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Paul Nelson Dinner
November 14, CG&CC, Calgary
Paul Nelson joined the Corporate Security Department at Nexen on June 1, 2008,
after 30 years of federal government service – six with the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) in British Columbia, and 24 with the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service (CSIS).
A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Paul’s CSIS
experience included counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, and
counter-proliferation work at all levels, from front-line investigator and
analyst to senior manager, including corporate responsibilities.
In his government career, Paul was posted to Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto,
Ottawa and Canberra, Australia. In addition to his responsibilities at Nexen
Inc., Paul is also the Honorary Consul for Australia at Calgary, Alberta, with
jurisdiction for the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Paul is married with three children. He enjoys hiking, traveling and spending
time with his family.
From left to right:
Bob Booth of
Bennett Jones LLP and Paul Nelson
Richard Cohen Breakfast
November 4, Westin Hotel, Calgary
On November 4th, 2011
Richard Cohen spoke about about "Making Conservative Defence Policy" Richard
graduated Royal Military College in 1966 and served with both the Canadian and
British army, upon his retirement he founded the Marshall Centre Senior
Executive Seminars for very senior politicians, civil servants and military
leaders.
He served as Senior Defence Advisor to the Minister
of National Defence, from 2007 to 2011 and is currently the President of RSC
Strategic Connections. Additional accomplishments include:
Graduated Royal Military College (BEng, Chemical)
1966 (Cadet Wing Commander, Sword of Honour), Post Graduate Studies (MSc),
Imperial College of Science and Technology, London (Earl of Athlone Fellowship)
Rifle platoon commander, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Germany.
Rifle company commander, reconnaissance platoon commander, Canadian Airborne
Regiment, Valcartier, Edmonton, Student, Canadian Land Forces Command and
General Staff College, Kingston, Secretary to COS Operations, Mobile Command,
St. Hubert, Quebec, Joined British Army, The Light Infantry (now The Rifles)
1973, Rifle Company Commander; Germany, Northern Ireland, Rifle Company
Commander, 2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles, UK, Hong Kong, Borneo,
Deputy Chief of Staff, HQ 8th Infantry Brigade, Londonderry, Northern Ireland,
Battalion 2IC, The Light Infantry, UK, Germany, Operations Staff Officer, HQ
British Forces Falkland Islands, Student, Joint Services Defence College,
Greenwich, London, Chief Instructor, Battalion Battle School, British Army
Training Team, Zimbabwe, Battalion Commander, 1/9 Co. Antrim Battalion, Ulster
Defence Regiment, Northern Ireland, British Liaison Officer, US Army Test and
Experimentation Command, Fort Hood, Texas, Director and Instructor, Basic
Tactics Course, US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas, Student, NATO Defence College, Rome, Chief, Military Cooperation Branch,
International Military Staff, NATO Headquarters, Brussels, Retired from British
Army, 1994 Professor of NATO and European Security Affairs, George C. Marshall
Center, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 1994-2002 Founder and Director of the
Marshall Center’s Senior Executive Seminars for very senior politicians, civil
servants, diplomats and military leaders. President, RSC Strategic Connections,
Ottawa, 2003-2007 . Senior Defence Advisor to the Minister of National Defence,
August 2007-July 2011; advised the Minister on: o Development of the Canada
First Defence Strategy o Canada’s role in Afghanistan, Libya, counter-piracy and
other international operations. The defence component of government strategy in
the North. Expanding Canada-US defence cooperation. Relations with NATO and
international bilateral defence relationships. CF disaster relief organisation
and operations at home and abroad. Defence support to other government
departments, especially Public Safety; Vancouver Olympics, G-8, etc. Search and
Rescue policy development. Policy on major Procurement issues. Defence issues in
Quebec and the Western Provinces Resumed role as President, RSC Strategic
Connections, Ottawa, 2011
David Pratt Luncheon
October 28, Ranchmen's Club, Calgary
On October 8th, 2011 Hon. David
Pratt, Senior Vice President Public Affairs, and former Minister of National
Defence discusses "Reflections on Where We've Been and the Way Forward fora
Canadian Foreign & Defence Policy".
David is a member of the Advisory Council of the
Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute and served as Senior Parliamentary
Expert with the USAID sponsored Iraq Legislative Strengthening Program.
David Pratt is Senior Vice President, Public
Affairs for GCI Group. Most recently he spent five months in Baghdad, Iraq as a
Senior Parliamentary Expert with the USAID sponsored Iraq Legislative
Strengthening Program – currently the largest legislative capacity building
project in the world.
From 2004-2008, he served as Special Advisor to the
Secretary General of the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) where his focus was on
humanitarian issues. He also led the CRC’s ‘Auxiliary to Government’ project
which promoted a new relationship between the CRC and governments at all levels.
Mr. Pratt served as an elected representative at
the municipal, regional and federal levels for 16 years. He was first elected to
the House of Commons in 1997 and was Chair of the Standing Committee on National
Defence and Veterans Affairs from 2001 to 2003. He served as Canada’s 36th
Minister of National Defence in 2003-04.
He is a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Defence &
Foreign Affairs Institute.
Michael Bell Dinner
October 20, CG&CC, Calgary
Former Ambassador Michael Bell is
currently Paul Martin (Sr.) Senior Scholar in International Diplomacy at the
University of Windsor. He is also Co-chair of the Old City Jerusalem Initiative,
a major study focussed on the future governance of the Old City. From 1967-2003,
he was a Foreign Service officer, having spent 36 years in the Canadian
Department of Foreign Affairs, primarily focused on the Middle East. He was
Canada's Ambassador to Jordan (1987-90), Egypt (1994-98) and Israel (1990-92 and
1999-2003). He has also chaired the International Reconstruction Fund Facility
for Iraq, with projects administered through the United Nations and World Bank.
He was Chief of Staff to the Right Honourable
Robert Stanfield respecting the Jerusalem Embassy affair in 1978-79 as well as
Director of the Middle East Relations Division in DFAIT from 1983-1987. Mr. Bell
has been a Senior Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at
Harvard University and at the Munk Centre at the University of Toronto.
To listen to the speech, please click
here.
From left to right:
Michael Bell
and Bob Millar, president of CDFAI
Richard Giguere Luncheon
October 13, Ranchmen's Club, Calgary
A native of Quebec City, Brigadier-General Richard Giguère enrolled in
the Canadian Forces under the Officer Candidate Training Plan in August 1979 and
completed his infantry officer training at the Combat Training Centre at CFB
Gagetown, New Brunswick. Upon graduation, he joined the ranks of the Royal 22e
Régiment (R22eR).
Between 1980 and 1991, he served with three battalions of R22eR in various
command and staff positions, including in Lahr, Germany, and during the Oka
Crisis in 1990. He was posted to the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean in
1991 and then to Paris in 1993. Brigadier-General Giguère graduated from the
Collège Interarmées de Défense and left France in 1995 to join the ranks of 1
Battalion, R22eR, as unit deputy commanding officer. It was in that capacity
that he served in Haiti from March to October 1996 as part of a United Nations
mission.
Promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in 1997, he was posted to Kingston, Ontario, to
the Director Land Strategic Concepts, where he worked on developing the army of
the future. In July 1998, he returned to Québec City and took command of 2
Battalion, R22eR and the Citadelle of Québec. He participated in a number of
exercises with his unit and, among other things, managed the arrival of the
Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV III) at 5 Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group.
On completing his command tour in June 2000, he was sent to University Laval
to start work on a PhD in political science while occupying a research position
at the Institut québécois des hautes études internationales (IQHEI). In the
summer of 2001, he was posted to the Royal Military College as a lecturer in the
Department of Politics and Economics. He moved to Montréal in July 2002 to
become the Operations Officer (G3) for Land Forces Quebec Area. Following
promotion to Colonel, he was deployed to Kabul from January to July 2004 as
Chief of Staff of a multinational brigade. He was then posted to Canadian
Defence Liaison Staff in Washington as the Canadian Forces Military Attaché.
Posted to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa in 2008, he held the
position of Director Current Operations, Strategic Joint Staff. In 2009, he was
selected for training at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, United
States (Combined Warfighting School [JPME-II]). Brigadier-General Giguère was
deployed to Kandahar in September 2010 as Deputy Commander of the Canadian Task
Force with rotation 5-10 of Joint Task Force – Afghanistan.
A member of the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference (1987),
Brigadier-General Giguère is a recipient of the Chief of Land Staff Commendation
and the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation. He has been a member of
the US Legion of Merit at the degree of Officer since 2008. He holds a
Bachelor’s degree with specialisation in military and strategic studies from the
Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean and a graduate degree with specialisation
in strategic studies from the Université Paris-Nord. He assumed command of Land
Forces Quebec Area and Joint Task Force (East) on 05 August 2011.
Colin Robertson Luncheon
September 21, Westin
Hotel, Calgary
(Rob Huebert spoke instead)
Canada and the United States are currently engaged in three initiatives around
border access, regulatory reform and clean energy that would significantly build
on the current FTN/NAFTA platform. At the same time, the Harper Government is
engaged in a series of negotiations that would widen opportunities for Canadian
business in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
A former diplomat, Colin Robertson is Senior Strategic Advisor for McKenna,
Long and Aldridge LLP working with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. He
is Vice President and Senior Research Fellow at the Canadian Defence and Foreign
Affairs Institute. He is an Honorary Captain (Navy) assigned to the Strategic
Communications Directorate, Royal Canadian Navy.
Living in Ottawa, Robertson writes and speaks on international affairs and he
is a commentator on CTV, CBC, CPAC and SUN-TV and a contributor to the Globe and
Mail, Ottawa Citizen, The Mark and a contributing writer to Policy Options.
David Malone Dinner
June 2, Ranchmen's Club,
Calgary
On June 2nd, 2011, David Malone, a career foreign service
officer, spoke about the future of India and its relationship with Canada. In
2008, he became President of Canada's International Development Research Centre.
Previously, he served as Canada's High Commissioner to India and non-resident
Ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, he was
Assistant Deputy Minister in Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade. Dr. Malone's recent book, "Does the Elephant Dance?
Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy", published by Oxford University Press
provided background for this presentation.
David M. Malone is a career foreign service officer and an occasional
scholar. In 2008, he became President of Canada’s International Development
Research Centre. Previously, he served as Canada’s High Commissioner to India
and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal from 2006 to 2008. Prior to
that, he was Assistant Deputy Minister in Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs
and International Trade.
He was President of the International Peace Academy, New York. He served as
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations.
Earlier foreign assignments took him to Egypt, Kuwait, and Jordan. He is a
graduate of l’Université de Montréal, of the American University in Cairo, and
of Harvard and Oxford Universities. He has been a Guest Scholar at both the
Brookings Institute in Washington, DC and Columbia University, and a Visiting
Professor at the University of Toronto. He has published extensively on peace
and security issues in a variety of journals. He has written commentary for the
International Herald Tribune, The Globe & Mail and a number of other
publications. He continues to write for the Literary Review of Canada. Dr.
Malone’s recent book, “Does the Elephant Dance? Contemporary Indian Foreign
Policy”, published by Oxford University Press will provide the background for
his presentation.
Margaret Cornish Dinner
March 9, CG&CC, Calgary
On 9 March, Ms. Margaret Cornish gave the fourth and final lecture in CDFAI’s
speaker series “Canada & the World: China.” As Canada now celebrates forty years
of diplomatic relations with China and attempts to strengthen its strategic
parternship with the country, it is increasingly important for government
officials and Canadian citizens to understand China’s investment strategies
related to Canada.
Margaret Cornish serves as Senior Advisor (China) and Beijing Representative
of Bennett Jones Commercial Consulting Inc. In her presentation, she argued that
in a changing global landscape, Chinese energy firms have emerged as key
players, but little is known about their intense profit orientation, highly
diversified global asset base, or managerial and technical depth.
Canadian
firms, she contends, need to capitalize on opportunities to sell services and
access new managerial and technical networks in order to make Canada a global
leader.
To listen to the speech, please click
here.
From left to right:
Margaret
Cornish and Bob Gibson of Stuart & Company Limited
David Wright Dinner
February 9,
CG&CC, Calgary
On 9 February, Dr. David Wright gave the third
lecture in CDFAI’s speaker series “Canada & the World: China”. As Canada now
celebrates forty years of diplomatic relations with China and attempts to
strengthen its strategic partnership with the country, it is increasingly
important for government officials and Canadian citizens to understand China’s
investment strategies related to Canada.
Dr. David Wright, an Associate Professor of History
at the University of Calgary specializing in imperial Chinese and Mongolian
history, spoke on China’s Arctic policy. He noted that one idea being discussed
in China is creating an arrangement like that of the Svalbard Treaty of 1920,
which would guarantee Canada’s sovereignty over the Arctic, but would give all
signatory states the right to develop and exploit the natural resources in the
Arctic. He concluded by arguing that Canada must be aware of this and that the
Government must make it clear to Chinese officials that Canada’s Arctic
sovereignty is not open for discussion.
To listen to the speech, please click
here.
From left to right:
Bob Gibson of
Stuart & Company Limited, the evening's sponsor, and David Wright
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