Canada's Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction: Advisory Committee Biographies

Public Safety Canada, Co-Chair

Public Safety Canada (PS) was created in 2003 to ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians. From natural disasters to crime and terrorism, PS mandate is to keep Canadians safe. As Canada's lead department for public safety, PS works with five agencies and three review bodies. They are united in a single portfolio and report to the same minister. The result is better integration among federal organizations dealing with national security, emergency management, law enforcement, corrections, crime prevention and borders.

PS Representative: Stephanie Durand

Stéphanie is the Director General, Emergency Management Policy and Planning Directorate at Public Safety Canada. She is responsible for leading emergency management policies for the Government of Canada, working in close collaboration with various stakeholders and all levels of government.

Stéphanie has extensive experience in leading government-wide efforts on horizontal files, including leading the public affairs response for G8-G20 on security and public safety files, 2010 Olympics security, high profile national security cases, and emergency management incidents. She also has considerable experience in working with various levels of government. She has led the overall communications activities of several Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Meetings (on Justice and Emergency Management) and continues to chair several intergovernmental working groups.

Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management

Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management (SOREM) is a Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) body that works to harmonize and improve emergency practices across the country. SOREM includes representatives from provincial and territorial Emergency Management Organizations and Public Safety Canada. SOREM is responsible for providing guidance and advice on how to enhance emergency management to the FPT Deputy Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management and to the standing forum of FPT Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management. SOREM is also responsible for providing direction, advice and support to committees and working groups and non-governmental organizations dealing with crisis and consequence management issues at a national level.

SOREM Representative: Michael Templeton

Michael W. Templeton is the Manager of the Yukon Emergency Measures Organization since 2007. As Manager Michael is responsible for overseeing the Government of Yukon's emergency planning and preparedness to ensure a coordinated; effective and efficient emergency response to and recovery from major emergencies or disasters. Michael came from Yukon's Wildland Fire Management Program where between 2003 and 2007 he was responsible for regional wildfire protection and territorial wildfire operations. Prior to moving to Yukon in 2003 Michael gained a wide range of experience from within the Alberta Land and Forest Service, and from volunteer Fire/EMS and SAR groups. Michael completed his Bachelors of Emergency Management through Cape Breton University in 2011.

Prior to working with the Alberta Land and Forest Service and after graduating from Sir Sandford Fleming College in 1984, Michael served with the Canadian Armed Forces from 1985 to 1990. Although born in Summerside, PEI, as an Air Force brat Michael grew up in a variety of locales in Canada and Europe until his travels brought him West and then North to the Yukon where he lives with his wife Beverly.

Directors General Emergency Management Policy Committee

The Directors General Emergency Management Policy Committee (DGEMPC) consists of federal departments and agencies concerned with emergency management. It meets as needed to address horizontal issues and priorities linked to the Assistant Deputy Ministers' Emergency Management Committee. The DGEMPC includes: the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade; Natural Resources Canada; Health Canada; Infrastructure Canada; Environment Canada; Canadian International Development Agency; Department of National Defence; Public Health Agency of Canada; Indian and Northern Affairs Canada; Department of Fisheries and Oceans; Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Canadian Security and Intelligence Service; and Public Safety Canada.

DGEMPC Representative: David McCormack

David McCormack is the head of the Hazards Information Service of Natural Resources Canada, and is responsible for the Emergency Management business line within the Geological Survey of Canada. Prior to holding a number of posts in the Canadian Federal Public Service related to natural hazards and emergency management, he worked for the Government of the United Kingdom on nuclear arms control issues. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Domestic Group on Emergency Management

The Domestic Group on Emergency Management (DGEM) is comprised of the national chapters of Canadian associations from the voluntary and first responder sectors who engage with the Government of Canada with respect to emergency management. DGEM includes: Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, Paramedic Association of Canada, Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, The Salvation Army, Mennonite Disaster Service, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness, Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association, Search and Rescue Volunteers Association of Canada, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Public Safety Canada, Public Health Agency Canada, Canadian Council of Emergency Organizations, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Canada Command.

DGEM Representative: The Canadian Red Cross (Jeff Gill)

Jeff Gill is the National Manager, Plans and Procedures for the Canadian Red Cross. In his seven years with the organization, Jeff has been involved with responses to numerous disasters, most recently in the role of Senior Operations Officer in response to the southern Alberta floods and train derailment in Lac-Mégantic. Prior to his time with the organization, he worked as a senior consultant for five years in the Emergency Management sector, and served 12 years as a commissioned officer in the Canadian Armed Forces (infantry branch). Jeff is also a published novelist.

Canadian Risk and Hazards Network

The Canadian Risk and Hazards Network (CRHNet) is a not-for-profit organization that was established in 2003 in response to a growing demand to promote and strengthen disaster risk reduction and emergency management in Canada. The Network creates an environment in which the hazards research, education and emergency management practitioner communities can effectively share knowledge and innovative approaches that reduce disaster vulnerability. The Network seeks to enhance the understanding of, and provide tools for, the development of comprehensive programs to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from all types of disasters - natural, technological or human-induced.

CRHNet Representative: Marion Boon

Marion has served on the CRHNet Board since 2008 and has been involved in many of its initiatives and events. She is the Coordinator of the Emergency Management Diploma Program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). Marion is a Registered Nurse (Non-Practising) and moved from occupational health management to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency in 1992 where her portfolios included disaster health, emergency management training, and assisting municipalities with disaster recovery, resilience and mitigation projects. During her years with AEMA, Marion was involved in the response and recovery for a number of major emergencies within Alberta and events in other provinces, e.g., 1998 Eastern Canada Ice Storm where the Province of Alberta provided support. Marion actively promotes disaster risk reduction education within the NAIT Diploma Program.

Critical Infrastructure National Cross-Sector Forum

The National Cross-Sector Forum was established under PS Critical Infrastructure Strategy to promote information sharing across the ten Critical Infrastructure Sector Networks and address cross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoral interdependencies. Membership is drawn from the ten sector networks and is representative of a broad base of owners and operators, associations, and federal, provincial and territorial governments. Partnership through the National Cross-Sector Forum forms the basis for the implementation of the national approach to critical infrastructure resiliency.

Critical Infrastructure Cross-Sector Forum Participant: Canadian Electricity Association (Francis Bradley)

Francis Bradley was appointed Vice-President of the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) in 1995. Mr. Bradley is responsible for the CEA's security and infrastructure protection, communications, finance and tax advocacy, and public opinion research programs. He led the association's Y2K initiative, and since 2000 has been responsible for CEA's Security and Infrastructure Protection (SIP) activities. A frequent speaker on public opinion towards electric utilities and restructuring of the electricity industry, Mr. Bradley was a co-author for 5 years of the annual North American Electric Industry Outlook published jointly by the Washington International Energy Group and CEA. Mr. Bradley is a member of the Critical Infrastructure Cross-Sector Forum who sits on Canada's Platform Advisory Committee.

Elected Member: Laurie Pearce M.S.W., M.A., PhD

Dr. Pearce is a part-time associate faculty member at Royal Roads University, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and the Justice Institute of British Columbia. She is also a Research Associate for the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the Canadian Centre for Security Science, the Canadian International Development Agency and the Institute of Global Health Studies at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Pearce contributes to the not-for-profit sector and is on the Board of the Emergency Preparedness for Industry and Commerce Council of BC (EPICC); a member of CRHNet; the Disaster Psychosocial Council of British Columbia; a member of a Disaster Psychosocial Team; and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Emergency Preparedness Conference/Pacific Northwest Preparedness Society. Dr. Pearce is a partner of Pearces 2 Consulting Corporation and is in demand as an international speaker and lecturer. Dr. Pearce co-chairs the Resilient Communities Working Group on Canada's Platform Advisory Committee.

Elected Member: Ian Burton, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., FRCS

Ian Burton (PhD Chicago) works as an independent scholar on the fields of natural disaster reduction and climate change adaptation. He has been a Lead Author of three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessments, and was a convening Lead Author on the recent IPCC Special Report on extremes (SREX) and is now co-chair of the Working Group on Forensic Disaster Investigations of the programme Integrated Research on Disaster Risk. (www.irdrinternational.org). He has served as Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Toronto; a Senior Policy Advisor in the Corporate Policy Group, Environment Canada, and Director of the Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Group. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the World Academy of Art and Science.

Elected Member: Rodney Yip

Rodney brings over 30 years of domestic and foreign resiliency experience.

This experience ranges from 'boots on the ground" leadership during Canadian disasters to contingency planning with the Italian financial markets during terrorist bombings in the mid 90's. His pragmatic approach will help the Advisory Committee advance enablement of the Hyogo Framework for Action in Canada. Leveraging IBM's vast experience in resiliency strategies and technologies, Rodney provides private sector perspective to the Advisory Committee. As a trusted partner in resilience, he applies IBM research, analytics and capabilities to the Canadian context. Rodney is also part of a 40 person UNISDR Private Sector Partnership Working Group tasked with representing the Private Sector in the redraft of the Hyogo Framework for Action, as well as increasing global resilience to disasters. In addition, Rodney is Co-chair of the Private Sector Partnership Working Group within Canada's Platform and is leading dialogue on optimizing humanitarian aid deployments. Rodney is on the Board of Directors for the Disaster Recovery Information Exchange (DRIE) - Toronto chapter, a leading organization for promoting resiliency dialogue and education. DRIE supports both public and private sector resiliency practitioners in their pursuit of making Canada a more resilient place to live and work.

Elected Member: International Association of Emergency Management - Canada Council (John Saunders)

The Canadian Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers

(IAEM-Canada) is the only national association dedicated to the promotion of Emergency Management and the professionals within the industry. IAEM-Canada is part of IAEM Global, which allows us access to the best practices of Emergency Management from around the world. IAEM is dedicated to promoting the "Principles of Emergency Management" and in collaboration with Provincial Emergency Management Associations, representing professionals whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters. John Saunders has served on the IAEM-Canada Board for 6 years and has served as Business Director and Advisor to the Global IAEM Board. He has a long history of working with all levels of government and has served in leadership roles in both front line response as well as overall Incident Management of significant disasters.

Date modified:

2018-04-18