The Hon. Bob Rae, Chief Negotiator & Counsel for the Matawa First Nations Canada | November 26, 2013

The Empire Club of Canada Presents:

The Hon. Bob Rae, Chief Negotiator and Counsel for the Matawa First Nations With Canada and First Nations: Time for a New Partnership

Bob Rae works as a mediator and arbitrator in Toronto. He has a particular interest in conflict resolution, first nations and aboriginal issues, and governance in both the public and private sectors. He speaks and consults widely on issue of public policy at home and abroad. Since April 2013, Mr. Rae has been acting as an advisor to the Matawa Tribal Council, and since June 2013, he has been acting as the Chairman of the First Nations Limited Partnership in British Columbia. He is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto, and is also a Senior Fellow at Massey College. Bob Rae served as Ontario’s 21st Premier from 1990 to 1995, and was elected eleven times to federal and provincial parliaments between 1978 and 2013. From 1982 to 1996 Bob Rae was leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and from 2011 to 2013, he served as the Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada at a time of significant restructuring. He resigned from the Parliament of Canada on July 31, 2013. In 2011, Mr. Rae was named by his colleagues as Parliamentarian of the Year. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Queen’s Counsel, a Privy Councillor, and a Member of the Order of Ontario. Mr. Rae studied History, Politics and Law at the University of Toronto and Balliol College, Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has been a practicing lawyer since 1980, and from 1996 to 2006 was a Partner at Goodmans LLP in Toronto. Mr. Rae is the past president and founding Chairman of the Forum of Federations ,where he remains a Fellow, and served as Chairman of the Institute of Research on Public Policy ,IRPP. He was chair of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and has been the Chairman Emeritus of the Royal Conservatory of Music, as well as National Spokesperson of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. He was the Chief Negotiator of the Canadian Red Cross Society in its restructuring, and also served as a member of the Canada Transportation Act Review and the Security and Intelligence Review Committee for Canada. He has served on the boards of a number of public companies and charities. He was Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University from 2002 to 2007. Mr. Rae’s books ,From Protest to Power, The Three Questions, Canada in the Balance, and Exporting Democracy are published by McClelland and Stewart. As a student, he co authored a report on governance at the University entitled Towards Community in University Government. In 2005 he wrote a provincial report Ontario, a Leader in Learning, and a federal report on the 1985 Air India bombing Lessons to be Learned. He has received numerous honourary degrees and awards from universities, colleges, governments, and organisations in Canada and abroad. He is married to Arlene Perly Rae, and they have three daughters. Mr. Rae lives in Toronto.

Speaker: The Hon. Bob Rae, Chief Negotiator and Counsel for the Matawa First Nations

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