Co-Chairs

Inspector Jim Potts
O.O.M., Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ontario Provincial Police, Retired, Ottawa, ON. Inspector Potts retired from policing in 2002 after 45 years of service (36 years with the RCMP and 9 years with the OPP). He has 24 years of operational experience and served for 12 years as a liaison officer with the Mohawk Warriors. He has acted as a mediator during various major First Nations disputes, traveling extensively across Canada and internationally. He was the first Status Indian to receive a Commission in the RCMP’s 125 year history and is the recipient of numerous awards. From 1996 to 1999 he was an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario. In 2002, he was appointed “Officer of the Order of Merit” for Police Forces by Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada.
 

Judge Barry D. Stuart
B.A., LL.B., LL.M., Adjunct Professor, Criminology and Dialogue Associate, Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC. Judge Stuart has 25 years of experience as both a Judge and mediator in resolving numerous private and public disputes. As Chief Negotiator for the Yukon Land Claims, he negotiated the Umbrella Land Claims Agreement. He has worked in several communities in North America and in third world countries to develop community and restorative justice processes. For this work, Judge Stuart received the Governor General’s Medal. For his work in Papua New Guinea on their constitution, justice processes and on establishing provincial government, he received the Independence Medal of Papua New Guinea.

 
Faculty
Sam Anderson
Chief of Political Staff, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Winnipeg, MB. Mr. Anderson is an Ojibway from Dauphin River First Nation in Manitoba. He was formerly a Sergeant with the RCMP and has 24 years of policing experience. The recipient of numerous awards, he served in the Aboriginal Policing Unit for 13 years and is a strong proponent of restorative justice, suicide intervention and cultural awareness.
 
Commissioner Gwen M. Boniface
 Ontario Provincial Police, Orillia, ON. Commissioner Boniface leads more than 7,000 OPP uniform and civilian members serving in Ontario. She is responsible for policing services to diverse communities throughout the province, including front-line delivery, administrative support services and highly specialized and multi-jurisdictional investigations. She was invested into the Order of Ontario in 2001 for her work with First Nations communities and holds the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, the Order of St. John and is a recipient of the Humber College Alumnus of Distinction Award. She is the first woman to have held the position of President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the first Canadian police officer to be elected General Chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Division of State and Provincial. Commissioner Boniface is, by invitation, a member of the First Nations Chiefs of Police.
 
Inspector Cal Chrustie
RCMP, Vancouver, BC. Inspector Chrustie is currently serving as the RCMP- DFO Liaison Officer for the Pacific Region. He has 20 years of policing experience, including Aboriginal policing, plainclothes investigative roles and several peacekeeping tours at the height of the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. He recently completed his Graduate Certificate in Crisis Negotiations and is currently undertaking his LL.M. at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University in Dispute Resolution focused at “Regional Conflicts”. He is the RCMP’s LMD Team Leader for Crisis Negotiations and the Team Leader of “E” Division’s newly created Conflict Negotiation Team, a team created to assist in police related conflicts and disputes.
 
Inspector Shirley Cuillierrier
Officer in Charge, National Aboriginal Policing Services, RCMP, Ottawa, ON. Inspector Cuillierrier is a First Nations Mohawk from Kanesatake. A member of the RCMP for 23 years, she has spent 14 years working in Atlantic Canada communities in a variety of police duties. In her capacity as an RCMP peace officer and as a community volunteer, she has invested much of her time working with children, youth and family violence issues.
 
Inspector Rob Davis
BA, Nishnawbe Aski Police Service, Thunder Bay, ON. Inspector Davis is a Mohawk from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, where he served as a member of the Six Nations Police Service for 10 years and was instrumental in the application for membership with the Criminal Intelligence Service of Ontario. Currently, he is an Inspector with the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS), where he has continued to stay active in the fight against organized crime by bringing his experience to NAPS and Ontario’s extreme north. Inspector Davis continues to liaise with the intelligence sections of various law enforcement agencies and is building partnerships with other law enforcement agencies throughout Northwestern Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota to ebb the influence of organized crime in First Nations communities.
 
Inspector Ron George
 B.A., LL.B., LL.M., Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Orillia, ON. Inspector George is an Ojibway member of the Kettle & Stony Point First Nation. He began his career 29 years ago as a First Nations constable with the OPP First Nations Policing Branch. From 1992-1997, he left policing to practise law in his home community. In 1997, he returned to the OPP and has since taught Aboriginal Law and Aboriginal Justice Concepts at various Ontario law schools. He also acts as Aide de Camp to Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor and maintains a strong focus on understanding indigenous law and reinstituting the associated justice parameters back into Aboriginal communities.
 
Vera Lagasse
Manager, BC Region, National Crime Prevention Centre, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, Vancouver, BC. Ms. Lagasse has extensive experience at a national level, working in federal government policy and funding programs related to women’s health, family violence prevention, violence against women, and HIV/AIDS prevention. In 1995, she joined the Secretariat for the National Crime Prevention Council to work on a crime prevention framework for youth. Since 1999, Ms. Lagasse has been responsible for the National Crime Prevention Strategy in BC. The National Crime Prevention Strategy supports projects that address risk factors that contribute to crime and victimization, particularly among women, children and youth at risk, and Aboriginal communities.
 
Dennis M. Maloney
President, Community Justice Associates LLC, Bend, OR. Mr. Maloney is a noted author and justice system expert. His work has prompted policy and program development in all 50 states in the US. Additionally, the United States Department of State has distributed his writings on community justice to over 250 embassies and foreign offices. His contributions are now being utilized throughout the world.
 
Cheryl Matthew
Executive Director, Centre for Native Policy & Research. Ms. Matthew is passionate about making a difference in the Aboriginal community by working towards equity and social justice. She is Secwepemc (Shuswap), from the Simpcw First Nation in BC. She is also the Executive Director for the Centre for Native Policy and Research Society, an organization that she spearheaded. She is a master’s candidate in leadership and training in the department of Organizational Leadership at Royal Roads University, and will convocate in May of 2006. Her thesis topic speaks to her deepest interest – “Developing an effective, inclusive, and respectful engagement model for urban Aboriginal groups in Vancouver.” Ms. Matthew is currently an Action Canada Fellow, a board member of the N8V Action Youth Society and the CCPA-BC (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – BC Office) and has sat on the boards of many other organizations.
 
Professor Patricia Monture
 B.A., LL.B., LL.M., Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK. Professor Monture is a citizen of the Mohawk Nation, Grand River erritory. She is the author of numerous publications on Aboriginal rights, child welfare, racism and the law of discrimination, women’s issues and justice issues.
 
Inspector Doug Reti
RCMP, Edmonton, AB. Inspector Reti has been the officer in charge of the Wetaskiwin Hobbema Detachment in Alberta since August 2004. He has participated in several Victim Services events and been a great source of support and information for the unit. Formerly, he served in Nunavut as a Criminal Operations Officer and has 22 years of service with the RCMP. He has also served in National Aboriginal Policing Services in Ottawa.
 
Rupert Ross
B.A., LL.B., Assistant Crown Attorney, Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Kenora, ON. Mr. Ross has been with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General since 1985. His primary responsibility is conducting criminal prosecutions in Kenora, Ontario and over twenty remote, fly-in Aboriginal communities in northwestern Ontario. His secondary responsibilities include making the criminal justice system more responsive to the present-day needs and cultural traditions of Aboriginal people and gaining expertise in restorative justice processes. He worked with the Federal Aboriginal Justice Directorate for three years, travelling across Canada examining Aboriginal approaches to crime, with special emphasis on healing programs for victims, offenders, families and communities. He is the author of two books and numerous articles and is a frequent speaker at seminars dealing with Aboriginal issues.
 
Elizabeth Sanderson
Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio, Justice Canada, Ottawa, ON. Ms. Sanderson holds a B.A. from McGill University, an M.A. from Carleton University, and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa. She is a member of the Ontario Bar. She has held a variety of positions in the Department of Justice. In 2002, she joined the Aboriginal Affairs Portfolio. Prior to that, she headed the Public Law Policy Section where she was responsible for the public law policy mandate of the Minister of Justice. This included judicial affairs, private international law, and reform of the Access to Information Act, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Privacy Act. Ms. Sanderson also worked on the Charlottetown Constitutional Reform process.
 

Chief Mark Wedge
Chief Mark Wedge, Carcross Tagish First Nation, Carcross, YT. Chief Wedge was formerly the President of the Yukon First Nation Development Corporation and Chairperson of däna Näye Ventures. He was the Chief Lands Claims Negotiator for Carcross Tagish First Nation, which negotiated an MOU with both the federal and territorial governments. He has trained internationally in conflict resolution and community justice. In 2003, he received the CANDO Economic Developer of the Year award, created to recognize and promote recent or long-standing Aboriginal economic development initiatives throughout Canada. Chief Wedge co-authored Peacemaking Circles: From Crime to Community.