The conference was held at Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, Ontario on December 4, 2015.
Speaker biographies are listed based on the conference agenda.
8:45−9:15am│Opening Keynote
Terry Audla: Canada’s Arctic Policies and Aboriginal Peoples
Terry Audla was the President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the national organization representing 55,000 Inuit in Canada, from 2012 to 2015. 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).
9:15−10:45am│Session 1: The Arctic Council as a Framework for Circumpolar Co-operation ─ The Council’s Achievements, Potential and Possible Future
Presenting Speakers ─ John English
Responding Speakers ─ Terry Audla; Jennifer Spence
John English is the Director of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at Trinity College at the University of Toronto. He was vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1996-97 when it produced its report on the state of the Canadian Arctic after the creation of the Arctic Council. He is the author of several books including Ice and Water: Politics, Peoples, and the Arctic Council (Penguin Canada 2013).
Jennifer Spence is a Ph.D. candidate and research associate at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. She specializes in environmental governance in the circumpolar region and has 18 years of experience working for the Canadian federal public service in fisheries management, change management and procurement.
11:00−12:15pm│Session 2: The Arctic as the Globe’s Environmental Barometer ─ What is the Arctic Telling Us and What the Arctic States Can/Should Do
Presenting Speaker ─ David Stone
Responding Speakers ─ John Stone; Virginie Roy
David Stone has a PhD in oceanography and has worked for more than 30 years on the management of national and circumpolar Arctic environmental science. He has focussed on the application of scientific results in the formation and operation of national and international policy through the negotiation of international legally binding treaties and other arrangements. His recent book The Changing Arctic Environment – The Arctic Messenger was published by the Cambridge University Press in 2015.
John Stone is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Carleton University. He received a Ph.D. in Chemical Spectroscopy (1969) from the University of Reading UK. His experiences since retiring from the Canadian Public Service in 2005 include: Visiting Fellow, International Development Research Council. He was a Member of the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He was most recently a Lead Author for the Fifth Assessment Report. He is Board member of the Pembina Institute.
Virginie Roy is the W. Garfield Weston Postdoctoral Fellow in Arctic Research at the Canadian Museum of Nature. She has a PhD in Oceanography and has studied over the last years the marine benthic ecosystem of the Canadian Arctic. Beside publishing scientific papers on her researches, she regularly takes part in federal science advisories about the Canadian Arctic (Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat, Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and she is part of the Canadian expert network working under the CAFF-Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program.
12:15−1:15pm│Lunch (provided)
12:45−1:15pm│Mid-Day Keynote Speech
Richard Tibbels: European Interests, Initiatives and Objectives in the Arctic
Richard Tibbels took up his current position as Head of the US and Canada Division of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in September 2015. For the previous 4 years he was Head of the Eastern Partnership, Regional Cooperation (Arctic, Barents, Baltic and Black Sea) and OSCE Division in the EEAS. Previously he held a variety of positions in the EEAS and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for External Relations. He has degrees from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium and the University of Hull in the UK.
1:15−2:45pm│Session 3: State Sovereignty, International Co-operation, and Changing Geopolitics in the Circumpolar Arctic
Presenting Speakers ─ Michael Byers; John Merritt
Responding Speakers ─ Richard Tibbels
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.
John Merritt has worked primarily as legal and political adviser for Nunavut and national Inuit organizations over his 30-year career. He is currently a senior legal counsel for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the organization that coordinates and manages Inuit responsibilities set out in the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and ensures governments fulfill their obligations under that Agreement. Mr. Merritt was the recipient of the Canadian Bar Association 2009 John Tait Award, recognizing his outstanding work as a public sector lawyer.
3:00−4:45pm│Session 4: Indigenous Peoples and Canada’s Approach to the Arctic
Speakers ─ Matthew Coon Come; Ethel Blondin-Andrew; Dougald Brown; Adam Chamberlain; Stefano Fantaroni
Matthew Coon Come is Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and the Chairperson of the Cree Nation Government, a role which he has held for six terms since 1987. From 2000-2003, he was National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. A strong advocate for his people, the James Bay Crees, he has become known throughout Canada and internationally for his efforts to advance the rights of indigenous peoples. Grand Chief Coon Come is the recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Goldman Prize, among other honours and awards.
Ethel Blondin-Andrew is Chairperson of Sahtu Secretariat Inc. In 1988, Ethel became the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the House of Commons. Ethel went on to win the next four federal elections in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004, and had served as Minister of State for Children and Youth. Ethel is well-known for her advocacy on Northern issues and the needs and issues of Aboriginal people across Canada. She has been a tireless advocate on issues including children with special needs, women’s issues, and the health of Aboriginal people.
Dougald Brown is a partner at the law firm of Nelligan O’Brien Payne in Ottawa and has practised law since 1983. In recent years, his focus has been on proceedings against the Crown in a variety of areas, including aboriginal, negligence, pension, labour and employment matters. He has frequently acted for NTI on cases before the Federal Court and the Nunavut courts. He was the lead counsel for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. in its recent litigation and $255.5 million settlement concerning implementation of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement.
Stefano Fantaroni is First Counsellor and Political Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Canada. Prior to this position, he worked in different positions at the European External Action Service and the European Commission, notably in departments dealing with negotiations for accession to the European Union. He has also worked at the European Commission Antitrust Directorate General. Mr Fantaroni holds a degree in Economics at the Libera Universita’ degli Studi Sociali of Rome.