Contributors

Victoria A. Bikowski is a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics at York University, Toronto. Her research is focused on how Crown policies on the duty to consult affect Indigenous Peoples and natural resource development in Canada. She has served as a lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration at Lakehead University, where she taught a course on governance, ethics, and Indigenous business. Victoria is currently a consultant at Suslop Inc., where she works with Indigenous nations and organizations on various development projects at the local, regional, and national level.

Karen Bouchard is a doctoral student in political science at Université Laval. Her research, entitled “Can Modern Treaties Reverse the Resource Curse? A Case Study on the Effects of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement on Mining and Inuit Socioeconomic Development,” examines how the institutions established through Modern Treaties may enhance the positive effects and mitigate the negative repercussions of mining in Nunavut. Her research is part of the Modern Treaties Implementation Research Project co-directed by Thierry Rodon, Professor of Political Science at Université Laval, and Alastair Campbell, Senior Policy Advisor at Nunavut Tunngavik Inc, the Nunavut Inuit land claim organization. Her PhD also contributes to the Knowledge Network on Mining Encounters and Indigenous Sustainable Livelihoods: Cross-Perspectives from the Circumpolar North and Melanesia/Australia (MinErAL Network). Karen has additionally collaborated on research projects with the Nisga’a Lisims Government on the impact of Modern Treaties on Indigenous well-being. Karen is a recipient of a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC), the doctoral scholarship of the Chaire de recherche Sentinelle Nord sur les relations avec les sociétés Inuit and Northern Scientific Training Program awards. She works part-time as a research analyst in the Strategic Research and Data Innovation Branch at the Departments of Indigenous Services and Crown-Aboriginal Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

Brendan Boyd is an Assistant Professor at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. He investigates why, how, and with what effect governments learn from each other when developing solutions to critical policy issues. In particular, he studies the role of learning and other cross-jurisdictional influences among Canadian provinces responding to climate change. He is the co-editor of Provincial Policy Laboratories: Policy Diffusion and Transfer in Canada’s Federal System published by University of Toronto Press.

Kirk Cameron was born in Whitehorse. He has 20 years of experience in public service at all levels of government, including as Deputy Minister with the Yukon government. In 2003 Kirk moved to consulting, and started his own company in 2009—the Northern Governance Institute. As a public servant, consultant, or elected official, he has worked with all Yukon First Nations, the Yukon government, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, and the City of Whitehorse. He is co-author of two books, The Yukon’s Constitutional Foundations (1991) and Northern Governments in Transition (1995), as well as many articles on governance and renewable and non-renewable resources topics relating to the territories in Canada. Kirk was first elected to Whitehorse City Council in 2011 and served to March 2015. He was re-elected in October 2021. Other roles have included Justice of the Peace, Acting Chair of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board, and Vice-Chair of the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce. Kirk has three amazing sons pursuing their careers at university and in the private sector. In semi-retirement he enjoys spending time on the deck in the sun with his wife, Vickie Cameron (who loves her deck plants!).

Jonah S. Dumoe (BComm, MAES, MPP, PMP) is an exertive and high-impact professional with experiences in business, economic development, public policy, research, and technology. In previous roles, Jonah served as economic development officer working in First Nation communities in Canada, and graduate research assistant (under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Wyatt) in resource development and forest management in First Nation communities. Jonah also has experience in technology and business operations including serving as project manager for Morgan Stanley Strategic Portfolio globally responsible for technology project lifecycle management policy development, compliance, and oversight. Jonah holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, a Master in Applied Environmental Studies (MAES) degree in local economic development from the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta. He is also a certified project management professional (PMP) by the project management Institute of the United States (PMI). Jonah and his family reside in Maryland, in the United States.

Twila Gaudet (BA, LLB) is a member of Glooscap Mi’kmaw Nation and the Director of Consultation for Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusaqn Negotiation Office.

Sophie Lorefice is an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Denton’s. Her practice area includes commercial and general civil litigation, contract disputes, insurance, estates, privacy and class actions. Sophie takes a client centered approach and works diligently to solve client’s legal problems and achieve their goals. Prior to joining the Firm as an associate, Sophie completed her articles with Dentons and served as a summer student in 2019. She also worked in house in commercial real estate in 2018. Prior to her legal studies, Sophie was a Research Associate at the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary.

Janice Marie Maloney(BA, LLB, LLM, KC) is originally from Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw Nation and is the Executive Director of Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusaqn Negotiation Office, the Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative.

Emily Martin (MA) has Swiss-Alsatian heritage and was raised on the Haldimand Tract, in the territory of the Six Nations. Her career has been deeply focused on free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and the duty to consult and accommodate in the context of resource development and land/water relationships. She completed her MA in partnership with the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation (LS/CFN) on the topic of FPIC in the context of mining in LS/CFN Territory and the Yukon more generally. Emily has served as a consultation advisor to a Crown regulator, worked as an independent consultant for First Nation and Crown government clients, and as a Manager of both development and conservation files for the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Today Emily works as a consultant, researcher, and negotiator.

L. Jane McMillan is Chair and Professor, Department of Anthropology at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Her PhD is from the University of British Columbia (2003). From 2006–2016, Professor McMillan held the Canada Research Chair for Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Communities. She served as President of the Canadian Law and Society Association from 2012–2014. As a legal anthropologist, she has had the privilege of working with Indigenous communities for more than 25 years, conducting community-driven participatory research and applied policy analysis, and advocating for justice, self-determination and Indigenous treaty and livelihood rights. A former eel fisher and one of the original defendants in the Supreme Court of Canada’s Marshall decision (1999), she keenly studies the progress of rights implementation in Mi’kma’ki. Professor McMillan is the author of the award-winning Truth and Conviction: Donald Marshall Jr. and the Mi’kmaw Quest for Justice (UBC Press 2018) and received the Outreach Award from StFX University in 2021. She is a member of the Mi’kmaq / Nova Scotia / Canada Tripartite Forum Justice Committee, the Atlantic Policy Congress First Nations Chief Secretariat’s steering and research subcommittees, and the advisory committee of the Indigenous Justice Strategy. She served on the Research Advisory Board of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission and, more recently, an “Expert” Advisory Panel to Corrections Service Canada. Dr. McMillan was appointed Special Advisor, Indigenous Research and Learning Partnerships at St. Francis Xavier University in 2022. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Innocence Canada.

Thierry Rodon is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Université Laval and holds the INQ Research Chair in Northern Sustainable Development. He currently leads MinErAL, an international and interdisciplinary research project focused on extractive industries and Indigenous livelihood. The project involves researchers and Indigenous partners from Canada, Australia, New Caledonia, and Fennoscandia. He has authored three books: En partenariat avec l’État in 1998, Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic, with G. Wilson et C. Alcantara, published by UBC Press in 2020, and Les apories des politiques autochtones au Canada published by Presses de l’université du Québec in 2019. He has also co-edited with M. Papillon, Peuples autochtones et ressources naturelles: regards croisés sur les défis de la mise en oeuvre du consentement libre préalable et éclairée, published in 2023 by L’Harmattan.

Cody Sharpe holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. He has worked in the public, private, and non-profit sectors and has over fifteen years of experience developing policy advice for organizational leaders, managing programs while directly engaging stakeholders, and educating adult learners in post-secondary and public contexts. Cody has also served as a facilitator and consensus-builder for organizations looking to improve their communications and develop shared strategic priorities. Cody is currently a board member with the Canadian Evaluation Society Education Fund.

Gabrielle Slowey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics at York University and is a member of the graduate programs in Politics and Socio-Legal Studies. She is also the former Director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York (2015–2021). She was the inaugural Fulbright Chair in Arctic Studies at Dartmouth College (USA) and a York-Massey Fellow. Her research focuses on the political economy of land claims, treaties and self-government, especially across the north/Arctic and in areas where resource extraction takes place. Her work considers questions of community health, environmental security, climate change and Indigenous rights in these contexts. Her approach is very much community-based and community-driven research. It draws upon broader theoretical concerns of colonialism, reconciliation, staples and democracy. In 2018 she was co-PI on a SSHRC Indigenous Research Capacity and Reconciliation Connection Grant for a project titled “Spirit and Intent: The Yukon Umbrella Final Agreement Today and Tomorrow: Supporting the Transfer of Knowledge and Promoting an Understanding of What the Agreements Mean to Improve Future Governance opportunities and relationships.” She is the author of numerous publications including Navigating Neoliberalism: Self-Determination and the Mikisew Cree First Nation.

Aude Therrien holds a Master in Political Science from Laval University. Her master’s thesis dealt with the social housing politics in Nunavik. She is interested in Indigenous and northern policies and in the participation of Indigenous communities in public management. She has worked for the Quebec housing corporation where she was involved in the evaluation of the social housing programs in Nunavik. She also worked for seven years as coordinator for the Northern Sustainable Development Research Chair.

Jennifer Winter is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, and the Departmental Science Advisor at Environment and Climate Change Canada. Her research evaluates climate policies, and examines the effects of government regulation and policy on energy development and the associated consequences and trade-offs. Dr. Winter is an expert in the analysis of policy options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and carbon pricing, with experience in advising governments and translating knowledge into formats that are accessible to non-expert audiences. She has testified to the Senate of Canada and House of Commons on emissions pricing policies based on her work in this area, and has advised governments in Canada in several capacities. Dr. Winter is actively engaged in increasing public understanding of energy and environmental policy issues, and serves on several boards and advisory committees.

Stephen Wyatt is Professor for social forestry and forest policy at the School of Forestry, Université de Moncton at Edmundston, New Brunswick. He holds a PhD and a Masters in Forest Science from Université Laval in Québec and a Bachelors degree in Forestry from the Australian National University. Dr. Wyatt worked in forest management, community development and research positions in Australia, the South Pacific and Quebec before moving to New Brunswick in 2004. He takes his inspiration from Jack Westoby (former head of the FAO Forestry Division), who said “Forestry is not about trees, it is about people. And it is about trees only insofar as trees can serve the needs of people.” Most of his research over the last twenty years has been with Indigenous communities in Canada, who are reasserting their rights and knowledge on their traditional lands to develop new models of engagement. He also works on social and community forestry, public participation, forest policy and for equity, diversity, and inclusion in forestry.