The list of speakers will be updated as information becomes available. Please check back for future updates.

Keynote Speaker

Justice Murray Sinclair

The Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair was appointed Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba in March of 1988 and to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba in January 2001. He was Manitoba’s first Aboriginal Judge. Justice Sinclair was born and raised in the Selkirk area north of Winnipeg, graduating from his high school as class valedictorian and athlete of the year in 1968. After serving as Special Assistant to the Attorney General of Manitoba, Justice Sinclair attended the Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba and, in 1979, graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba.
He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1980. In the course of his legal practice, Justice Sinclair practiced primarily in the fields of civil and criminal litigation and Aboriginal law. He represented a cross-section of clients but by the time of his appointment, was known for his representation of Aboriginal people and his knowledge of Aboriginal legal issues. He has been awarded a National Aboriginal Achievement award in addition to many other community service awards, as well as Honourary Degrees from the University of Manitoba, the University of Ottawa, and St. John’s College (University of Manitoba). He is an adjunct professor of Law and an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Manitoba.

Plenary Speakers

Evan Adams, MD
Sliammon First Nation, Coast Salish Tribe
Deputy Provincial Health Officer (DPHO) for Aboriginal health
British Columbia

Aside from his career in the arts, Evan has completed 3 years of pre-med studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC), a Medical Doctorate from the University of Calgary in 2002, and a Family Practice residency (as Chief Resident) in the Aboriginal Family Practice program at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC. He is the 2005 winner of the (provincial) Family Medicine Resident Leadership Award from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), and the 2005 national winner of the Murray Stalker Award from the CFPC Research and Education Foundation. He is the past-President of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, and is currently the Director of the Division of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, UBC Department of Family Practice. He obtained his MPH in 2009 with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health while working with the Office of the Provincial Health Officer.

In April 2012, Dr. Adams was appointed Deputy Provincial Health Officer (DPHO) with responsibility for Aboriginal health. In this role, he supports the work of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO), reports on the health of Aboriginal people in BC, and supports the development and operations of the First Nations Health Authority.

Michèle Audette
President, Native Women’s Association of Canada.

Hailing from the Innu community of Mani Utenam, next to the town of Sept-Îles on the North shore of the St. Lawrence River, Michèle Audette followed in the footsteps of her mother, respected Innu activist Evelyne St-Onge. Working with Quebec Native Women Inc. since 1990, Audette was elected President of this organization in November 1998.
Endorsing her predecessors’ equal rights commitments, Audette was also a strong advocate of women’s positions on a number of issues such as Bill C-7 (which dealt with First Nations governance) on the division of matrimonial real property. She raised decision-makers awareness of the importance of women’s health, safe houses for Aboriginal women, youth issues and international development during her term in office. Thanks to her efforts, four new coordinator positions were created at QNW, which increased the organization’s influence and profile. The Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Commission of Human Rights and Youth Rights) recognized the many accomplishments of Quebec Native Women Inc. with an honourable mention in 2001.
Audette sat on a number of committees and boards of directors and served as acting president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada in 2001. She won a number of awards and distinctions for her work on social issues, including the Quebec YWCA’s Femme de mérite award in the Community involvement category in 2004. She was also one of Montreal daily La Presse’s personalities of the week in 2003. Audette’s mandate with Quebec Native Women Inc. ended in March 2004 when she was appointed Associate Deputy Minister responsible for the Status of Women Secretariat in the Government of Quebec.

Michael Dan, MD PhD FRCSC MBA

Michael Dan is a neurosurgeon, philanthropist, and First Nations advocate. In 2002 he created The Paloma Foundation, which in turn, has donated over $8M to charities in the Greater Toronto Area. Through his support of The University of Haifa, and the Michael and Amira Dan Professorship in Global Health at The University of Toronto, he has helped to build Jewish-Palestinian dialog and tolerance in Canada and around the world. In 2014 he donated $10M to The University of Toronto to create the first endowed institute for indigenous health research in the world at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Michael is also a strong supporter of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, The Scarborough Hospital, and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Division of Neurosurgery at The University of Toronto.

Bernie M. Farber
Senior Vice President
Government and External Relations
Gemini Power Corporation
Human and Civil Rights Advocate

Bernie M. Farber is one of Canada’s leading experts on minority and human rights, race relations and anti-Semitism. For more than a decade, Mr. Farber worked for the Youth Services Bureau, Ottawa’s Jewish Community Centre and the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa-Carleton, specializing in assisting at-risk youth and battered women. After moving to Toronto, he worked with Canadian Jewish Congress eventually becoming its CEO from 2006-2011.

Mr. Farber was appointed by the Attorney-General of Ontario to serve on the Hate Crimes Community Working Group. He also serves as Chair on the Board of the Jewish Humanitarian group Ve’ahavta where he recently initiated the Briut program. Briut is a community-driven health promotion program which places graduate level students studying public health or social work in partnership with First Nations “host” communities for four month placements. Briut’s goal is to improve the long term health of individuals and communities by strengthening local capacity for health promotion and the delivery of community based health promotion programs. These programs are developed within the context of local knowledge and expertise.

Mr. Farber is a frequent writer for many National newspapers where he has authored thoughtful pieces on First Nations issues, human and civil rights matters. Today Mr. Farber works with Dr. Michael Dan as a Senior Vice President at Gemini Power Corp where he assists First Nations Reserves in developing hydro projects and other initiatives encouraging sustainable wealth development. He is also the CEO of the Paloma Foundation which helps develop skills of those who work on the frontlines with homeless youth in the GTA.

Phil Fontaine OC OM
Special Advisor of the Royal Bank of Canada

Phil Fontaine is a Special Advisor of the Royal Bank of Canada. He serves as a director for numerous private and public companies including Chieftain Metals and Avalon Rare Metals. Mr. Fontaine served as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations for an unprecedented three terms. He is a Member of Order of Manitoba and has received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Equitas Human Rights Education Award, the Distinguished Leadership Award from the University of Ottawa, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and most recently was appointed to the Order of Canada. Mr. Fontaine also holds fifteen Honorary Doctorates from Canada and the United States.

Angeline Letendre RN PhD
Research Chair, Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta
Lead Scientist. Communities, Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund-Alberta Heath Services

Angeline Letendre is the first person of Aboriginal descent to graduate from the University of Alberta with a doctoral degree in Nursing. Building on more than two decades of frontline nursing experience, the focus of Dr. Letendre’s career has been to contribute to the improved wellnes of First Nations, Inuit and Metis people. This has included work in cultural competency skills development in indigenous nursing, community-based research and partnered activities at local, provincial and national levels, as well as cancer care strategy and program planning. Currently Angeline is a primary co-Lead for two 3-year projects funded through the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples of Alberta and Alberta Health Services. Recently, Dr. Letendre has joined forces with researchers from Australia, New Zealand and the United States to investigate the cancer research interests for Indigenous peoples from these countries. Outcomes of this work promise to include the development of international researcher-level partnerships for the exploration, strategy development and recommendations in cancer-related research with Indigenous populations in the associated countries.

Natan Obed, BA
Director of Social and Cultural Development
Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated

Natan Obed is a beneficiary of the Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement and originally from Nain, Nunatsiavut, but currently lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut with his wife, Letia, and their sons Panigusiq and Jushua.

Natan is the director of social and cultural development for Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), the organization that represents the rights of Nunavut Inuit. NTI advocates on behalf of Inuit in such areas as health, education, language, justice, housing, social and cultural research, and suicide prevention.

Natan has a B.A. in both English and American Studies from Tufts University. Natan has worked his entire twelve year professional career with Inuit representational organizations.

Janet Smylie, MD MPH
Scientist in the Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital
Research Scientist, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael’s Hospital
Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Staff Physician, Family and Community Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital
Full Member, School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto
Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences

Dr. Janet Smylie is a Métis family physician and researcher. Through her work with Well Living House, Dr. Smylie’s goal is to ensure that every child born in Canada has the opportunity to live a full and healthy life.

Dr. Smylie’s research bridges Indigenous knowledge systems and knowledge translation, public health knowledge, perinatal surveillance and Indigenous health information systems. She has forged and nurtured dozens of research partnerships with Indigenous communities and organizations around the world. Dr. Smylie holds a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In 2012, she was named a recipient of the prestigious National Aboriginal Achievement Award, which recognizes First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals across the country.