Catherine Blewett comes to the OFI after a long and distinguished career in provincial and federal public service, most recently as Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet. Since March 2019 she has been Canada’s representative for the international High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, a unique group of world leaders committed to developing, catalyzing, and supporting solutions for ocean health and wealth in policy, governance, technology, and finance.
Previous to her current position, she served as Canada’s Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans where she led on oceans for the G7 and achieved the country’s Mandate on Ocean Protection targets of 5 per cent by 2017. She also led the development and implementation of key fisheries legislation between June 2016 and December 2018.
From 1990 until her departure to Ottawa in 2016, she has held many increasingly senior positions in the Nova Scotia provincial government, most recently as Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to Cabinet, Government of Nova Scotia. Her previous portfolios included the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), Citizenship and Immigration, Office of Aboriginal Affairs, and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Dr. Ray Gosine is Associate Vice-President (Research) and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is also a Senior Associate of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a Professor (status) in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Gosine’s research is in the areas of intelligent systems, robotics and automation with a particular interest in the applications of these technologies to natural resource industries. His academic appointments included an NSERC Chair in Industrial Automation at the University of British Columbia and the J.I. Clark Chair of Intelligent Systems for Operations in Harsh Environments at Memorial University. Dr. Gosine chaired a Public Review Panel (www.nlhfrp.ca) to advise government on the scientific, socio-economic, public policy, regulatory, environmental and public health issues associated with unconventional oil and gas development (i.e. fracking) in Western Newfoundland. Currently he is collaborating with colleagues at the University of Toronto and Memorial University on research related to understanding the opportunities, challenges, and consequences associated with automation and digitalization of Canada’s underground mining and offshore oil and gas industries.
Dr. Gosine is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE), a Fellow of Engineers Canada (FEC), and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) program on Innovation, Equity and the Future of Prosperity.
I am a marine ecologist with a special interest in understanding relationships between people and marine biodiversity at large spatial scales. I have worked extensively on the effects of fishing and climate change on marine ecosystems, aiming to answer fundamental questions about human role in contemporary ecosystems. I am also co-Founder and Scientific director of Ocean School, an audiovisual education initiative to enhance ocean literacy among youth in Canada and internationally.