Report

Published: May 2011    |    By: Edward Greenspon

Summary

Released in advance of the G8 and G20 meetings, Open Canada: A Global Positioning Strategy for a Networked Age is a major foreign policy review, which takes a hard look at Canada’s global role and priorities.

About the Authors

Edward Greenspon was editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail and globeandmail.com from 2002 to 2009, where he was responsible for content produced on all platforms and during which time he chaired the editorial board. During his tenure, the newspaper held its circulation amid historically challenging market conditions and grew its web traffic to 6.5 million unique visitors a month. He was the launch editor of globeandmail.com in June of 2000. He led The Globe and Mail to an unprecedented three Michener awards for public service journalism between 2004 and 2007. Mr. Greenspon is well-known for his intimate knowledge of the Canadian political scene and his strong grasp of macro-economic and public policy issues. In 1995 he co-authored a book, Double Vision: The Inside Story of the Liberals in Power, for which he shared the 1996 Douglas Purvis Award for best public policy book. In the fall of 2001, he co-published Searching for Certainty: Inside the New Canadian Mindset. He also was co-host of CTV’s Question Period and a regular panelist on political and media issues at conferences and on television, radio and the Internet. Mr. Greenspon has a combined honours degree in journalism and political science from Carleton University and was a Commonwealth Scholar at the London School of Economics, earning a master’s degree in politics and government. In 2002 Mr. Greenspon won the Hyman Soloman Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism. He is an executive fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy.

André Beaulieu is responsible for one of the largest procurement portfolios in Canada, major productivity initiatives across the company and the relationship with Bell’s Atlantic Canadian partner, Bell Aliant. Prior to his current appointment, he was vice-president of corporate strategy at Bell. Previously, he was with the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada and with the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Born in Quebec City, Mr. Beaulieu received his BA (honours) and his B.C.L./LL.B from McGill University.

Cathy Beehan is the CEO of Action Canada; in this capacity, she has played a key role in designing and implementing the Action Canada Fellowship program. Ms. Beehan was the first Canadian head of the NAFTA Secretariat and has expertise in NAFTA dispute settlements. A former senior public servant, Ms. Beehan received the Prime Minister’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Public Service Excellence. Ms. Beehan holds degrees in law and the performing arts. She also plays violin in the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, which she joined in 1976.

Gerald Butts is head of WWF Canada, the country’s largest environmental organization and a national charitable organization. Prior to joining WWF, Mr. Butts was principal secretary to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, where he worked directly with the premier, Cabinet and Public Service to develop, implement and communicate the government’s agenda. Mr. Butts holds an honours BA and master’s degree from McGill University, where he studied English Literature and Theology. An avid lover of the outdoors, he and his wife, Jodi, have toured many of North America’s National Parks and protected areas.

Mark Cameron is Director of Corporate Affairs at Ontario Power Generation. He worked in the Office of the Prime Minister, where he served in a number of roles, including senior policy advisor and director of policy and research. Previously he worked as legislative assistant or policy advisor to several MPs and Cabinet ministers, in the Privy Council office and as a private consultant on public policy issues. Mr. Cameron holds a BA (honours) and a master’s degree in political science from the University of British Columbia, where he was awarded a NATO Academic Fellowship.

John Hancock works at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where he has served as senior policy advisor to the director-general, representative to the IMF and World Bank and head of investment issues. He also coordinated the WTO’s Aid-for-Trade initiative and was secretary of the 2006 task force on the subject. Prior to the WTO, Mr. Hancock was senior advisor to Canada’s trade minister. He holds a PhD in economic history from Cambridge and has written and spoken frequently on international issues.

Jonathan Hausman is vice-chairman of the Canadian Council for the Americas, the leading national forum on hemispheric issues. He also holds strategic and academic positions at the University of Toronto, as co-chair of the Strategic Advisory Committee for the Munk School of Global Affairs and as a lecturer on global capital markets and international political economy in the commerce program at the Rotman School of Management. Mr. Hausman was executive director at Goldman Sachs, where he held positions in its New York, London and Hong Kong offices. Before beginning his career in international finance, Mr. Hausman worked as special assistant to the Premier of the Province of Ontario. He holds a BA from McGill University, an MSc from the London School of Economics and a master’s degree in public administration from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Farah Mohamed is Foundation president of the Belinda Stronach Foundation,  and was the vice-president of public affairs and community engagement for VON Canada. For 10 years, she worked closely with some of Canada’s most senior politicians. Ms. Mohamed serves on the boards of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, YouCanTrust and the Canadian Club of Canada and is a member of the executive committee for the Brazilian Ball 2010. In 2007 she took active participation to its extreme when she climbed 19,340 feet up Mount Kilimanjaro, raising $21,000 for the Canadian Liver Foundation and the VON Canada Foundation. Ms. Mohamed has a BA from Queens University and an MA in political science from the University of Western Ontario.

George Roter co-founded Engineers Without Borders (EWB) as a movement of engineers driven to create meaningful and lasting opportunities for Africans by tackling the root causes of why poverty persists. Mr. Roter serves as co-CEO along with co-CEO and co-founder Parker Mitchell. Among other awards, George has been awarded the Young Leaders Award from the Public Policy Forum (2007), an Action Canada Fellowship (2004) on public policy, in addition to being one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2005). Mr. Roter holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo (1999) and a Bachelor of Applied Studies (Honourary) from Seneca College (2009).

Stéphane Roussel is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Canada Research Chair in Canadian Foreign and Defence Policy. Dr. Roussel is a member of the Centre d’études des politiques étrangères et de sécurité and a Fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute in Calgary. He is an external associate of the Research Group in International Security, Université de Montréal/McGill University and the Réseau francophone de recherche sur les opérations de paix at Université de Montréal. He works regularly with the Queen’s Centre for International Relations at Queen’s University and the Canadian Forces College. Dr. Roussel currently directs three research programs: Competing Views of Emerging Threat in the Arctic; Studying Canadian Foreign Policy in French; and Quebec’s Public Opinion Attitude Toward International Security.

Mercedes Stephenson is the host and producer of several documentaries and two national television series, Mercedes Stephenson Investigates and The Underground Royal Commission Investigates; she has also cohosted It’s Your Government. Ms. Stephenson is the vice-president of the Breakout Educational Network, a registered charitable foundation dedicated to providing research and educational content to connect and engage Canadians with the issues and public policies that touch their lives. Ms. Stephenson is a national media commentator on defence and security affairs and has worked extensively with national and international news outlets such as the CBC, CTV and Global Television.

Kristina Tomaz-Young is head of Venture Capital TV and Smart Initiatives, Inc. Venture Cap TV is a webbroadcasting initiative featuring start-ups and idea backers from around the world; it aims to build business partnerships, dialogues and an exchange of best practices locally and internationally. Ms. Tomaz-Young has an MBA in strategy and finance, a graduate-level certification in Asian studies and a BA in marketing and international business from McGill University.

Yuen Pau Woo sits on the management board of the National Centre of Excellence in Immigration Research at UBC and Simon Fraser University and is an advisor to the Shanghai WTO Affairs Consultation Centre and the Asian Development Bank. He is also on the International Advisory Council of the Asia Society in New York, a member of the Greater Vancouver Advisory Board for the Salvation Army and a board member of the Mosaic Institute. Born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, Mr. Woo was educated at Lester B. Pearson College, Wheaton College, the University of Cambridge and the University of London. In December of 2008, Mr. Woo was appointed by the premier of British Columbia to the province’s Economic Advisory Council.