Advisory Council

The Advisory Council is an independent and arms-length body comprised of individuals knowledgeable in the management of used nuclear fuel, and in working with people and communities on difficult public policy issues.

Overview

In 2002, the Board of Directors established an Advisory Council as required by the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act (NFWA).

As the NWMO’s work leads to the selection of a suitable site, and as affected Indigenous organizations and the host region are identified, the NFWA requires that representatives from these communities be included in the Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council's role is to:

Ensure that the views of the public and communities of interest are considered and reflected in a thoughtful, balanced way in the proposed approaches and reports of the NWMO; and
Assist the NWMO in ensuring that its processes are of good quality, and are open, transparent, thorough and sound.

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.

Resources:

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

David R. Cameron

Chair

Dr. David R. 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.

Donald Obonsawin

Vice-Chair

With over forty-five years experience in the non-profit, public and private sectors, Donald Obonsawin is a seasoned Senior Advisor to organisations and an experienced Corporate Director. More recently, he ran his own independent consulting firm, providing policy, management, operational and strategic planning services. He is a former 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.

Joseph Cavalancia

Joseph Cavalancia, a Chartered Professional Accountant, has more than 40 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.

Monica Gattinger

Dr. Monica Gattinger is Director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy, Full Professor at the School of Political Studies and Chair of Positive Energy at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Gattinger is an award-winning researcher and highly sought-after speaker, adviser and media commentator on how to strengthen governance, public policy and regulation in the energy sector. Dr. Gattinger is a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a board member of the Clean Resource Innovation Network and serves on Advisory Councils for the Institute on Governance, the National Research Council Canada and the Ontario Energy Board. She holds a PhD in Public Policy from Carleton University.

Dean Jacobs

Dean M. Jacobs recently retired after 48 years of public service with the government of Walpole Island First Nation (WIFN). Dean established WIFN’s internationally acclaimed community-based research program called Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. Dean is an Adjunct Professor in the Interfaculty Program in Public Health, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. Dean is a former Chief of the WIFN and the founding Director of the Walpole Island Heritage Centre. He is the recipient of two eagle feathers and three honorary doctorate degrees.

Diane M. Kelly

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. 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 in the Treaty 3 territory. Ms. Kelly is currently the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Child and Family Services Division of the Manitoba Department of Families.

Dougal McCreath

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.

Stella Swanson

Dr. Stella Swanson owns and operates Swanson Environmental Strategies Ltd., focusing on strategic environmental planning, public consultation and engagement and expert review. She received her B.Sc. (Hons) in Biology from the University of Regina and her Ph.D. in Limnology at the University of Saskatchewan. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Radiation Ecology at the Saskatchewan Research Council. Dr. Swanson’s experience spans work for a wide range of industries as well as federal, provincial and territorial governments, First Nations and NOGS. She has contributed to dozens of impact and risk assessment in all types of environments, from small saline lakes on the prairies to subarctic watersheds and marine systems. Dr. Swanson’s more recent work has focused on effective engagement with Indigenous communities as well as NGOs and the public-at-large.

Linda Thompson

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, Mayors Nuclear Technology Caucus and the NWMO Municipal Forum.

Additional information

Letters to the Minister of Natural Resources

The Advisory Council makes public the letters it sends to the Minister of Natural Resources. These letters contain an overview of their activities and observations during the previous year.

Advisory Council: Tracking Matrices

The Advisory Council asks the NWMO to produce a tracking matrix each year. The matrix summarizes the Council’s recommendations and how the NWMO acted on that advice.

We also develop matrices to summarize the status of our responses to Advisory Council recommendations that appear in our Triennial Reports.

The information is made public to ensure transparency.

Records of Discussion – 2023

Following each meeting of the Advisory Council, a record of discussion is prepared. At the request of the Council, these records are made public in the spirit of sharing the focus of their discussions.

Records of Discussion – 2022

Records of Discussion – 2021

Record 3 AC Sept 2021 FINAL APPROVED FR

Records of Discussion – 2020

Records of Discussion – 2019