Canada and Climate Change: Setting the Stage for the G7 and COP26

Experts have revealed that the nature and pace of climate changes observed around the globe and the consequences projected are grave and pose significant implications for our collective wellbeing on this planet. To explore some of these issues and Canada’s strategies to address them, the CIC-NCB is pleased to announce that its upcoming special event on Wednesday 2 June 2021 at 5:00pm will feature Patricia Fuller, Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change. During this webinar Ambassador Fuller will discuss Canada’s strategies to play a central role in the coordination, partnerships and activities needed to help advance the climate change agenda internationally. We look forward to welcoming you to this special event.

TO REGISTER:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qddSrK3TRsSs0idHvzXjHg

Advance Questions: Please submit your questions to Ms. Lillian Thomsen at

lillianthomsenottawa@gmail.com

BIOS:

Patricia Fuller was named Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change on June 5, 2018. The mandate for Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change includes:

• providing advice on climate change considerations in Canada’s international priorities;
• leading bilateral engagements with partner countries on clean growth and climate change;
• representing Canada in international cooperative initiatives related to climate change; and
• promoting Canada’s clean growth and climate change priorities.

Ms. Fuller holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics and Political Studies from Queen’s University, and a Master of Science with distinction from the London School of Economics. She served abroad as Ambassador of Canada to Uruguay from 2004 to 2007 and as Ambassador to Chile from 2012 to 2015. Previous international assignments also included Mexico and Guatemala. In Ottawa, Ms. Fuller has specialized in trade and economic policy, as well as climate change and energy. At Canada’s foreign ministry, she served as Deputy Director for Trade Remedies (1997-1999), Director of the Softwood Lumber Division (2003-2004), Chief Economist (2007-2010), Director General of Planning and Reporting (2010-2012) and Director General of Economic Development (2017-2018). She was seconded to Natural Resources Canada from 2015 to 2017, to head up the Office of Energy Efficiency. She also managed environment and climate change files earlier in her career while working at the Privy Council Office where she supported the Cabinet Committee on Economic and Regional Development Policy from 2000 to 2003.

Lillian Thomson (moderator) was a career foreign service officer who served abroad in Warsaw, at the UN in New York, in Moscow, as Consul-General in St. Petersburg, Russia and in London.     At headquarters she served in a variety of positions culminating as Director-General and Dean of the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. She is now a Senior Fellow in Residence at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.

Elizabeth Kingston (welcome remarks) is the President of the CIC-National Capital Branch. She had a career of 35 years with the Parliament of Canada as a Procedural Clerk and is now retired. She has held numerous positions including Clerk of the Standing Committees on Finance, Public Accounts, Aboriginal Affairs, Industry as well as the Special Joint Committee on the Meech Lake Accord. She has also served as Executive Secretary to the Canada – United States Inter-parliamentary Group, the Canada-China and Canada-Japan Parliamentary Associations, the Canada-United Kingdom Parliamentary Association and the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Elizabeth also served as Executive Secretary to the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), which serves to strengthen the participation of women in politics, government and society. Elizabeth served as both a short term and long term observer for the presidential, then parliamentary elections in Ukraine in the spring and summer of 2019. Elizabeth recently returned from Guyana and Ukraine as an election observer for their elections in January and November 2020. Elizabeth holds a Master’s degree in French Literature and is presently working on a Master’s degree in Theology.