André Le Dressay

C.T. (Manny) Jules

Laren Bill

Merrell-Ann Phare

Robert Sanford

André Le Dressay

Director, Fiscal Realities Economists; Director, Tulo Centre of Indigenous Economics; Professor, Thompson Rivers University

André Le Dressay is the Director of Fiscal Realities Economists, the Director of the Tulo Centre of Indigenous Economics and a professor at Thompson Rivers University. André has over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous communities, organizations, institutions and local governments. He has written numerous academic and consulting reports as well as award winning books in his areas of expertise: building the legal, administrative, fiscal and institutional framework to support economic growth. He has received a distinguished alumni award from Thompson Rivers University and a lifetime achievement award from the First Nations Tax Administrators Association. André has helped facilitate over 20 service agreements between First Nations and local governments and developed the curriculum for 14 original courses in First Nation Tax Administration, First Nations Applied Land Management and First Nation Applied Economics including the only accredited course in Canada on Negotiating First Nation-Local Government service agreements.

C.T. (Manny) Jules

Chief Commissioner, First Nation Tax Commission

C.T. (Manny) Jules has dedicated over 40 years of his life to public service in support of Aboriginal issues. He is a member of the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc, formerly known as Kamloops Indian Band, and served as Chief from 1984 to 2000. Mr. Jules led the amendment to the Indian Act in 1988 so that First Nations could exercise the jurisdiction to levy property taxes on-reserve. The Indian Taxation Advisory Board (ITAB) and the current First Nation property tax system were created as a result of his vision and efforts. Mr. Jules served as Chair of ITAB from 1989 to 2003 and 2005 to 2007. He was the driving force behind the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, passed by Parliament in 2005, creating the First Nations Tax Commission and the fiscal institutions. On November 11, 2006 Mr. Jules was appointed Chief Commissioner of the First Nations Tax Commission. Mr. Jules was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from both the University of British Columbia in 1997 and Thompson Rivers University in 2006, the Order of British Columbia in 2009, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013. Mr. Jules is also a member of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame.

Laren Bill

Implementation Monitoring Committee for Treaty Land Entitlement

Laren Bill is a member of the Pelican Lake First Nation in central Saskatchewan. He worked with the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee as an Implementation Advisor to First Nations in Manitoba for seven years. He has been the Chairperson of the Implementation Monitoring Committee for Treaty Land Entitlement in Manitoba for the past three years. His Masters degree is in Natural Resources Management with a focus on Traditional Land Use and Occupancy Studies from the University of Manitoba through the Natural Resources Institute.

Merrell-Ann Phare

Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER)

Merrell-Ann Phare is a lawyer, writer and the founding Executive Director of the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), a national First Nation charitable environmental organization. As Chief Negotiator for the Government of the Northwest Territories, Merrell-Ann lead the negotiation of transboundary water agreements in the Mackenzie River Basin and the creation of Thaidene Nene, a national and territorial park in the east arm of Great Slave Lake. She is the author of the book ‘Denying the Source: the Crisis of First Nations Water Rights’ and ‘Ethical Water’. She facilitates the BC First Nations Water Governance Roundtable. She is a member of the Forum for Leadership on Water, Smart Prosperity’s Leadership Council, and is a recipient of Canada’s Clean 50 Award. She is legal counsel and advisor to a number of First Nation and Métis governments and organizations and regularly speaks on water, governance, and Indigenous rights issues.

Michael Miltenberger

Principal, North Raven

Michael is the principal of North Raven. His interests are water protection and governance, working collaboratively on environmental protection, renewable energy development, building efficient government, expediting land claims, and strategic planning. He works with Aboriginal and Crown governments, ENGOs, industry and the private sector providing strategic political advice. Prior to his current work, he spent 20 years as MLA in the NWT Legislature, 14 of those years as Deputy Premier, Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, Minister of Finance, Minister of Health and Social Services and the Minister Responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

Robert Sandford

United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health

Bob Sandford holds the EPCOR Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. In this capacity Bob was the co-author of the UN Water in the World We Want report on post-2015 global sustainable development goals relating to water. In his work Bob is committed to translating scientific research outcomes into language decision-makers can use to craft timely and meaningful public policy and to bringing international example to bear on local water issues. To this end, Bob is also senior advisor on water issues for the Interaction Council, a global public policy forum composed of more than thirty former Heads of State including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, U.S. President Bill Clinton and the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Brundtland. Bob is also a Fellow of the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan and a Fellow of the Biogeoscience Institute at the University of Calgary. He is also a member of Canada’s Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW), a national water policy research group centred in Toronto. Among many other honours, Bob received the Premier’s award in 2011 for his collaboration on the Northwest Territories water stewardship strategy. He is also the author or co-author of a number of high-profile works on water.