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Backgrounder

Office of the Premier

June 19, 2003

BOARDS APPOINTED FOR CLEAN WATER LEGACY TRUST
AND CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

The Eves government has appointed boards of directors for the Clean Water Legacy Trust and the Clean Water Centre of Excellence to be based in Walkerton. The boards will provide leadership to advance the goal of making Ontario’s drinking water the safest in the world. The government is investing $50 million in the trust and the centre.

The nine-member Legacy Trust board will administer the government investment, build clean water research and development partnerships, review funding requests and select R&D projects for support. The board of the trust will also channel government funding to the Centre of Excellence.

The Centre of Excellence board has ten members. They will oversee the co-ordination of training programs in the drinking water field, and will lead the centre’s efforts to promote environmentally sound water stewardship and increase public understanding of water quality issues.

CLEAN WATER LEGACY TRUST BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Carol Stephenson — Chair

Ms. Stephenson is the former president and chief executive officer of Lucent Technologies Canada. She has been appointed dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario effective July 1, 2003.

Ms. Stephenson’s expertise spans marketing, operations, strategic planning, technology development and financial management. Prior to her position at Lucent (from 1999 to 2003), she served as president and chief operating officer (The Americas) of BCE Media Inc. She was also president and chief executive officer of Stentor Resource Centre Inc. Ms. Stephenson has won many awards and much recognition for her work and industry involvement. She was named 1995 Woman of the Year by the Canadian Women in Telecommunications and 2001 Woman of Distinction in Science and Technology by the YWCA.

Carl Griffith — Vice Chair

Mr. Griffith became president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Clean Water Agency in September 2002. Formerly he held senior positions with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, including assistant deputy minister of the Operations Division and assistant deputy minister of the Corporate Management Division. Mr. Griffith is also a member of the Clean Water Centre of Excellence board.

Bonnie Patterson — Vice Chair

Ms. Patterson has been the president and vice-chancellor of Trent University since 1998. Prior to serving as president of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) from 1995 to 1998, she was dean of the Faculty of Business at Ryerson Polytechnic University from 1990 to 1995 and chair of Ryerson's School of Administration and Information Management from 1983 to 1988. Ms. Patterson also developed and taught courses in management, information systems and technology, and systems analysis and design at Ryerson and from 1975 to 1980 was on the faculty at the University of Western Ontario.

Ms. Patterson has been a frequent speaker on strategic planning for technological change, integration of technology in the curriculum and organizational culture and change. She was the first woman to be appointed a dean of business in Ontario, and COU president. She holds a BA and MLS from Western.

Andrew Benedek

Mr. Benedek is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of ZENON Environmental Inc., which he founded in 1980 to address water quality problems through the use of advanced membrane technologies.

Mr. Benedek has served on many public boards such as the National Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Advanced Technology Association and the Biotechnology Research Institute. In 2001, the American Water Works Association presented Mr. Benedek with the prestigious George Warren Fuller Award for recognition of engineering skill, diplomatic talent and leadership. Mr. Benedek holds a chemical engineering degree from McGill University and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Murray Elston

Mr. Elston was appointed President of Rx&D on November 1, 1998. Rx&D represents member companies of the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Canada. Mr. Elston is a former member of the Ontario legislature (1981-1994), serving as Minister of Health, Chairman of Management Board, Minister of Financial Institutions and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

Mr. Elston is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law degrees. He currently sits on a number of boards, including the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association, the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the General Insurance Company of the Royal Bank of Canada.

Tamara Gailing

Currently the manager of the Walkerton branch of the Laurentian Bank of Canada, Ms. Gailing has an extensive background in business and financial management, customer service and business and strategic planning. Educated at York University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, she has a longstanding commitment to volunteer work and community leadership.

Sheldon Levy

Appointed vice president – government and institutional relations for the University of Toronto in January 2001, Mr. Levy has worked to strengthen the university’s relationship with the provincial government. Previously, he served as president of Sheridan College in Oakville from 1997 to 2000. He also held increasingly senior positions at York University between 1973 and 1996, culminating in the post of vice president of institutional affairs from 1988 to 1996.

Mr. Levy serves on a number of boards and committees, including the Toronto Board of Trade, and is currently chair of the Education Marketing Advisory Board, which reports to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1972 and a Master of Arts in mathematics in 1973, both from York University. In 1999, York awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws.

Stephen J. Spitzig

Mr. Spitzig is manager of DJC Financial Management in Walkerton. He has an extensive background in supervising and managing customer-service related enterprises. Through his former position as operations manager with Superior Propane Inc. in Walkerton and in his present financial services post, Mr. Spitzig has developed strong community ties. He received an honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Certified Management Accountant.

H.J. (Hank) Vander Laan

Mr. Vander Laan is the chairman and founder of Trojan Technologies, an Ontario firm which specializes in: the design, manufacture and sale of ultraviolet disinfection systems for municipal wastewater; drinking water systems for residential, municipal and commercial use; and industrial systems for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and semi-conductor applications.

Mr. Vander Laan was president and chief executive officer of Trojan Technologies from 1977 to 2001. In 2001, he was elected chairman of Trojan’s board of directors.

CLEAN WATER CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Joseph O. Heisz — Chair

Mr. Heisz is a partner in the accounting firm of Gaviller & Company in Walkerton and has been a practicing Chartered Accountant since 1976, specializing in accounting and taxation for small businesses, business audits and personal tax planning. Mr. Heisz is the chair of the Walkerton Centre for Water Quality Committee dedicated to ensuring a clean and secure water supply for Ontario and eventually worldwide. He has strong community links and a commitment to volunteer service.

Mr. Heisz holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo and received his Chartered Accountancy designation in 1976.

Susan A. Andrews — Vice Chair

Dr. Andrews is an associate professor in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo. She is chair of the Ontario Water Works Association, a not-for-profit organization of more than 1,100 water professionals including research scientists, engineers, chemists, hydrogeologists and managers and technicians employed by Ontario’s municipal water systems.

With a PhD from the University of Alberta, Dr. Andrews has undertaken extensive research to understand and improve water treatment processes and has published numerous papers. Her professional affiliations include membership in the Association of Environmental Engineering Professors, the American Water Works Association, the International Association on Water Quality, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Canadian Association on Water Quality.

Roland Anstette — Vice Chair

Currently the deputy mayor of the Municipality of Brockton, Mr. Anstette has an extensive community service background including reeve of the Township of Greenock and member of Bruce County Council. Mr. Anstette has had a longstanding career with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), where he has held a management portfolio for more than 17 years. His career includes extensive experience in business planning, priority-setting and administration to support delivery of the LCBO’s programs and mandate.

Ron Cox

An entrepreneur since 1978, Mr. Cox owns two companies in the Walkerton area and one in Stratford that draw on his education in graphic design from George Brown College.

Mr. Cox has broad involvement in local community work, and is currently a member of the Walkerton Centre for Water Quality Committee. He also serves on a variety of local bodies including: the Brockton Economic Development Committee; the Brockton Public Advisory Committee; the Walkerton Medical Clinic Committee; and the Walkerton Memorial Heritage Garden Committee.

Lou Anthony D’Alessandro

Mr. D’Alessandro has been a certified public health inspector since 1977. In his current post as manager of health protection for the Grey Bruce Health Unit, he manages several programs under the Health Protection and Promotion Act and serves as the chairman of safe water and of food safety. Mr. D’Alessandro also holds certification as a Water Quality Analyst (Class 1) and is an Operator-in-Training, Water Training Class 1.

Mr. D’Alessandro has served on a Safe Water Advisory Committee with the Ministry of the Environment and the Grey Bruce Health Unit and a Nutrient Management Advisory Committee with the Municipality of Kincardine.

Dr. Colin D' Cunha

Dr. Colin D'Cunha became Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health in October 1998, and was appointed Commissioner of Public Health and Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in January 2003.

Dr. D'Cunha has 15 years experience in public health at both the local and provincial levels. His responsibilities go beyond the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as he also works closely with the Ministries of the Environment, Municipal Affairs and Housing, and Agriculture and Food on public safety and security issues. Dr. D’Cunha has been an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and is past chair of the Specialty Committee in Community Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

John Fitzgibbon

Dr. FitzGibbon is the director of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph. He teaches primarily at the graduate level, in the area of community based resource management and environmental management, water resources planning and management and land use planning. He has also delivered short courses on resources management internationally, in such locations as Malawi, Egypt, Mexico and Indonesia.

Dr. FitzGibbon is the chair of the steering committee of the Ontario Farm Environment Coalition (OFEC) that has been involved in the development of environmental farm plans on 12,000 farms in Ontario. He also acts as the chair of OFEC’s Nutrient Management Working Group and the Environmental Farm Plan Working Group. Dr. FitzGibbon has a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University, a Master of Science from the University of Wales and a doctorate from McGill University.

Carl Griffith

Mr. Griffith became president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Clean Water Agency in September 2002. Formerly he held senior positions with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, including assistant deputy minister of the Operations Division and assistant deputy minister of the Corporate Management Division. Mr. Griffith is also vice chair of the Clean Water Legacy Trust board.

Peter Krause

The chairman of Conservation Ontario, Mr. Krause has been with the Grand River Conservation Authority since 1986. He was elected vice-chairman of the authority in 1995 and chairman in 1998 — a post he currently holds. In September 2000, on behalf of the authority, he received the Riverprize 2000 Thiess Environmental Services Award for the best water management agency in the world.

Mark Williamson

Mr. Williamson is a professor at the School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences and Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay, which recently opened an 1.8 million dollar Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment.