Prime Minister names members of External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities

February 15, 2004
Ottawa, Ontario

NEWS RELEASE

Prime Minister Paul Martin today named the members of the External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities. The Committee, with former British Columbia premier Mike Harcourt as Chair, will provide the Prime Minister with recommendations and advice as part of the government’s new deal for Canadian municipalities.

“Canada’s quality of life today and tomorrow is defined by the communities we call home and all jurisdictions have a role to play to ensure that our municipalities are vibrant, healthy, dynamic places to live,” said Prime Minister Martin. “I am looking to Mike Harcourt and members of the committee to consider the issues facing communities, both large and small, and provide me with creative solutions for the short and the long-term.”

“The External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities is part of a new way of doing business in Canada - one that involves partnership,” said Mike Harcourt. “The Government of Canada already has massive involvement in cities. It must ensure that its involvement is harmonized with provincial jurisdictions and with municipal priorities and needs, for the benefit of citizens in every community across Canada.”

The Honourable John Godfrey, the Prime Minister’s Parliamentary Secretary with special emphasis on Cities, will work closely with the Advisory Committee on its mandate to:

Develop a long-term vision on the role that cities should play in sustaining Canada’s quality of life by looking at such issues as the environment, competitiveness and social cohesion;
Provide advice as policies are developed related to cities and communities;
Enrich the discussion of policy options by bringing regional and issue-specific expertise to the table;
Advise the Parliamentary Secretary on how best to engage provincial, territorial and Aboriginal governments in moving forward on the new deal;
Complement communications efforts and public activities carried out by the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary.

The new deal for municipalities has three components: reliable, predictable, long-term funding; a new relationship among orders of government; and looking at federal activities through an urban lens. This means respecting provincial jurisdiction and bringing cities and communities to the table.

Committee Members have been chosen on the basis of their diverse background, expertise, range of interests, and ability to speak on public policy issues linked to municipalities.

Biographical notes on the Committee Members are attached.

MEMBERS OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:

Kathleen Casey of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was a city councilor from 1997 to 2003. As a councilor, she chaired the Planning and Heritage Board. She is currently a member of the Board of the Fathers of Confederation Building Trust. She has a degree in Physical Education from St. Francis Xavier University.

Dale Godsoe of Halifax, Nova Scotia is the Vice-President of the External Relations Department of Dalhousie University where she is responsible for marketing and communications, community and public affairs, fundraising and alumni relations work. Ms. Godsoe serves on the boards of Halterm Inc., Halifax`s largest container port and of Vision TV She has served as the Chair, Board of Governors of Mount Saint Vincent University, National President of YWCA Canada, and as Director of the Nova Scotia Council on Higher Education.

Mike Harcourt of Vancouver, British Columbia is the former Premier of British Columbia. He is currently Chair of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, Senior Associate of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, Vice-chair of CitiesPLUS and Senior Associate with the Sustainable Development Research Institute of the University of British Columbia.

Jack Hayden from the Byemoor area of Alberta is a fourth generation farmer. He was elected as Councilor and then as Reeve in the County of Stettler. He also has served as a member of the County school board and as its Chair. He has been President of the AAMD&C, a group that brings together representatives from utilities, transport, insurance, government, and municipalities.

Cheeying Ho of Vancouver, British Columbia is currently Executive Director of Smart Growth BC and was formerly Executive Director of BEST (Better Environmentally Sound Transportation). Ms. Ho has ten years of experience working in the non-profit community development sector with a special focus on urban issues and has been a leader in putting transportation and smart growth issues onto the public policy agenda. She also currently sits on the board of VanCity Credit Union, the largest in Canada.

Mary J. Hodder of Marystown, Newfoundland was a member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly representing the district of Burin Placentia West from 1996 to 2003. Prior to that, she was active in municipal affairs for almost 20 years, serving as a councilor and Deputy Mayor for Marystown. Mary has a long history of community involvement and has received several recognitions for her untiring efforts on behalf of various groups and individuals.

Colin Jackson of Calgary, Alberta is President and CEO of the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts, former Executive Director of the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown and Executive Producer of the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg. He has been a member of the Board of the Canada Council for the Arts and of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. As a leader in the arts community, Colin writes and speaks on how cultural development builds vibrant, creative and prosperous communities.

Sherman Kreiner of Winnipeg, Manitoba is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Crocus Investment Fund. He has worked extensively with business, labour unions, and state and provincial governments to develop strategies for labour capital formation and employee ownership. He is also the Board chair of Community Ownership Solutions, an organization that facilitates entrepreneurship in Winnipeg’s low-income communities and a member of the Premier’s Economic Advisory Council of Manitoba.

Benoit Labonté of Montreal, Quebec has a Master of Arts in political science and has been active in business and finance as President of the Metropolitan Montreal Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Centre Montréal. He was the Executive Assistant to the Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development – Quebec, Assistant to the Minister of Finance, and Director General for the Centre hospitalier La Maison Victor-Gadbois.

Élizabeth MacKay of Quebec City, Quebec is the Director of Public Affairs for the economic development organization PÔLE Québec Chaudière-Appalaches. She is responsible for developing relations with regional partners, for special projects and for coordinating corporate communications. She has worked as Communications Director for la Société de promotion économique du Québec métropolitain (SPEQM) and as communications advisor for le Centre québécois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB) and la Société des établissements de plein’air du Québec. Ms. Mackay was a member of the Canadian Olympic diving team. She has a BA in Communications from Laval Unversity.

Mark MacLeod from Saskatchewan is President and CEO of the Information Services Corporation of Saskatchewan, a provincial crown corporation. He has a successful track record in business and has provided advice and expertise to entrepreneurs. He sits on the Board of the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority, the Regina Research Park Advisory Board, and is Chair of the Communities of Tomorrow Board of Directors.

Ratna Omidvar of Toronto, Ontario is the Executive Director of The Maytree Foundation, a private foundation committed to social justice with a special focus on immigrants. She has been Executive Director of Skills for Change, a not-for-profit organization and served as Vice-Chair of the Ontario Human Rights Code Review Task Force and was President of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants.

David Pecaut of Toronto, Ontario is a Senior Partner in The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In June, 2000 he also became CEO of the iFormation Group, a venture capital partnership of BCG, Goldman Sachs, and General Atlantic Partners, which supports the development of new businesses involved in online travel, electronic payments, and intellectual property licensing. He is Chair of the Toronto City Summit Alliance, a coalition of civic leaders who address issues facing the city region, and also chairs the Toront03 Alliance, a non-profit corporation dedicated to reviving tourism in Toronto after the 2003 outbreak of SARS.

Edmund Schultz “Tantay” fromYukon is of Northern Tutchone ancestry, a member of the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation and belongs to the Wolf Clan. Since 2000, he has been Grand Chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations. He is also Chair of the Arctic Athabaskan Council, a treaty organization that advocates for greater protection and preservation of northern ecosystems for 65 Athabaskan Nations in Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Grand Chief Schultz was also the first Yukon Aboriginal person elected to Whitehorse’s City Council (1992).

Robyn Tingley of Saint John, New Brunswick is Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs with Aliant Inc., Atlantic Canada’s leading communications company. She is a director of Canada25, an organization dedicated to engaging young Canadians in public policy debates. She also serves on the Board of Governors of The Canadian Unity Council, a group that fosters better understanding of Canadian institutions and their workings.

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