Chair

Seán Moore
Partner and Public Policy Advisor, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Ottawa, ON. Mr. Moore has a broad-based practice involving government relations, regulatory affairs and public policy development for clients in the public, private and independent third sectors in Canada and abroad. He also is a frequently-cited authority on the rules, regulations and practices associated with lobbyists registration, political finance and the interaction between public officials and those who are legitimately involved in efforts to influence decisions of government.

Mr. Moore serves on the board of Vancouver-based Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS), on the Advisory Board of Carleton University’s Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs and is a member of the Advisory Board of Media Magazine - a publication of the Canadian Association of Journalists. He lectures frequently on public-policy advocacy in universities, professional development settings and government training academies and is a frequent speaker and commentator on national affairs.

 
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Bernard J. Shapiro
Ethics Commissioner of Canada, Ottawa, On. Dr. Shapiro became the first Ethics Commissioner of Canada in May, 2004. In 1986, Dr. Shapiro was appointed Deputy Minister of Education for the Province of Ontario and also served in a variety of other posts, including Deputy Secretary of Cabinet, Deputy Minister and Secretary of Management Board and Deputy Minister of Colleges and Universities. In 1994, he was appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. In September 1999, Dr. Shapiro was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2004, he became a Grand Officier, L’Ordre National du Quebec.
 
Faculty
John M. Banigan
Vice President, TACTIX Government Consulting Inc., Ottawa, ON. Following a distinguished 30-year career in the Public Service of Canada, mainly with Industry Canada and its predecessor departments, Mr. Banigan retired from the federal government in the fall of 2003 as Assistant Deputy Minister, Industry (1995-2003). He led seven industry sector branches that addressed competitiveness issues facing Canadian companies and launched government policy initiatives and action plans through trade, investment and innovation strategies covering a wide range of issues and sectors.
 
Todd J. Burke
Partner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Ottawa, ON. As part of his commercial and banking litigation practice, Mr. Burke advises clients on matters associated with federal political finance law. He has held a Governor-in-Council appointment as Chair of the Canada Pension Plan Review Tribunal. Mr. Burke is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Advocates Society, and has written articles relating to the role of public commissions in developing public policy.
 
Wes Cragg
Professor, York University, Toronto, ON. Dr.
Cragg holds an MA from the University of Alberta and a D.Phil, from the University of Oxford, and extensively researches the intersection of ethics with business, the law, and professions. He co-authored Contemporary Moral Issues, is currently the Chair of Transparency International Canada and is the Gardiner Professor of Business Ethics at the Schulich School of Business.
 
Terry de March
Director, Policy, Planning and Legislation Division, Charities Directorate, CRA, Ottawa, ON. Mr. de March has worked broadly in the policy, legislation and regulatory reform area in both his current position with the Charities Directorate, CRA, and previous positions as Director of Legislation Development, Income Security Programs, Human Resources Development Canada where he worked extensively on the reform of the Canada Pension Plan, and as Director of Innovations, Analysis and Integration, Programs Branch, Justice Canada, where he managed innovative and pilot programs for non-traditional solutions to justice-related problems.
 
Guy W. Giorno
Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Toronto, ON. Formerly Chief of Staff and counsel to Ontario premier Mike Harris, Mr. Giorno advises clients on strategic communication, crisis communication and issue management, public policy advocacy, communication planning, public affairs counsel, stakeholder relations and the development of strategies in these areas. He regularly advises clients on legal and ethical issues surrounding dealings with government and is co-author of the text Lobbying in Canada (Thomson Carswell).
 
Dr. Ian Greene
Professor, York University, Toronto, ON. Dr. Greene teaches courses in Canadian public law, political ethics, the Charter of Rights, Canadian government, and public administration. He has been coordinator of York’s undergraduate program in public policy and administration, as well as the undergraduate director in the political science department. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Practical Ethics, and the Centre for Public Law and Public Policy. Dr. Green is a co-author of Honest Politics.
 
Patrick Gossage
President, Media Profile, Toronto, ON. Drawing on his 35 years of experience in broadcasting, politics and communications, including serving as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s press secretary, Mr. Gossage provides strategic communications advice and media training to numerous private and public sector clients. He appears on ROB-TV, CBC Television and Radio, and Canada AM, where he comments on trends and issues relevant to the political and media arenas. He has also written columns and book reviews for the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s Magazine and Policy Options.
 
Norman Inkster
President, The Inkster Group, Ottawa, ON. As the former Commissioner of the RCMP from 1987 to 1994 and President of Interpol from 1992 to 1994, Mr. Inkster supervised investigations into a broad range of activities including allegations of kickbacks, theft, fraud, extortion and embezzlement. Mr. Inkster has directed business recovery planning and security reviews for international organizations. He has acted as Special Adviser to the Auditor General of Canada and following the events of September 11, 2001, was appointed Special Adviser on matters of security by the Government of Ontario.
 
Catherine MacQuarrie
Director General, Office of Public Service Values and Ethics, Public Service Human Resources Management Agency, Ottawa, ON. Ms. MacQuarrie has worked in the field of public sector values and ethics since she first joined the Treasury Board in 2001, where she led the creation and implementation of the Disclosure of Wrongdoing policy and the creation of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service. More recently she has been involved in supporting the development of Bill C-11, The Disclosure Protection Act. She has also worked as a public relations advisor, a reporter and editor in several media disciplines.
 
Pierre Ricard-Desjardins
Deputy Director, Lobbyists Registration Branch, Industry Canada, Ottawa, ON. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ricard-Desjardins was Special Assistant to the Associate Deputy Minister of Justice and Executive Assistant to the Associate Deputy Minister of Industry. He has also occupied various positions of increasing responsibilities within Industry Canada, the Department of International Trade and Foreign Affairs and the private sector.
 
Shauna Sylvester
Founder, Executive Director, IMPACS, Vancouver, BC. In her role as Executive Director, Ms. Sylvester is responsible for delivering IMPACS international media programmes. She also oversees the Communication Centre, Canada’s first non-profit public relations and training centre, and the Civil Society project, a national policy project aimed at changing the law governing charities in Canada. Ms. Sylvester has served on dozens of boards and committees at the local, national and international level. Currently she serves as B.C.’s representative to the Voluntary Sector Forum.
 
Janet Thorsteinson
Janet Thorsteinson, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Acquisitions Branch, Public Works and Government Services, Ottawa, ON. Ms. Thorsteinson is responsible for the management and delivery of the Government of Canada’s procurement function, including the development of policies, strategies, standards and the renewal of government procurement. Previously, Ms. Thorsteinson was the Executive Director of the Task Force for the Government-Wide Review of Procurement where she played an integral role in redesigning Canadian procurement. She is well known across government as an expert in Supply Chain Management.
 

Julie Van Dusen
Julie Van Dusen, Reporter, CBC TV News, Ottawa, ON. Ms. Van Dusen has worked for CBC in Ottawa for nearly 20 years and has broken many stories. Her reports are seen on many programs, including The National, Midday News and supper-hour shows. She has worked for the Privy Council Office and at Maclean’s magazine as a reporter-researcher in the Parliament Hill bureau. In l983, she joined CBC Television News in Ottawa and reported on the public service and Ottawa politics. In l988, she was promoted to the national CBC TV News service.