Panelists

 

Randall Gossen
Vice President Safety
Environment & Social Responsibility
Nexen Inc
Dr. Randall Gossen is Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment & Social Responsibility for Nexen Inc. in Calgary.  Dr. Gossen holds a Ph.D. in Soil Microbiology from the University of Calgary and has 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry both in Canada and internationally.   He is considered an industry leader in the area of corporate social responsibility, and led development of the International Code of Ethics for Canadian Business.  The Code addresses key values and principles relative to human rights, community participation and environmental protection, business conduct and employee rights, and health and safety.

Dr. Gossen was elected President of the World Petroleum Council in September 2005.  He is past Chairman (2000-2004) of the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA).  He is an active participant in the United Nations Global Compact and was appointed as Special Advisor to the Global Compact in July 2006.

 

 

George E. Lafond
Consultant
Aboriginal initiatives

George E. Lafond is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 6 territory, Saskatchewan. George received his Education Degree from the University of Saskatchewan and has been involved in First Nations education, community development and leadership for over 20 years in Saskatchewan and nationally. Through many leadership roles in business, politics, education and community service, George counts as his successes coalition building with Metis, non-Aboriginal and other community representatives leading to successes like Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Treaty Land Entitlement, the White Buffalo Youth Lodge in downtown Saskatoon, and other lasting partnerships for change.

For the past number of years, George has been the Special Advisor to President Peter MacKinnon on Aboriginal Initiatives at the University of Saskatchewan. He serves on several Boards, community organizations and sporting initiatives. Recently he and his wife, Hon. Judge Mary Ellen Lafond, and their four children, have moved to Victoria, B.C. where she was appointed the first Representative for Children and Youth. George’s passion for education spans his career, from his early work as a teacher encouraging school attachment for success for First Nations and Metis students, through to his recent work on post-secondary education and academic excellence.

George’s touchstones for his career have been learning from kinship, community development and striving for excellence by encouraging First Nations and Metis peoples to take their rightful place in all sectors of Canadian society.

 

Uzma Shakir
Executive Director
Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA);
Economic Justice Fellow, The Atkinson Foundation

Uzma Shakir is Executive Director of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), a position she has held since 1997.  She believes passionately that "democracy is something we live and that Canada is a country worth fighting for". She is an advocate for greater representation for all immigrant communities in policy, institutions, service delivery and societal participation on the principles of access and equity. Although CASSA focuses particularly on issues within the South Asian community, Uzma has worked extensively to create alliances among many of the Toronto newcomer communities and is particularly proud of the recent partnership which has been created among the Asian, Hispanic, Chinese and African communities to co-ordinate joint events, strategic planning and research. She believes passionately that one works from one's differences in background and culture through to negotiated agreements.

Uzma was born in Karachi, the youngest of three children, and raised by parents who had both settled in Pakistan after Partition. Although she was raised in a traditional, religious household she speaks of her parents as uniquely progressive in their emphasis on equal education and opportunities for both her brothers and herself. She received a B.A. in English Literature from Karachi University, a B.A. in International Relations from Sussex University, and a Master's Degree from the Fletcher School of law and Diplomacy, an international training school for career diplomats.
As a community activist, Uzma is involved in a wide variety of other organizations including the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, the Association of International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Coaltion for Accessing Professional Engineering, National Anti-Racism Council, Pan-Asian Network, Alternative Social Planning Group, Community Advisory Committee of the Family Wellness Centre at Scarborough Hospital and the Riverdale Immigrant Women's Centre.  She was awarded the Atkinson Economic Justice Fellowship in November 2007.

 

 

Paul Wells
Senior Columnist
Maclean’s

As senior columnist for Maclean’s magazine, Paul Wells is one of Canada’s foremost political commentators.

Fresh, funny and authoritative, his first book, Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper’s New Conservatism was a national bestseller. He has written for Time magazine, the National Post, La Presse and the Literary Review of Canada. His blog, Inkless Wells, is required reading in Ottawa and wherever people spend too much time worrying about politics.

A veteran television and radio commentator whose insights have educated and entertained audiences in French and English, Wells is returning from a year in Paris as Maclean’s Europe correspondent, where he reported from Germany, Poland, the U.K., Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Paul studied at the University of Western Ontario and the Institut d’Etudes politiques de Paris. He is on the advisory committee of the new Glendon School of Public Affairs.