Advisory Council

The Advisory Council provides advice and views on how we discharge our responsibilities. Their work is made public through Study Reports and Triennial Reports to government. In January 2005, the Council published a statement on how it intends to fulfill its mandate.

How the Advisory Council of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization Intends to Fulfill its Mandate

Members of the Advisory Council

The Honourable David Crombie is the President of David Crombie and Associates, the Chair of Toronto Lands Corporation, and past Chair of Ontario Place. He is the immediate past President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute. He is also a past mayor of the City of Toronto and a Privy Councillor. Mr. Crombie was the first Chancellor of Ryerson University and is the recipient of honorary doctorates of law from the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. Mr. Crombie is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario.

Dr. David Cameron, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. His professional career has been divided between public service – in Ottawa and at Queen’s Park, Ontario – and academic life. A longtime student of Canadian federalism and Quebec nationalism, he has turned his attention to constitution-making and government design in conflict and post-conflict situations in Sri Lanka, Iraq, Somalia, the Western Sahara, and Jerusalem. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto.

Mr. Joseph Cavalancia, a Chartered Professional Accountant, has more than 35 years’ experience in the area of financial management, and has been responsible for financial controls, treasury, risk management, and taxation, among other activities. Holding a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal and a Management Diploma from McGill University, Mr. Cavalancia has spent most of his career in the private sector, mainly in the engineering and construction fields. He has extensive experience as a senior executive in both private and public companies.

Dean Jacobs is the Consultation Manager for Walpole Island First Nation (WIFN). For the past 42 years, he has been the driving force behind WIFN’s internationally acclaimed community-based research program called Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. (those who seek to find). He is a member of the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board. Mr. Jacobs is a former Chief of WIFN, and is the recipient of two eagle feathers and three honorary doctorate degrees.

Ms. Diane M. Kelly is an experienced leader, visionary and strongly committed to empowering decision-making through Traditional Governance.  Ms. Kelly inherently believes that forging strong alliances can be achieved by working together. She became the first Anishinaabe woman lawyer in the Treaty #3 Nation. She has extensive experience in First Nations governance, board training, land claims research and development, treaty negotiations, education policies, and all aspects of child welfare. She specializes in facilitating conflict resolution through creative strategies and empowerment. As the first woman Grand Chief of Treaty #3 from 2008 until 2012, she honourably carried the responsibility of protecting, preserving and enhancing Treaty Rights for 28 First Nation communities in 55,000 square miles of Treaty 3 territory in northwestern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba.

Ms. Eva Ligeti teaches Environmental Law and Policy in the graduate program in Environmental Science at the University of Toronto. As the Executive Director of the Clean Air Partnership, she worked to make Toronto more environmentally sustainable and a world leader in clean air. A lawyer, she served as Ontario’s first Environmental Commissioner from 1994 to 1999. Ms. Ligeti has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Council of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund, as a member of the Province of Ontario’s Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation, and as a co-chair of the Greening Greater Toronto Task Force.

Dr. Derek Lister is Professor Emeritus in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, where he also holds the Research Chair in Nuclear Engineering. His main research interests are in chemistry and corrosion associated with nuclear and other power systems, areas in which he has published widely. He holds positions on a number of national and international committees advising government and industry.

Dr. Dougal McCreath is Professor Emeritus in the Bharti School of Engineering at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. A Fellow of both the Engineering Institute of Canada and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, he has wide teaching, research and international consulting interests, ranging from the design of deep underground excavations to the recovery and sustainability of damaged ecosystems. He has served on two Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency review panels dealing with nuclear related issues.

Mr. Donald Obonsawin is the founder and President of DIRECTIONS, a management consulting company that provides policy, management and strategic planning services. From 2003 to 2007, he was President and CEO of Jonview Canada Inc. Previous to that, he enjoyed a 25-year career in both the provincial and federal public services, including 15 years as Deputy Minister of seven Ontario government ministries. He also held senior positions with the federal departments of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and Health and Welfare Canada. Mr. Obonsawin is a member of the Abenaki First Nation of Odanak.

With 25 years’ management experience, Linda Thompson was first elected to the Municipality of Port Hope Council in 2000, serving as Councillor and Deputy Mayor, then as Mayor from 2006 to 2014. Port Hope is one of the world’s oldest nuclear communities, home to Cameco Corporation’s conversion and fuel manufacturing facilities, and the site of Canada’s largest federal cleanup of Low Level Radioactive Waste. In her time as Mayor, Ms. Thompson was an active member of the Canadian Association of Nuclear Host Communities (CANHC), Mayors Nuclear Technology Caucus (MNTC), and the NWMO Municipal Forum.