Presenters | Agenda

The full list of presenters from June 2001.

Michael Adams,
As the President of Environics Research Group, Michael Adams is one of Canada's leading public opinion researchers and an expert on how social trends impact public policy and corporate strategy. Since co-founding Environics in 1970, he has guided the firm's growth from a small sociological consultancy to one of Canada's largest and most sophisticated research houses, with offices and affiliates in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and New York. He is also the author of Sex in the Snow, an exploration of Canadian values and concerns, and Better Happy Than Rich, an amusing analysis of Canadian attitudes towards money.

Robyn Allan,
Robyn Allan is President of CYF Consulting Ltd, a broadly based strategic management consulting company whose purpose is to assist companies and their employees in the fluid and dynamically changing market place. This past year Robyn was the economic and financial advisor to the British Columbia Commission of Inquiry into the Quality of Condominium Construction in British Columbia. Robyn is well known for her creative and successful restructuring of the $3.4 billion Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as CEO and President. She is also Artistic Director of Vancouver Dance Theatre, resident dance company of the Vogue Theatre.

Suroosh Alvi,
Founder and publisher of Vice magazine. Vice began as a folded newsprint magazine in Montreal in 1994 but now exists as a popular counter-culture glossy with head offices in New York City. Vice has expanded into film, television and e-commerce and has retail/wholesale fashion outlets in Toronto, London and New York, with stores scheduled to open soon in Los Angeles and Glasgow.

Michel Auger,
A leading crime reporter and Quebec journalist who was shot five times in the parking lot of his Montreal newspaper, Le Journal de Montreal, a day after publishing an exposé on the city's motorcycle gangs. Auger is the 2000 recipient of the Tara Singh Haver Memorial Award, given out each year by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

Michael Bate,
Michael Bate became editor of the national edition of Frank, the magazine of Canadian political satire, in 1991. Although Bate did work for Canadian Press in Ottawa, freelance for CBC Radio and write music reviews for The Ottawa Citizen, he has held a variety of different career interests over the years. He spent the 1970s playing pedal steel guitar with various country bands, worked as a front end brakeman with the CNR out of Jasper, Alberta, and designed computer games with Artech Entertainment. Bate holds a degree in history from Carleton University.

Keith Bellows,
Keith Bellows is editor and vice-president of National Geographic Traveler, "...the source for the active, curious traveler" and the flagship travel magazine of the National Geographic Society. Besides a love for galloping the globe, Bellows brings a rare combination of magazine, internet and television experience to his current job at the helm of NG Traveler. He was executive producer of the web search engine Excite, editor of the Smart Health/Smart Parenting Division of New York-based Meigher Communications, and creator/executive producer of the Special Report television show featuring Joan Lunden.

Dave Bidini,
Dave Bidini is rhythm guitarist for the Rheostatics. He is also a writer, and his latest works- On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock and Tropic of Hockey: My Search for the Game in Unlikely Places -have earned him rave reviews from critics, rockers and hockey fans alike. Bidini's story on the Chicago Blackhawks in Original Six (1996) was described by Maclean's as "a stunning first-person narrative." He has published two other hockey stories in the Village Voice and his witty, controversial sports commentary is heard on the CBC radio program "Definitely Not the Opera."

Richard Bradshaw,
In a career taking him throughout the world, Richard Bradshaw has conducted a wide-ranging repertoire of both operatic and orchestral music. In his eleven years with the COC, he has conducted more than 30 operas, including La Traviata, La Bohème and The Flying Dutchman as well as more cutting edge COC productions like Salome and Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung. He is a Senior Fellow of Massey College, a Distinguished Visitor in Music at the University of Toronto and has recently been appointed Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters of the Republic of France.

Chris Buck,
He's photographed everyone from George W. Bush to Eminem to Jean Chretien. One of North America's most talented pop photographers.

Dr. John C. Butt,
The former Chief Medical Examiner for Nova Scotia, who oversaw a team of doctors, pathologists, dentists, x-ray technicians and Mounties who worked for months identifying the remains of the 229 victims of the 1998 Swiss Air disaster over Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. Dr. Butt now runs Pathfinder Forum in Vancouver, which provides expert opinion on sudden death and multiple fatality disasters.

The Right Honourable Kim Campbell,

Denise Djokic,
Twenty-year old Denise Djokic has been described as one of the world's best young cellists. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native was recently awarded the use of the 1696 Bonjour Stradivarius cello, worth CDN $6-million, for two years. She has also won numerous competitions, including the H.A.M.S. Cello Competition, the Caprio Young Artists Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Djokic is currently taking a year off from her studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Mark Emery,
Mark Emery is the former owner of The Cannabis Cafe in Vancouver, British Columbia, an outspoken Libertarian and activist for the decriminalization of cannabis and the bane of law enforcement on the Canadian west coast. Emery, also known as Mr. Pot Millionnaire, expects to earn CDN $2.5 million this year as a result of his many pot-related ventures, including his website, www.emeryseeds.com, which sells 350 varieties of marijuana seeds; his magazine, Cannabis Culture; and his online network, Pot TV and Pot Radio, which he operates out of the basement of his home on the Sunshine Coast, in Gibsons, B.C. Emery has been featured by CNN, ABC, Rolling Stone, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun and the Toronto Star.

Arthur Charles Erickson,
An internationally recognized, award-winning architect, whose works include the Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, the striking San Diego Convention Center, the elegant Napp Laboratories in Cambridge, England and the Canadian Chancery in Washington, D.C.

Brian Feeney,
Brian Feeney is an industrial designer and civilian astronaut. He is currently heading up the Toronto-based da Vinci Project, Canada's first entrant in the X PRIZE, a $10 million (U.S.) cash prize awarded to the first person or team to build a privately funded passenger-carrying vehicle that travels to space and back. Feeney will pilot the made-in-Canada spacecraft to a minimum altitude of 100 km, or 62 miles, to space. The goal of the competition, which has been endorsed by leading space and aviation organizations around the world, is to jump-start the commercialization of space, including space tourism. Currently, there are 18 teams from five nations participating.

Diane Francis,
Diane Francis is Editor-at-Large for The Financial Post (of The National Post) and is well known across the country for her hard-hitting newspaper columns. She is also a broadcaster and the author of seven best-selling books, including BRE-X: The Inside Story. Francis has a syndicated column for the Southam newspaper chain and also contributes a regular column to Canada's only national news magazine, Maclean's.

John Fraser,
John Fraser is a writer and educator, a National Post columnist and a Master of Massey College at the University of Toronto. He was also editor of Saturday Night magazine for seven years, and is the recipient of three National Newspaper Awards and seven National Magazine Awards.

Robert Fung,
Robert Fung is Deputy Chairman of Yorkton Securities, Canada's leading technology investment bank. He was a senior partner with the Capital West Group and former vice-chairman of Gordon Capital Corp. He most recently chaired Toronto's Waterfront Redevelopment Task Force, is a member of the Prime Minister's Advisory Committee on Asia Pacific Economic Corporation and is part of the Team Canada Inc. Advisory Board, which provides advice to the federal government on Canada's international business development.

Gordon F. Gibson,
Gordon Gibson is Senior Fellow in Canadian Studies at The Fraser Institute, and is a regular newspaper columnist.He was elected to the Legislature of British Columbia in 1974 and served as both MLA and Leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party 1975-79. Since then he has been active in both business and public affairs in Western Canada, including 12 years on the Canada West Council.Over the years he has been a regular columnist with The Financial Post, The Vancouver Sun, and The Globe and Mail. He now appears in the National Post. He is currently researching aboriginal issues and has recently published "Comments on the Draft Nisga'a Treaty", "A principled Analysis of the Nisga'a Treaty" and "Principles for Treaties", May 2000. He holds an MBA from Harvard University.

Daniel Gluck,
Daniel Gluck is the Executive Director of The Museum of Sex (aka MoSex), a major cultural institution devoted to the history and continuing evolution of human sexuality. Opening in 2004, and to be located at 5th Avenue and 27th Street in midtown Manhattan, the museum will feature seven floors of exhibits and collections documenting and exploring sexuality in the arts and sciences from prehistory to the present. Mr. Gluck's long term plan is to open satellite museums in Los Angeles, London, Tokyo and Toronto.

Nizan Guanaes,
Under the management of Nizan Guanaes, iG (Internet Group do Brasil), the first free internet portal, has surpassed even the most optimistic projections: not only does iG operate in 89 Brazilian cities, the portal also receives ten to fifteen thousand registrations per day and over 12 million page views per day. Guanaes' professional achievements as an advertiser are equally as impressive. In 1999, he was elected by the newspaper Gazeta Mercantil as the most creative and effective advertiser in Brazil. That same year, the Cannes Festival awarded DM9DDB, an advertising agency in which Guanaes played a significant role, the title of "Agency of the Year". Guanaes was also crowned as a "Marketing Superstar" by the U.S. publication Advertising Age in 1993.

John MacLachlan Gray,
John MacLachlan Gray is a writer of plays, screenplays, teleplays, fiction, non-fiction, and a weekly column in The Vancouver Sun. He is best known for his stage musicals Rock and Roll, Don Messer's Jubilee, Health, and Billy Bishop Goes to War, one of the most successful homegrown Canadian plays in history. He has won the Governor General's Award, a National Magazine Award, and six Western Magazine Awards, as well as several honours for his stage and film work, the most recent being his induction to the Order of Canada. He lives in Vancouver.

Edward Greenspan,
Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C. is senior partner with the firm Greenspan, Henein and White in Toronto and one of Canada's foremost criminal lawyers.

Paul Gross,
Actor, writer and singer, most often recognized from his days as Constable Benton Fraser on the acclaimed series Due South. Recent accomplishments include his role as Hamlet at the Stratford Festival's 2000 season.

Chaviva Hosek,
Chaviva Hosek is the President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR). Dr. Hosek, who received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1973, arrived at CIAR following an outstanding career of public service and academic achievement. Most recently, she was the Director of Policy and Research for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Her accomplishments also include a term as Minister of Housing for the Province of Ontario and a 13-year career as Professor of English Literature at the University of Toronto. A longtime champion of Canadian education and human rights, Dr. Hosek has served as President and Executive Member of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and has held senior governance positions at the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.

Peter Jennings,
Peter Jennings is the anchor and senior editor for ABC's World News Tonight. As a journalist, the Canadian-born Jennings has covered many of the pivotal events that have shaped the last half of the century and has won numerous awards, including Harvard University's Goldsmith Career Award for excellence in journalism and the coveted Radio and Television News Directors Paul White Award, chosen by the news directors of all three major U.S. television networks.

Molly Johnson,
Former lead singer for the rock band the Infidels, Johnson released her first solo album in the fall of 2000. Described as "jazzy, funky and soulful" the self-titled solo debut is receiving rave reviews. Johnson has also spent four years organizing the Kumbaya Festival, a musical fundraiser for AIDS research.

George Jonas,
George Jonas is a novelist, playwright and Southam columnist and has been called ".one of the very best writers of English in the country." (I.M. Owen in Books in Canada). For 23 years, between 1962 and 1985, Jonas was a staff radio and TV producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has written, produced and directed over 200 dramas and docudramas, including the award-winning series The Scales of Justice. Jonas has published 13 books of fiction, non-fiction, essays and poetry. As a journalist he has contributed to the National Review, Saturday Review, and The Wall Street Journal. Jonas' media awards in Canada and abroad include the Edgar Allan Poe Award, two Nelly Awards for the Best Radio Program, a Gabriel Award for the Best Radio Entertainment Program in North America, a Gold Medal at the New York International Radio Festival, a National Magazine Award, and two Gemini Awards.

Dr. Tim Kaiser,
An archaeologist specializing in the prehistory and antiquity of the Balkans, who recently discovered a hidden cave in Croatia, containing the undisturbed remains of an Illyrian cult sanctuary dating from the 1st millennuim B.C.

Anita Kunz,

Prof. Sir Harold Kroto,
Received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of C60 Buckminsterfullerene, a new form of carbon, in 1996.

Robert Lantos,
Robert Lantos is an internationally recognized, award-winning film and television producer. His films include Istvan Szabo's Sunshine, Denys Arcand's Stardom, Atom Egoyan's Felicia's Journey and The Sweet Hereafter as well as David Cronenberg's eXistenZ and Crash. Television series include Due South and North of 60. He was Chairman and CEO of Alliance Communications until the fall of 1998, when he merged Alliance with Atlantis Communications to form Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc, of which he is Chairman Emeritus. Upon the merger, he formed Serendipity Point Films.

William Lishman AKA Father Goose,
An inventor, environmentalist, and sculptor. In 1993, Lishman conducted the first aircraft-led bird migration study, taking 18 Canada geese 400 miles from Ontario to Virginia, a study which served as the inspiration for the 1995 film Fly Away Home.

Edouard Lock,
Edouard Lock is an award winning choreographer and founder of the Quebec-based dance troupe La La La Human Steps. Lock has earned an international reputation and has developed a unique choreographic language since 1980, when the company was formed under the name of Lock-Danseurs. Works include Lily Marlene in the Jungle, Oranges, Human Sex, Etude and Salt. He was also the artistic director of David Bowie's Sound and Vision world tour in 1990.

Juan Lozano,
Juan Lozano has a law degree from the Universidad de los Andes, in Colombia, and has studied economics at Harvard University. He has been an editorial consultant and columnist at El Tiempo, Colombia's largest newspaper, and has also taught law and communications at Universidad de los Andes, Universidad del Rosario, Universidad Javeriana and Universidad Sergio Arboleda.Lozano has been awarded the Simón Bolívar National Prize of Journalism three times, for Best Press Analysis, Best Opinion Columnist and for Best Research. Lozano is currently a member of El Tiempo's editorial board, a position he holds in addition to his position as Director of News Operations at Citytv Bogota.

Joseph MacInnis,
An explorer, physician, author and filmmaker who has a particular love for the sea. In 1991, MacInnis was the co-leader of a daring $7 million expedition to film the Titanic in the IMAX format, thus becoming the first Canadian to explore the world's most famous shipwreck.

Jaymie Matthews,
Can a 15-cm telescope probe the cores of stars and set a limit on the age of the universe? Dr. Jaymie Matthews thinks so. Matthews is Mission Scientist for the MOST Project, a suitcase-sized microsatellite, scheduled for launch in 2002-2003, which will be Canada's first space observatory and which team members affectionately call the "Humble Space Telescope". MOST will give us clues to the age of the Universe and the future of our Sun. It should also unveil some of the mysteries about alien planetary systems recently discovered around other Sun-like stars. Dr. Matthews sits on the Board of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, is Canada's Education representative to the International Astronomical Union, and won one of the 1999 Killam Prizes for teaching excellence in the UBC Faculty of Science.

Bruce McDonald,
One of Canada's most celebrated independent filmmakers, whose works include Roadkill, Highway 61, Hard Core Logo and his most recent film, Claire's Hat, starring Juliette Lewis.

Loreena McKennitt,
The "eclectic Celtic" singer/composer and double Juno Award-winner, who has sold ten million records worldwide via her own label, Quinlan Road. Has also recently been commissioned as a composer for The Merchant of Venice at the 2001 Stratford Festival.

Barth Netterfield,

Nancy Olivieri,
An internationally acclaimed medical researcher at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto who made headlines in 1998 after she published a study critical of a drug for thalassimia, a genetic blood disorder. Olivieri published her results despite the objections of the pharmaceutical company that funded part of her research.

James Orbinski,
President of the International Council of the humanitarian organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Peace prize. Has served as medical co-ordinator for MSF in the war torn regions of Somalia, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Zaire.

Robert Young Pelton,
Car accidents, muggings, illness, attacks by the PKK, African killer bees and even a plane crash in the central highlands of Kalimantan --- all in a day's work for the adventurist himself, author Robert Young Pelton. Pelton's works include The World's Most Dangerous Places, Come Back Alive, Travel in Harm's Way and The Adventurist. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London and recently produced and starred in Dangerous Places for The Discovery Channel.

Josef Penninger,
The lead researcher of a team of Canadian scientists, who has recently discovered the 'Holy Grail' of the signalling process the human body uses to control its immune system. Experts predict this finding could one day halt the development of cancer, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease. Penninger is an immunologist at the Amgen Institute and the Ontario Cancer Institute, a research centre at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Bruce Powe,
Bruce W. Powe has been called "an original", "a visionary", and "adventurous and unclassifiable." He is an author, speaker, poet, critic, journalist, teacher, and organizer of media events. Powe's major publications include The Solitary Outlaw, where he explored the role of the intellectual in a post-literate age by profiling Marshall McLuhan, Glenn Gould, Elias Canetti, Wyndham Lewis and Pierre Trudeau. His other works include A Canada of Light, a philosophical work which has become an influential contemplation of the promise of Canada in the new transnational electronic sphere, and Outage, which described and evoked the effects of mass media on a lone individual. The Globe and Mail called it "the first television novel" and "way-cool". Outage was also the first book to be launched electronically on the then new Bravo! television network. Powe was born in Ottawa, has taught at York University in the departments of English and Fine Arts Cultural Studies, and has also instructed at the Schulich School of Business since 1987.

Hani Rashid,
Hani Rashid is a practicing architect in New York City and co-founder of Asymptote, a firm he and partner Lise Anne Couture founded in 1989. Most recently, Asymptote has designed a large-scale computer generated environment for the New York Stock Exchange and an accompanying 'Theater of Operations' presently under construction on the floor of the Exchange. The firm is also designing the Guggenheim Virtual Museum, which will be a fully interactive multi-dimensional web based architecture, accessible on the Internet beginning in 2001. Rashid is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture at Columbia University in New York.

Zachary Richard,
Southwest Louisiana born and raised, Richard is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and poet, committed to the defense of the native French language of Louisiana. Richard defines his work as "musical gumbo", due to its strong mix of influences from Cajun, Zydeco and New Orleans rhythm and blues.

Moshe Safdie,
An acclaimed architect, recognized internationally for his award-winning designs. His buildings include the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Canada; the Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex in the Punjab State in India; and Habitat '67, designed for Expo '67, in Montreal, Canada. He is a recipient of the Gold Medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. His firm, Moshe Safdie and Associates, is based in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Oren Safdie,
Columbia University-trained architect turned playwright and screenwriter. Currently a playwright-in-residence at La MaMa ETC, New York's Mecca for experimental stage work. Safdie's works at La MaMa include Fiddler Sub-Terrain (an updated satire of Fiddler on the Roof, based in the Montreal neighbourhood of Cote St. Luc) and Jews and Jesus (described as 'terrifically lovable and original' by The New York Times). He has also written a half hour -pilot for Castle Rock / CBS called Fashion Avenue and scripted the 1998 movie You Can Thank Me Later, starring Ellen Burstyn, Genvieve Bujold and Amanda Plummer.

Vaclav Smil,
Vaclav Smil is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His interdisciplinary research deals with interactions and global challenges of energy, environment, food, population and economy. He has published more than 250 papers and 20 books on these subjects. He is the 2001 recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology.

Paul Spong,
Paul Spong is the director of OrcaLab, a land based whale research station in British Columbia. His work focuses on the long-term life history of the 'northern resident community' of British Columbia orcas and on the protection of orca habitat.

Lara St. John,
Described as "something of a phenomenon" by The Strad magazine, Canadian-born Lara St. John has performed as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, the Montreal Symphony, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra of Budapest, among many others, and given recitals around the world. The L.A. Times has said: "St. John brings to the stage personal charisma, an unflagging musical imagination and genuine passion." Her debut CD Bach Works for Violin Solo has sold over 30,000 copies. St. John has studied at the Guildhall School in England, and the Mannes College in New York City, the city she currently calls home.

Don Tapscott,

Justin Trudeau,

The Right Honourable John N. Turner,
John Turner was sworn in as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada on June 20, 1984. His career in politics began in 1962, when he was elected as a Member of Parliament in the riding of Montreal-St.Lawrence-St. George. He has held various ministerial positions for the Liberal Party of Canada, including Minister of Justice in 1968 and Minister of Finance in 1972 and has twice been Leader of the Opposition. He resigned from politics in 1993 and is currently a partner at the Toronto law firm of Miller Thomson. He is a Rhodes Scholar, holds a law degree from Oxford University and is a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Sandra Witelson,

Rufus Wainwright,

Andrew Watson,
Andrew Watson is the Creative Director of Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil, the internationally renowned cultural organization that has reinvented and revolutionized the circus arts.

Jasper Wood,
Canadian born violinist Jasper Wood has established himself as one of the major talents of his generation. Wood made his first public appearance at the age of five and his first solo orchestral debut at the age of thirteen. Now in his twenties, he has developed an international reputation as a sought-after soloist and chamber musician. He received the coveted Sylva Gelber Award, a highly distinguished prize awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts, and performs on an 1820 Pressenda violin on loan from the Canada Council and an anonymous donor.

Hawksley Workman,
A singer/songwriter on his way to the top. In fact, The Sunday Times of London sums Workman up best: ".the 24 year old Canadian comes across like a freak genetic experiment containing DNA from Bowie, Nick Cave, Sparklehorse, Tom Waits, Jeff Buckley and, most bizaarely, early Queen. When this exotic blend succeeds, you feel ready to acclaim the arrival of a new star."

Bob Young,
Co-founder and Chairman of the Center for the Public Domain (the Center), Young is leading the foundation in its efforts to raise the public's awareness of the value of growing the public domain, a crucial resource for creators and innovators. Young is also Co-founder and Chairman of Red Hat, Inc., the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina based company, driving the global, industry wide adoption of open source Internet infrastructure solutions.