nation-building. Sashia holds a BA in Political Science with a concentration in First Nations studies from the University of British Columbia.

Sashia is Associate Director of Process for the BC Treaty Commission. She facilitates treaty negotiations, organizes forums, and leads special projects including: First Nations governance initiatives, ratification processes, communications, and community engagement. Sashia also assists with nation-to-nation engagement on First Nations overlap and shared territory discussions. Sashia has worked at the international level for the past four years at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Rights, supporting the UNPFII Expert Members.

Sashia is a 2017 member of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference and serves on the Executive Board for the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and on the Big Brothers Greater Vancouver Charity Board.

Lloyd Lintott

Carcross/Tagish First Nation

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Georgina Lloyd

Senior Director, INAC

Breakout 1E: Consultation: Guidelines, Expectations and Case Studies
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Georgina Lloyd is the Senior Director for the Consultation and Accommodation Unit at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Her team supports federal officials in fulfilling the Government of Canada’s duty to consult by providing guidelines, training, systems and other tools. This effort aligns with renewing the relationship with Indigenous peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership. Georgina is a cohort for a federal Aboriginal Leadership Initiative and alumni of the University of Northern British Columbia. She has more than fifteen years of experience leading policy development and program delivery in the federal public service where she has been able to bring consultation skills into practice.

Keith Martell

Director, President and Chief Executive Officer, First Nations Bank of Canada

Breakout 3C: Building Sustainable Economies
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Sheldon McGregor Elder

OPENING PRAYER & WELCOME FROM LCAC CO-CHAIRS
Tues. Feb 11: 8:30 – 9:00am

Corinne McKay

Secretary Treasurer, Nisga’a Nation

Breakout 4B: Revenues, Financial Relationships & Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Corinne is Ganada (Frog/Raven), of the House of Hay’maas.  Her Nisga’a name is Bilaam Neekhl, meaning “Pearly Fin”.

The Nisga’a Nation elected Corinne McKay to position of Secretary Treasurer in the November 2012 election and she was re-elected November of 2016.  She had served as council member for Gitwinksihlkw Village Government in 2004 – 2008.  Prior to that she volunteered as a Chairperson and Treasurer of the Prince Rupert Nisga’a Local.

Corinne has a Masters Degree in Business Administration, specializing in Executive Management; Bachelor of Commerce Degree, major in Accounting, minor in First Nations Studies; Diploma in Business Administration; Clerk Bookkeeper Certification; as well as a Nisga’a Studies Certificate.  She had the privilege to learn Nisga’a Language and Culture through Wilp Wilxo’oskwhl Nisga’a by taking courses with late Dr Bertram McKay and his wife Audrey.

Corinne worked for Northern Native Fishing Corporation for 20 years, leaving a position of General Manager to take a health contract with Nisga’a Valley Health.   She has worked as a Bookkeeper, Administrator, Referendum Commissioner, Chief Electoral Officer, Project Analyst, Vocational /Technical Director, College Instructor, Human Resources Manager, and Director of Programs.

George Moore

Chief Councillor, Gingolx

Moderator Breakout 1D: Implementation Organizations: Committees & Co-management Boards
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Thirty years of community involvement at different levels, and is the current Chief Councillor for the Nisga’a Village of Gingolx, completing a 4 year term. George has been married to Christine and they are celebrating 48 years together.  George has 3 daughters and one Son, 9 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.  His 30 years of experience includes being the CEO for Gingolx, a Community Planner, General Manager for Kincolith Resources Development Ltd, Elected Councillor; Elected Chief for 2 separate Terms and is a Licensed Minister with the PAOC.

Charles Morven

Chief Councillor, Nisg’a Village of Gitlaxt’aamiks

Moderator Breakout 2C: Impact & Benefit Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Moderator Breakout 4B: Revenues, Financial Relationships & Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Chief Charles Morven is the elected Chief Councillor of the Nisga’a Village of Gitwinksihlkw. He was elected to the BCAFN Board of Directors on October 12, 2017.

Charles Morven is a member of the Nisga’a Nation and belongs to Wilps Axdii Wil Luugooda and Ksim Xsaan.  Charles currently holds the Nisga’a name, Daaxheet. Chief Councillor Morven originates from the community of Gitlaxt’aamiks and is currently serving as the Chief Councillor on the Gitwinksihlkw Village Government. Charles holds the responsibility for Economic Development and Finance to the Village Government.  He also has responsibilities to Nisga’a Lisims Government where he sits on the Executive Committee, Finance Committee, and where he chairs the Nisga’a Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.

Chief Councillor Morven has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in First Nations Studies through UNBC and a certificate in Advance Management attained through the UBC Sauder’s School of Business.  A future educational goal for Charles is to obtain a Masters in Business Administration.

Charles also served as Council Representative for the Northwest on the First Nations Health Council (FNHC) from 2012-2016. Charles had the responsibilities while on the FNHC as chairperson for the Northwest Regional Table, Partnership Table with Northern Health Authority and the Policy Committee.

Chief Councillor Morven currently resides in the community of Gitwinksihlkw the home of beautiful wife Nicole Morven.  Charles and Nicole have one daughter Peyton Azak-Morven.

Julie Mugford

Senior Director, Modern Treaty Implementation Office, INAC

Breakout 1E: Consultation: Guidelines, Expectations and Case Studies
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Leading a Whole of Government approach to modern treaty implementation, Julie Mugford is the Senior Director of the Modern Treaty Implementation Office, an office created through the Cabinet Directive on the Federal Approach to Modern Treaty Implementation. In her role, she is responsible for supporting the Deputy Ministers’ Oversight Committee, providing guidance on Assessments of Modern Treaty Implications, the delivery of training, and reporting on treaty implementation. Julie also participates on the LCAC-INAC Working Group, which collaboratively advances many important files. Much of the work undertaken by the Office benefits from research and strong data analysis. In a previous role, Julie was the Director Research and National Coordination of Organized Crime, where she sharpened her research skills.

Mark Nelson

Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation

Breakout 3B: Collaborative Federal Fiscal Policy Development Process
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Mark Nelson is a professional facilitator and consultant with over 15 years experience working for Yukon First Nations governments. Since 2016, Mark has served as an implementation and fiscal representative for Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation. As a facilitator since 2011, he has supported a wide range of inter-governmental processes and community-based cultural programs with Yukon First Nations. Prior to that, he worked for eight years in heritage, lands & resources for both Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation and Ta’an Kwach’än Council.  Mark completed his Master of Arts in Anthropology at the University of Alberta.

Jodi-Lyn Newnham

Director, Implementation and Reconciliation, Government of Yukon

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Jodi-Lyn moved to Whitehorse with her family in September 2018 to begin her role as the Director, Implementation and Reconciliation with the Government of Yukon.

Originally from Alberta, the west coast was home for many years where she worked with the Province of British Columbia in Indigenous Relations, transportation and infrastructure, and housing. Passionate about supporting community well-being, Jodi-Lyn has also focused on youth, diversity, accessibility, women’s safety, and education with municipalities, local and international non-profits, and the University of British Columbia.  She has also volunteered with organizations promoting community development, literacy, and supports for people affected with HIV/AIDs.

Jodi-Lyn has an undergraduate degree in History with a focus on South Asian Studies from the University of Calgary, and a Master’s degree in Planning from UBC. She is a Registered Professional Planner and member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Julia Ogina

Programs Coordinator (Elders, Language & Culture), Kitikmeot Inuit Association

Breakout 4A: Sustaining Indigenous Languages
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Jessica Orkin

Partner, Goldblatt Partners LLP

Breakout 3E: Resolving Basic Differences: Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Other Options
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Jessica Orkin is a partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto and leads the firm’s Aboriginal law practice group. She has a broad litigation practice, with an emphasis on Aboriginal rights, constitutional, human rights, and access to information law matters. Jessica has been named in Best Lawyers and expert as a leading Aboriginal law practitionerJessica Orkin is a partner at Goldblatt Partners LLP in Toronto. She has a broad litigation practice including civil, criminal and administrative law matters, with an emphasis on constitutional, Aboriginal rights, human rights, and access to information law matters.

Martin Papillon

Associate Professor & Director of the Centre de Recherche sur les Politiques et le Développement Social

MODERATOR – Breakout 2B: What Should Co-Development Look Like? Modern Treaty Perspectives
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Dr. Martin Papillon is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, Université de Montréal, and Director of the Centre de Recherche sur les Politiques et le Développement Social (CPDS). His academic work focuses on Indigenous rights and self-determination in relation to Canadian federalism. In the context of this project, his is interested in the ways in which land claims and self-government agreements in northern Canada shape relations between orders of governments in Canada. He is also working on a comparative project on indigenous participation in natural resource extraction and the implementation of the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). He is the author of a number of journal articles and books on Land Claims Agreements and Indigenous politics in Canada more broadly. He also edited two volumes on the topic, Les Autochtones et le Québec: des premiers contacts au Plan Nord (Presses de l’Université de Montréal) and State of the Federation: Aboriginal Multilevel Governance in Canada (Queen’s Institute for Intergovernmental Relations).

Ross Pattee

Assistant Deputy Minister, CIRNAC

Breakout 4D: The 2015 Cabinet Directive: Reflections after 5 years
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Laurie Pelly

Legal Counsel, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

Breakout 3E: Resolving Basic Differences: Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Other Options
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Laurie Pelly is a member of the Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Ontario and New York Bars. She has been in-house counsel for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the Inuit treaty organization, since May 1994, working in both the Ottawa and Cambridge Bay offices of NTI. She has represented NTI from the early days of the Nunavut Treaty implementation process, including in the setting up of NTI’s land management system, negotiation of Inuit Impact and Benefits Agreements, and the numerous lawsuits that NTI has brought against the Crown, including a major land claims litigation against the Crown from 2006-2015. Prior to relocating to Canada in the early 90s, Laurie was an associate with the environmental litigation group of the international firm White & Case in New York.

Sony Perron

Associate Deputy Minister, Indigenous Services Canada

Breakout 2D: Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and Indigenous Services: an update on the INAC split
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Sony Perron was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Indigenous Services Canada on December 15, 2017. Mr. Perron served as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch at Health Canada from January 2014 to December 2017, and Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services Branch between 2012 and 2013.

Previously, Mr. Perron occupied a number of executive functions in Health Canada including the positons of Director General, Transformation; Director General, Non-Insured Health Benefits; and Executive Director, Operational Services and Systems.

Mr. Perron started his Public Service career at Canada Economic Development in 1997, and worked at the Treasury Board Secretariat and Human Resources Development Canada prior to joining Health Canada.

Mr. Perron holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Planning. He is the father of three children.

Sony Perron a été nommé sous-ministre délégué de Services aux Autochtones Canada le 15 décembre 2017. Sony a occupé le poste de sous-ministre adjoint principal de la Direction générale de la santé des Premières nations et des Inuits à Santé Canada de janvier 2014 à décembre 2017, et précédemment à titre de sous-ministre adjoint de la Direction des services de gestion entre 2012 et 2013.

Antérieurement, Sony a occupé divers postes de cadre à Santé Canada incluant celui de directeur général, transformations; directeur général des services de santé non assurés; et directeur des services et systèmes opérationnels.

Sony a commencé sa carrière à la fonction publique en 1997 à Développement économique Canada et il a également travaillé au Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada et à Développement des ressources humaines Canada avant de se joindre à Santé Canada.

Sony détient une maîtrise en administration publique et un baccalauréat en urbanisme. Il est le père de trois enfants.

Adam Perry, PhD

Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government

Breakout 1C: It’s All Connected: Socioeconomic Outcomes and Wellbeing

Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Adam Perry has a PhD in social anthropology received from the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. His work focuses on rural socio-economic development, the co-management of natural resources, biodiversity and questions about what sustainability encompasses. His other interests include a focus on emerging and new economies and human migration, migrant work and social mobility, critical Indigenous theory and research design.

Dr. Perry has worked for the Nisga’a Lisims Government as a data analyst since 2016.

Derek Peters (Tliishin) – ʔApwinisatḥʔ

Huu-ay-aht First Nation

Breakout 1B: Self-Government
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Jordan Peterson

Deputy Grand Chief / Vice President, Gwich’in Tribal Council

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Plenary 4: For a Better Tomorrow
Wed. Feb. 12: 9:30 – 10:15am

Jordan Peterson is the elected Deputy Grand Chief/Vice President of the Gwich’in Tribal Council (GTC). The Gwich’in Tribal Council was established through negotiations of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement in 1992.

Jordan was elected in June 2016 for a four year term and serves on the Board of Directors for the GTC, Gwich’in Settlement Corporation and Gwich’in Council International. His portfolios are diverse and range from Intergovernmental Relations to Gwich’in services. He is the political lead and Chief Negotiator for the GTC Self-Government process and a range of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Monica Pishew

Breakout 1A: Teaching our Citizens about the Treaties
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Monica Pishew is an Anihshinini-ekwe (Oji-Cree woman) from Sachigo Lake First Nation, a fly-in community located in the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Territory also known as Treaty 9 in Ontario’s Far North. She was born in Thunder Bay and grew up there and in the area of Sachigo Lake and Sioux Lookout. She graduated from Confederation College’s Aboriginal Community Advocacy Diploma Program in 2015 where she learned about the history between Indigenous peoples and Canada focusing on Indigenous Case Law and Indigenous and Treaty Rights. She obtained an Honours B.A. from Trent University in 2017, where she focused on Indigenous theoretical frameworks that guide Indigenous world view, cultural practices and customs, the roles and responsibilities of individuals and collectively, and in applied Indigenous research methodologies.

In 2019, she graduated from the Northern Studies Master of Arts degree program at Carleton University, where her focus was on Arctic communities’ response to climate change and their changing environments. I started with the MTIRP as a research assistant for my student-placement where I examined the 26 Modern Treaties for Indigenous approaches to Modern Treaty implementation in governance and delivery of programs and initiatives. As a person from a numbered treaty I must say that this experience has been eye-opening and a pleasure to learn from Indigenous Modern Treaty Holders.

Guy Polden

Senior Researcher, The Firelight Group

Breakout 2C: Impact & Benefit Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Guy Polden is a Senior Researcher with the Firelight Group, an Indigenous-owned research consultancy providing research and technical support to Indigenous communities across North America. Guy is part of a team led by Dr Ginger Gibson that supports Indigenous communities negotiate and implement Impact and Benefit Agreements with developers of large industrial projects on their lands. Through an approach that centres Indigenous values and leaders, the Firelight team has supported communities in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nunavik and the Northwest Territories achieve agreements that directly address community goals and priorities. Guy brings over 5 years of experience in IBA negotiations within a range of contexts, including supporting Indigenous organisations holding modern land claim agreements. Through experience in IBA implementation review, agreement renegotiation and brownfields negotiations, Guy and the Firelight team can provide insight into the range of contexts in which Indigenous organisations can leverage strong agreements to enhance benefits and manage project impacts. With a background in human geography, Guy’s research focuses on leading community-based traditional knowledge and use studies as well as providing research support for Indigenous title claims. In addition, Guy provides geospatial technologies training and support through the Indigenous Mapping Workshop.

Janna Promislow

Associate Professor, Thompson Rivers University, Faculty of Law

Moderator Breakout 1E: Consultation: Guidelines, Expectations and Case Studies
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Dr. Janna Promislow is an Associate Professor at Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law and will be joining the University of Victoria Faculty of Law in July 2020. She is the law theme co-lead on the Modern Treaty Implementation Research Project (SSRCH). Janna’s teaching and research interests encompass constitutional and administrative law, Aboriginal law, treaties, colonial legal history, Indigenous–settler relations, Indigenous law, and legal pluralism. She has published on Aboriginal administrative law, treaty relationships and interpretation, and the historical development of intersocietal law between Indigenous and European fur traders. Before moving into academia, Janna clerked with the Law Courts of Alberta and practiced law with Davis & Company in the Northwest Territories, where she served Sahtu communities addressing land claims implementation issues and residential schools claims. She also worked as a policy advisor for the Government of Ontario on consultation with Indigenous communities.

Bertha Rabesca Zoe

Legal Counsel, Tłı̨chǫ Government

Breakout 1B: Self-Government
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Moderator Breakout 3B: Collaborative Federal Fiscal Policy Development Process
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Bertha Rabesca Zoe is a Tłı̨chǫ Citizen from Behchokǫ̀, Northwest Territories and speaks Tlicho fluently. She is married to John B. Zoe and they have four adult children and six grandchildren. Bertha is sole practitioner and legal counsel to the Tlicho Government. Bertha studied Native Studies and Political Science at University of Alberta and received her Law Degree from the University of Alberta Law School in April 2003. Bertha is a member of the Law Society of Northwest Territories.

Bertha assisted in the negotiation of the Tlicho Agreement Implementation Plan and was lead counsel on the negotiation and implementation of the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement on behalf of the Tlicho Government. Bertha currently serves as the Laws Guardian for the Tlicho Government, the Tlicho Agreement Implementation Committee, the Secretariat to the Leaders Council (Devolution) and on the Technical Working Group of the Land Claims Agreement Coalition. Bertha served on the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board from 1997 – 2003.

Greg Richard

Chief Economist, Fiscal Realities Economists

Breakout 4B: Revenues, Financial Relationships & Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Greg has a number of years of experience with government working in economic development, intergovernmental liaison and fiscal relations. He is thoroughly familiar with government policies and decision-making. He has experience in public finance, facilitating investment projects, the economics of innovation and intergovernmental liaison. Greg holds an MA in Economics from the University of Victoria.

Thierry Rodon

Research Chair in Northern Sustainable Development

Breakout 1C: It’s All Connected: Socioeconomic Outcomes and Wellbeing
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Thierry Rodon is an associate professor in the Political Science Department at Université Laval and holds a Research Chair in Northern Sustainable Development. He is also the director of the Interuniversity Centre for Indigenous Studies and Research (CIERA). He leads MinErAL, an international research network on extractive industries and Indigenous livelihood that encompass researchers and Indigenous partners in Canada, Australia, New Caledonia and Fennoscandia.  He is also the co-lead for the well-being theme on the LCAC SSHRC grant. He finally has authored several publications on Indigenous policies and Arctic governance.

Margaret Rosling

Partner – Aldridge + Rosling LLP

Breakout 2C: Impact & Benefit Agreements
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Breakout 4E: The UNDRIP and National Implications for Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Margaret Rosling is a partner at Aldridge + Rosling LLP, in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was called to the British Columbia bar in 1987, and has practiced extensively in the areas of aboriginal, environmental and resource law. Margaret and her firm specialize in advising and negotiating agreements for modern treaty nations in British Columbia, Yukon and Nunavut, and act as general counsel to the Nisga’a Nation, advising in all aspects of treaty implementation.

Margaret has significant experience as the lead negotiator for British Columbia and Yukon modern treaty nations in respect of benefits agreements related to major resource development projects, including major mining, pipeline and hydroelectric projects. She has negotiated economic benefits agreements and consultation agreements for First Nations, government and industry clients.

Margaret has also represented First Nations in British Columbia, Yukon, Alberta and Saskatchewan in aboriginal treaty rights litigation. In 2017, Margaret and her colleagues at Aldridge + Rosling LLP successfully represented multiple modern treaty nations and environmental organizations in litigation in the Supreme Court of Canada concerning the implementation of modern treaties (First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun v. Yukon, 2017 SCC 58).

Colin Salter

Partner, Pape Salter Teillet LLP

Breakout 3B: Collaborative Federal Fiscal Policy Development Process
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Colin Salter is a partner with Pape Salter Teillet LLP and specializes in Indigenous rights law, with a focus on the fiscal and business opportunities available to Indigenous peoples that build wealth and economic independence. As a member of the legal team that worked with the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council and the Tłı̨chǫ people to negotiate the Tłı̨chǫ Land Claims and Self-Government Agreement, Colin helped conclude the first agreement of this kind in the Northwest Territories in 2004. His focus during the negotiations was on the fiscal and tax aspects of the agreement. He also participated in the negotiation of tax sharing agreements for both the Income Tax and Goods and Services Tax, including appearances before parliamentary committees to advocate on behalf of the sharing of taxes with Indigenous governments.

Colin also has significant experience negotiating and concluding agreements with corporations that propose developments in Indigenous homelands. Colin has assisted his clients in arranging financing for their equity participation in the projects. He has worked to guarantee Indigenous governments’ significant participation in the business opportunities that arise from a development project.

Colin received his LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School and is called to the bar in Ontario, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Colin is recognized as a “repeatedly recommended” leading practitioner in the field of Aboriginal law in the peer rankings published by Lexpert Magazine.

Kim Smarch

Director of Negotiations and Implementation, Teslin Tlingit Council

Breakout 2A: Involving Youth, Recruitment and Succession Planning
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Kim Smarch is the Director of Negotiations and Implementation for Teslin Tlingit Council. She works tirelessly to negotiate and implement programs and services across all departments. She has a wealth of knowledge and is always willing to share ideas and solutions. Kim is a great source of corporate knowledge and as a citizen of TTC who works hard for her nation, she is an inspiration to her community.

Mark Smith

General Counsel & Director of Process, BC Treaty Commission

Breakout 2B: What Should Co-Development Look Like? Modern Treaty Perspectives
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Mark Smith is General Counsel and Director of Process for the BC Treaty Commission. He provides legal, political, and strategic policy advice on a wide-range of Indigenous land claims and Aboriginal rights issues.

Mark leads complex multi-party facilitations, including overlapping and shared territory issues amongst First Nations, and other dispute resolution processes. He works directly with First Nations on governance, Nation-building, and capacity building initiatives. Mark is also involved in work at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

A graduate from the University of Alberta Law School, Mark was called to Alberta Bar, and is currently a member of the Law Society in British Columbia. Mark has focused his career on Aboriginal law and First Nations issues.

Brian Tait

Executive Chairperson, Nisga’a Lisims Government

OPENING PRAYER & WELCOME FROM LCAC CO-CHAIRS
Tues. Feb 11: 8:30 – 9:00am

EVENING RECEPTION
Tues. Feb 11: 7:00-8:30PM

CLOSING REMARKS: LCAC CO-CHAIRS
Wed. Feb 12: 4:45-5PM

Moderator Breakout 4E: The UNDRIP and National Implications for Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Brian Tait is G̱anada from Wilps Ksim X̱saan.  Brian’s Nisg̱a’a name is Gadim Sbayt-G̱an.  Gadim Sbayt-G̱an resides in his home community, the Nisg̱a’a Village of Gitlax̱t’aamiks with his wife Faith.  Brian & Faith have 3 sons, Luke, Adam & Paul and they are the proud grandparents to 8 grandchildren.

Brian has worked as an independent contractor in the silviculture and logging industries for many years where he proudly employed Nisg̱a’a citizens and contributed to the local economy.  Brian also worked as Emergency Coordinator with Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government where he was responsible for the development of the Nisg̱a’a Nation’s first Emergency Response and Recovery Plan in 2005.

Brian’s political life includes several terms as Councillor for the then Gitlax̱t’aamiks Band Council beginning in the 1980’s and now the Gitlax̱t’aamiks Village Government.  Brian was also elected the first Chief Councillor for GItlax̱t’aamiks Village Government in the first regular election following the effective date of the Nisg̱a’a Treaty.   While Chief Councillor, Brian represented his community as Chair to the NLG Lands & Resources committee.  Brian also had the privilege of serving as Speaker of the House to Wilp Si’ayuuḵhl Nisg̱a’a (“WSN”) for many years – a position he was voted in to by his peers.

Brian was elected Executive Chairperson in a regular election of the Nisg̱a’a Nation on November 2, 2016.

Erin Thomson-Leach

JFK Law Corporation

Breakout 2E: Legal and Policy Updates
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Dana Tizya-Tramm

Chief, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

Plenary 5: Where Next? Priorities and Opportunities
Wed. Feb. 12: 3:15 – 4:15pm

Moderator Breakout 1A: Teaching our Citizens about the Treaties
Tues. Feb. 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm is a proud Yukoner and member of Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation who grew up in rural and urban Yukon, as well as in BC. Dana has worked in a number of interesting jobs throughout a long working career but his team skills, people skills, and his speaking abilities have always served him well in bringing people together to accomplish tasks and long-term goals. He was involved in the building and management of youth organizations like Our Voices and the Youth of the Peel. For years Dana was involved in project management and strategic planning, where he provided groups with the tools and assistance required to develop and achieve their goals.

Youth, education and climate are just some of Dana’s passions. Dana spent a number of years speaking across North America on subjects such as “Bridging Indigenous Ways of Knowing with Western Best Practices”, “Youth Engagement and Motivation”, “Project Management and Engagement in the North” and “Climate Change and Renewable Energies in the North”. As Chief, Dana has utilized his education, life experience and teachings from elders to be a true Leader for Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. In his first year as Chief, the community passed a Climate Emergency Declaration and passed a GA Resolution to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. Dana has ambitious clean energy and climate mitigation plans for Vuntut Gwitchin and plans to have Old Crow be at the forefront for Climate Change research and renewable technologies.

Daniel T’seleie

Self-Government Negotiator, K’asho Got’ine

Moderator Breakout 1C: It’s All Connected: Socioeconomic Outcomes & Wellbeing
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Moderator Breakout 2E: Legal and Policy Updates
Tues. Feb 11: 3:15 – 4:45pm

Moderator Breakout 3C: Building Sustainable Economies
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Hannah Uniuqsaraq

Chief Administrative Officer, Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI)

MODERATOR – Breakout 4A: Sustaining Indigenous Languages
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45 pm

Hannah Uniuqsaraq is the Chief Administrative Officer at Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), where she works on diverse issues advancing Inuit rights and interests including land use planning, marine related files and intergovernmental affairs.

Prior to joining NTI, Hannah was employed with the Government of Canada for 14 years. During her tenure, she was a Sr. Economic Development Advisor with the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency coordinating the Northern Adult Basic Education Program with the three territorial colleges across Canada’s North, and Policy and Planning Advisor for the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Nunavut Regional Office.

Her educational background includes political science studies from the University of Manitoba, Adult Basic Education with St. Francis Xavier and selected through a federal talent management process, completed the Aboriginal Leadership Development Initiative through the Canada School for Public Servants. Hannah is also on the Board of Trustees for the Arctic Inspiration Prize.

Daniel Watson

Deputy Minister, CIRNAC

Plenary 3: Whole-of-Government? Challenges and Opportunities
Wed. Feb. 12: 8:40 – 9:30 AM

Daniel Watson is a proud public servant who is passionate about the role that public institutions play in shaping Canada and the lives of Canadians. His appointment at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is his fifth appointment as a Deputy Minister, having been Deputy Minister (and previously Associate Deputy Minister) of Western Economic Diversification, Chief Human Resources Officer for the Government of Canada and Chief Executive Officer, Parks Canada.

Much of his career has focused on work with Indigenous peoples and issues, having been the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for Policy and Strategic Direction at the former Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Director General of the Aboriginal Justice Directorate at the federal Department of Justice, and Director of Aboriginal and Territorial Relations at INAC’s Northwest Territories Regional Office. With the Government of British Columbia, he was Director of Treaty Implementation and Settlement Legislation where he led the development of the Nisga’a Final Agreement Act (British Columbia) among other major initiatives and, with the Government of Saskatchewan where he was responsible for first negotiations between provincial Department of Education and what was then the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

In the context of these positions, he played key roles in the negotiation of modern treaties, specific claims and many other agreements and processes. He was also the lead for several key legislative initiatives, litigation files and alternative justice programs. He has worked with Inuit, Métis and First Nation governments, communities and entities in every jurisdiction across Canada, and has lived in British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.

Beyond this experience, Daniel has significant background in economic development and innovation issues, federal-provincial-territorial relations, labour relations and human resources issues, and cultural and ecological heritage matters. He has represented Canada on numerous issues at forums around the world and has represented the federal government in several national federal-provincial-territorial forums.

Daniel Watson est fier de faire partie de la fonction publique et s’intéresse au rôle que jouent les institutions publiques pour façonner le Canada et la vie des Canadiens et Canadiennes. Sa nomination au sein de Relations Couronne-Autochtones et Affaires du Nord Canada est sa cinquième en tant que sous-ministre, car il a auparavant occupé les postes de sous-ministre (après avoir été sous-ministre délégué) de la Diversification de l’économie de l’Ouest, de dirigeant principal des Ressources humaines du gouvernement du Canada ainsi que de directeur général de l’Agence Parcs Canada.

Une grande partie de sa carrière a été axée sur le travail avec les peuples autochtones et les enjeux qui les concernent. Il a notamment été sous-ministre adjoint principal des Politiques et de l’Orientation stratégique à l’ancien ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord (AINC), directeur général de la Justice applicable aux Autochtones au sein du ministère fédéral de la Justice et directeur des Relations autochtones et territoriales au bureau régional des Territoires du Nord-Ouest d’AINC. Au gouvernement de la Colombie-Britannique, il a été directeur de la Mise en œuvre des traités et de la Législation sur les accords et il a mené des initiatives importantes dont l’établissement de la Loi sur l’Accord définitif nisga’a (Colombie-Britannique). Au gouvernement de la Saskatchewan, il a été responsable des premières négociations entre le ministère provincial de l’Éducation et ce qu’était alors la Fédération des nations indiennes de la Saskatchewan.

Dans le cadre de ces diverses fonctions, il a joué un rôle de premier plan dans la négociation de traités modernes, de revendications particulières et d’un grand nombre d’autres ententes et processus. Il a également été responsable de plusieurs initiatives législatives, dossiers de litige et programmes de justice alternative. Il a travaillé avec des communautés, des entités et des gouvernements inuits, métis et des Premières Nations, dans chacune des juridictions d’un bout à l’autre du Canada, et il a vécu en Colombie-Britannique, en Alberta, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, en Saskatchewan, en Ontario et au Québec.

Daniel possède également une expérience considérable en matière de développement économique et d’enjeux d’innovation, de relations fédérales-provinciales-territoriales et de questions relatives aux relations de travail, aux ressources humaines ainsi qu’au patrimoine culturel et écologique. Il a représenté le Canada sur de nombreuses questions dans des forums aux quatre coins du monde, ainsi que le gouvernement fédéral dans plusieurs forums nationaux et fédéraux-provinciaux-territoriaux.

Mark Wedge

Carcross/Tagish First Nation

Breakout 4C: Food Security
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Michael Welters

Partner – Aldridge + Rosling LLP

Breakout 4B: Revenues, Financial Relationships & Modern Treaty Implementation
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Michael Welters advises on taxes and inter-governmental fiscal relations. He specializes in providing tax advice to the tax-exempt sector, including modern treaty nations, bands, municipalities, health authorities, pension plans, charities and non-profit organizations. He provides those clients with advice on: obtaining or maintaining their income tax exempt status and structuring new activities; complying with and mitigating their commodity tax obligations (e.g., PST, GST, property transfer tax); and the application of, or exemption from, annual property taxes. He teaches “aboriginal tax” as an adjunct professor at UBC Faculty of Law.

With respect to the inter-governmental fiscal relations, Michael advises on the negotiation of tax coordination agreements between different levels of government and on the negotiation and application of fiscal financing and own source revenue agreements. His knowledge extends to equalization and territorial financing arrangements and provincial tax harmonization arrangements.

Michael has represented clients in a variety of tax disputes, both at the administrative and court appeal levels, with respect to a wide range of taxes, including income tax, carbon tax, PST, GST, EI and CPP, tobacco tax and property tax. He has also assisted clients who have outstanding tax obligations with making voluntary disclosures to tax authorities.

Angela Wesley

Partner, Wes-Can Advisory Services

Plenary 2: Building Today: Modern Treaty Organizations and Community Development
Tues. Feb 11: 10:50 – 11:45am

Angela Wesley, ICD.D, is a partner in Wes-Can Advisory Services. Since 1992 she has provided advisory and facilitation services to First Nations and other governments throughout British Columbia in the areas of strategic planning, land management, community development, communications, community engagement, and governance capacity building and development.

A highlight of Angela’s career over the past 25 years has been her role as an active participant on the team that worked to negotiate and ratify the Maa-nulth Treaty resulting in her own First Nation (Huu-ay-aht) and 4 others becoming self-governing as of April 2011. She continues to participate in actively implementing the treaty with Huu-ay-aht and serves as the Maa-nulth representative on the tripartite implementation committee with BC and Canada representatives. Angela has also been invited to share her experiences with other First Nations in British Columbia, as well as nationally and internationally.

Angela serves as Speaker (Legislative Chairperson) for the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Legislature and Annual People’s Assemblies. She has been the Board Chair/President for the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Group of Businesses (Fisheries, Forestry, Gravel, Hospitality, Lands, Management, Market) since 2012 and continues to actively serve on various committees for her Nation.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Royal British Columbia Museum, a Director for the New Relationship Trust and the Toquaht Holdings Boards, and served on the Board of Governors for the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology for 7-1/2 years as an Executive Committee member and as Chair.

Shannon West-Johnson

Research Assistant, Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government

Breakout 1C: It’s All Connected: Socioeconomic Outcomes and Wellbeing
Tues. Feb 11: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Shannon West-Johnson comes from the village of Gitwinksihlkw. She is Ganada (Frog/Raven), from the house of Hay’maas and her Nisga’a name is Hats’inaas, meaning “Good Fortune.” In 2005, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in First Nations Studies and received two certificates in General First Nations Studies and Nisga’a Studies from WWNI and the University of Northern British Columbia.

Shannon West-Johnson works for Nisga’a Lisims Government in the Quality of Life Department, as a research assistant, since June 2019. She was also the key lead on the Nisga’a Nation Household Survey from 2018/2019.

Clint Williams

Hegus (Chief), Tla’amin Nation

Plenary 5: Where Next? Priorities and Opportunities
Wed. Feb. 12: 3:15 – 4:15pm

Born and raised in Powell River, Clint is very proud to be a Tla’amin Nation citizen and has served his community for many years as an employee, elected Councillor and most recently as Hegus (Chief) for five consecutive terms to current.

Prior to becoming employed by the nation and later becoming involved with band/nation politics. Clint spent 10 years working for the Ministry of Forests and then decided to switch from the Public Service Sector to assist with some of the treaty work that was already underway. Land Use Planning and Forest License Negotiations were the main areas that were focused on, the team’s negotiations were successful, and the nation was able to secure a Community Forest License which continues operating successfully to this day.

After 20 + years of negotiating a treaty with BC and Canada, the Sliammon First Nation became the self-governing Tla’amin Nation as of April 5th, 2016. Being Hegus and a member of the team that undertook this work was very challenging but also very rewarding to see the work accomplished.

David Wright

Assistant Professor, University of Calgary, Faculty of Law

Breakout 4D: The 2015 Cabinet Directive: Reflections after 5 years
Wed. Feb. 12: 1:15 – 2:45pm

Moderator: Breakout 3E: Resolving Basic Differences: Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Other Options
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

David is a law professor in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law. Prior to his faculty appointment, David was General Counsel with the Gwich’in Tribal Council. He previously held positions with Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, the United Nations Development Programme, the Government of Nunavut, and the law firm of Stewart McKelvey. David has been called to the Bars of Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia, and he holds an MA and JD from Dalhousie University and an LLM from Stanford University. A significant portion of David’s current research is focused on interpretation and implementation of modern treaties and co-management resource regimes in Canada’s North.

John B Zoe

Senior Advisor, Tłı̨chǫ Government

Breakout 4A: Sustaining Indigenous Languages
Wed. Feb. 12: 10:45 – 12:00pm

Dr. John B. Zoe was the Chief Land Claims Negotiator for the former Treaty 11 Council of the NWT from 1992 until its conclusion with the establishment of the Tłı̨chǫ Government in 2005. John is now a senior advisor to the Tłı̨chǫ Government. He has an Honourary Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta in recognition of his work in the development of the new government, as well as his contributions to involving elders and youth in projects that are built upon a foundation of Tłı̨chǫ language, culture and way of life. His own publications include articles on Dogrib ethno-archaeology and place names, Dogrib sacred sites, and the history of settlement types and traditional architecture.

John is the Community Advisor for the Tłįchǫ region with the NWT On The Land Collaborative, bringing invaluable experiences developing and supporting land-based programs in Tłįchǫ N’de. He played a pivotal role in the creation and ongoing success of Wha Dǫ Ehtǫ K’è (Trails of Our Ancestors), an annual canoe trip that keeps Tłįchǫ history and culture alive by retracing traditional routes.

John was elected as a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America in 1997.