Our distinguished speakers and panel members at the conference:

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Hon. Tom Siddon (Keynote Speaker), P.C., Ph.D., LL.D. is a professional engineer, environmental scientist, politician and community leader, and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from 1990 to 1993. Dr. Siddon was a Member of the Cabinet for 9 years as Minister of Science and Technology, Fisheries and Oceans, Indian Affairs and Northern Development and National Defense. As the INAC Minister, Mr. Siddon was instrumental in guiding the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement through all of its final stages from the Agreement-in-Principle (April 30, 1990) to the signing of the final Nunavut Agreement on May 25, 1993.

The Honourable Monica Ell is Deputy Premier and Minister of Economic Development & Transportation for the Government of Nunavut. Ms. Ell was re-elected in the general election held on October 28, 2013, to represent the new constituency of Iqaluit-Manirajak.  Ms. Ell previously sat in the 3rd Legislative Assembly and served as Minister of Family Services and Minister responsible for the Qulliq Energy Corporation, among other portfolios.  Prior to her election to the Legislative Assembly, Ms. Ell served as Director of Programming for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and was a former Director of Economic Development at Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.

PANEL SPEAKERS

Eva Aariak was the Premier of Nunavut from 2008 to 2013. Guided by the Tamapta Mandate, Ms. Aariak worked with communities and stakeholders to create The Makimaniq Plan, a made-in-Nunavut approach to reduce poverty. She spearheaded pioneering legislation on poverty reduction and child protection. Ms. Aariak also successfully sought adoption of the Inuit Language Protection Act based on recommendations that she had previously made as Commissioner of Languages from 1999-2003. Ms. Aariak also partnered with the federal government to secure a desperately needed new social housing program.

Naullaq Arnaquq is the Assistant Deputy Minister at the Department of Culture and Heritage with the Government of Nunavut where she has led major initiatives including the development of the language legislation, and the establishment of Piqqusilirivvik, the cultural school. Naullaq is currently working on her PhD with University of Prince Edward Island. She holds a M.Ed. degree with University of Prince Edward Island and a B.Ed. degree from McGill University. Naullaq is fluently bilingual in both Inuktitut and English.

Terry Audla is the President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national organization representing 55,000 Inuit in Canada. He was born in Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit), and raised in Resolute Bay, the son of High Arctic Exiles relocated from Inukjuak, Quebec, in the early 1950s. Mr. Audla has dedicated his career to the implementation of Inuit land claims agreements and the growth of economic opportunities for Inuit, first with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) (as its land manager and subsequently executive director), and later with the Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) (as its executive director).

Dr. Maureen Baikie is the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Nunavut. She is a Specialist in Public Health and Preventive Medicine with broad experience in northern and aboriginal health issues, and is particularly interested in communicable disease control, environmental health, emergency preparedness and response and public health law. Dr. Baikie has also worked for extensive periods in Labrador and Nova Scotia.

Dr. Michael Byers is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. His most recent book, International Law and the Arctic (Cambridge University Press, 2013), won the Donner Prize for the best book on Canadian public policy. He is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, National Post, and Toronto Star.

Adam Chamberlain is a partner with the national law firm BLG and Leader of the firm’s Team North. He works regularly in the Canadian north on environmental, regulatory and Aboriginal matters and speaks and writes on related matters frequently. Adam assisted the Government of Nunavut with the environmental assessment processes for the Mary River Iron Mine and Dominion Diamond (then Harry Winston) in its purchase of the Ekati diamond mine in the NWT.

Paul Crowley (Co-Chair) is a lawyer and Director of Arctic Programs for WWF-Canada. Mr. Crowley was the Principal Secretary to Eva Aariak, Premier of Nunavut during the Third Legislative Assembly (2008-2013), and Head of the Social Development Unit for the International Development Law Organization based in Rome, Italy. A long-time resident of Nunavut, Mr. Crowley has worked with many other Inuit leaders such as Sheila Watt-Cloutier, and helped initiate and was Special Counsel to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission.

Barry Dewar is a former senior public-service executive with a 30 year career in the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development focusing on aboriginal rights and claims. From 1979 to 1993 he was a member of the federal negotiating team on the Nunavut Land Claim, occupying the position of Senior Federal Negotiator from 1986 to 1993. He subsequently served as Director General Self-Government and Director General Comprehensive Claims. Since his retirement in 2007, he has continued to work as a consultant on aboriginal and treaty rights issues.

Dr. Terry Fenge (Co-Chair) is an Ottawa-based consultant specializing in Arctic, Aboriginal and Environmental issues. He was Senior Negotiator for the Tungavik Federation of Nunavut, the Inuit organization that negotiated the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and Strategic Council to the International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (now Council). He currently advises Nunavut Tungavik Inc. on implementation of the Nunavut Agreement.

Jack Hicks served as Director of Research for the Nunavut Implementation Commission (NIC) and as the Government of Nunavut (GN)’s first Director of Evaluation and Statistics. For the last decade he has focussed on suicide prevention – as a researcher, a suicide intervention trainer, and as the GN’s Suicide Prevention Advisor during development of the Nunavut Suicide Prevention Strategy. Jack currently teaches at Carleton University and recently completed, with Graham White, a book about the creation and the decentralization of the Government of Nunavut.

Edward S. Kennedy joined The North West Company in 1989 and has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer since 1997. Edward is a board member of The North West Company and United Grocers Inc. He holds an Honours Degree in Business from the Ivey Business School at Western University and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Robert Long has worked in business, business development and community economic development for almost 50 years. Most recently he served as Deputy Minister for Department of Economic Development and Transportation for the Government of Nunavut from 2008 to 2013, and for 10 years as General Manager of Baffin Business Development Corporation before then. Bob was the President of Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce from 2001 to 2007.

Becky Mearns is originally from Pangnirtung, Nunavut, spent her childhood in Scotland and is now living in Ottawa. After graduating from NS in 2002, Becky spent four years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police working in communities throughout Nunavut. She left the RCMP in 2007 to pursue her education. In 2011 she received honours BA from Carleton University majoring in Sociology and a double minor in aboriginal studies and law. She is currently working on her master’s thesis through the department of geography at Carleton.

W. Thomas Molloy, O.C., S.O.M., Q.C. has been negotiating land claim settlements with First Nations and Inuit for more than 30 years. Among many accomplishments as a Chief Federal Negotiator, Tom completed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the Nisga’a Final Agreement, the Inuit of Northern Quebec Offshore Agreement, and most recently the Tla’amin Final Agreement under the BC Treaty Commission process. He is the Principal in Molloy Negotiations.

Tom Paddon is the President and CEO of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation. He is leading Baffinland in currently developing Canada’s most northerly iron ore mine, the Mary River Project, located on northern Baffin Island. Mr. Paddon’s previous experience of developing and operating the Voisey’s Bay Project in northern Labrador set new benchmarks for achieving social license and commercial success in remote mining operations. Mr. Paddon was recently appointed to serve as Chair of the inaugural Arctic Economic Council’s executive committee.

Hon. Dennis Patterson is member of the Senate and a former Premier of the Northwest Territories. In his distinguished 16-year career as a member of the NWT Legislative Assembly Mr. Patterson served in many capacities including Minister of Education, Minister of Health and Social Services and Minister of Justice, culminating in his service as Premier between 1987 and 1991. Mr. Patterson played a key leadership role in the settlement of the Inuvialuit final agreement and the Nunavut Agreement, and the NWT Legislatives contributions, over 20 years, which led to the establishment of the Territory of Nunavut in 1999.

Tony Penikett was the Premier of the Yukon Territory from 1985 to 1992. He spent 25 years in public life, including serving as the Chief of Staff to federal New Democratic Party Leader Ed Broadbent; five terms as MLA in the Yukon Legislative Assembly; and two terms as the Premier. His government negotiated settlements of Yukon First Nation land claims. He subsequently served as Deputy Minister of Negotiations and, later, Labour for the B.C. Government. His book, Reconciliation: First Nations Treaty Making, was published in 2006. He also authored two films: The Mad Trapper for BBC TV/Time Life Films and La Patrouille Perdue, for ORTF France.

Hon. Paul Quassa is Minister of Education for the Government of Nunavut. Mr. Quassa was the Chief Negotiator for Tungavik Federation of Nunavut (TFN) during land claims negotiations, which led to the historic 1993 signing of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Mr. Quassa served as the President of the TFN, and subsequently the President of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), and was one of the official signatories to the Nunavut Agreement.

Qajaq Robinson is a lawyer in the Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s Commercial Litigation Group. She is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Akitsiraq Law School, University of Victoria. Prior to joining BLG, Qajaq worked with the Public Prosecution Services of Canada in Iqaluit prosecuting criminal and quasi criminal cases across Nunavut. She also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. Qajaq is a fluent Inuktitut speaker.

Dr. Annis May Timpson is one of the UK’s leading Canadian specialists. She regularly advises UK and Scottish governments on Canadian matters and has taught Canadian Studies at the Universities of Birmingham, Nottingham, Sussex, and Edinburgh. Dr. Timpson’s Nunavut research has focused on the division of the NWT, the integration of IQ within the Nunavut Public Service, and the development of new language policies for Nunavut, and has published extensively on these topics.

Rick Van Loon is currently Professor and President Emeritus at Carleton University, of which he was President from 1996 to 2005. He was Senior ADM for Comprehensive Land Claims and Northern programs and Associate DM at Indian Affairs and Northern Development from 1985 to 1993, a period that saw settlement of the Nunavut Agreement, the establishment of Nunavut and the creation of the Yukon First Nations umbrella agreement as well as the Gwichi’in and Sahtu claims in the Mackenzie delta.

Graham White is Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, where he teaches courses on Canadian politics, with special emphasis on provincial and territorial politics. He has been and writing about Northern politics since the 1980s and recently completed, with Jack Hicks, a book about the creation and the decentralization of the Government of Nunavut.