PARLIAMENTARY GROUP - Key Persons
Alan served as the former assistant deputy minister of National Defense. He is a defense procurement specialist and author of « Reinventing Canada's Defence Procurement Sector: A view from inside
Charlie served as a Former Executive VP, Government affairs business development for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
He led three national headquarters; Manitoba, Metro Toronto, and Ontario. One of Canada's most respected financial sector professionals, he was also invested into the Order of Canada in 2004.
David is a lawyer, business and public policy consultant.
He served as Canada's Ambassador to Israel; is a 15 year veteran of the House of Commons. David writes and publically speaks on innovation strategy and international affairs.
Gaetan has extensive experience as an executive in both the private and public sectors.
This includes years as head of Weston Bakeries Québec as well as Deputy Minister of Agriculture for both the government of Canada and the gouvernement du Québec. He was the founding chair of the Canadian Agri-food Policy. Also, M. Lussier was invested into the Order of Canada.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the House of Commons Finance Committee
- Special Advisor
The Honourable Wayne Easter P.C. served as a member of the House of Commons of Canada, representing the electoral district of Malpeque in the province of Prince Edward Island from 1993 to 2021.
He served in Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Cabinet as Solicitor General of Canada and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
In the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Wayne was appointed Chair of the House of Commons Finance Committee. He was the most lobbied Member of Parliament by Industry during his tenure. Wayne was Co-Chair for the Canada- U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Association. He led multiple delegations before most senior US Senate and Congressional leadership throughout the Canada-US Mexico trade accord negotiations.
He is a former president of the National Farmers Union and, a graduate of the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, a faculty of Dalhousie University. Wayne received an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Prince Edward Island for his work and contribution to agriculture and social activism on a national and international level.In 2023, Wayne joined PARLGROUP as a Special Advisor on international trade and commerce, finance, industry, and agriculture.
Job Titles:
- Private Equity Specialist
- Project Development Specialist
This unique specialty is led by Jared, a 25-year Wall Street veteran and Wharton Business School graduate.
Jared is a renowned project development specialist focused on large-scale industrial partnership investments and acquisition opportunities across North America. He counsels a host of financial entities in the management of their private investments and debt structure portfolios. Jared heads a North American acquisitions team reporting to a New York and London-based investor clientele.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Analyst
Cmdre Kelly Williams, OMM, MSM.CD, MBA, RCN (Ret'd), a former commodore in the Royal Canadian Navy, has joined PARLGROUP as senior advisor of defence strategy and government procurement. For a decade Williams served as director of strategy and government relations for General Dynamics Mission Systems until Fall 2022.
Williams brings to this role extensive operational and OEM management experience gained from over 36 years of naval and corporate service. Additionally, Williams served with the U.S. Navy and as the Canadian Defence Advisor to the Canadian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom.Williams' operational expertise is complemented by significant experience at the National Defence Headquarters Ottawa focused on strategy, policy and capability development. He has served as assistant chief of Maritime Staff as well as the director of maritime strategy, where he was responsible for future maritime force development and was a principal contributor to the development of maritime security elements of Canada's National Security Policy. Williams assisted in the development of the new Defence Policy Statement which remains in effect to this day. As a result of his professionalism and expertise, Williams provides strategic guidance and coordination for all of our clients before the Canadian Force's high command and the ongoing development of Canada's renewal of its Defence Strategy.
Lorne was elected nine times a Member of Parliament, serving for more than 32 years in the House of Commons.
He specialized in economic and constitutional issues and gained extensive experience with both foreign affairs and trade issues. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 1993 and is also a recipient of l'Ordre de la Pléiade, an award of the French Republic. He is an expert on Canada - Asia trade issues.
Is the office and administrative coordinator for the group and principally deals with event planning and the arrangement of high-level meetings with leading MPs and Ministers.
Fully bilingual, and as a previous EA in industry-related departments, Louise assures the coordination of multiple files on behalf of the corporate interests we represent.
Mario Silva is an internationally renowned legal scholar, former Toronto City Councillor and former federal liberal Member of Parliament. His areas of expertise include infrastructure, economic development, energy and transportation.
He is the former Chair of the Economic Development Committee; Chair of Exhibition Place; Vice Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission; Toronto Hydro and Mount Sinai Hospital. He is currently a Director of the Board of Toronto Hydro Electric Service Limited and Chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Council of Superior Medical. Mario served as the Official Opposition Critic for Foreign Affairs (Americas), Labour and Treasury Board as well as a member of the International Trade Committee.
Marleen has held management and analyst positions within different departments; such as Employment and Social Development Canada and Treasury Board Secretariat. During that time she has also gained prowess in stakeholder engagement and learning and training development.
Job Titles:
- Proposal & Funding Specialist
Job Titles:
- Policy & Legislative Researcher
Omar Id Ihya Policy & Legislative Researcher Fully bilingual, he is assisting our team with policy research pertaining to legislative and regulatory matters impacting the industry. Omar is most well-versed in matters relating to the IT industry and a host of other sectors that he manages on behalf of the senior executive team.
Patrick's government relations expertise is drawn from close to twenty five years of extensive political experience as an international affairs consultant, policy advisor and legislator at both the federal and provincial levels of government.
Patrick served as Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada. Recognized for his deep understanding of the Canadian political and procurement process, he is frequently called upon by organizations for his counsel on conducting business with both private and public interests throughout Canada.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Coordinator
Robert has worked alongside MPs and select department heads on issues relating to industry interests. Robert completed a Masters of Arts and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science.
Ronald held a variety of positions with different departments including Public Service Commission, Transport Canada, Canadian International Development Agency and Communications Security Establishment of Canada (CSEC). He was also the deputy clerk of the PCO.
Steven is a Bachelor of Science graduate of Dalhousie University and currently a Master of
Val served a combined twenty years at the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government.
During her 11 years as a Member of Parliament, she was the official Reform-Conservative opposition critic in numerous portfolios such as Justice and Legal Affairs, National Security, Immigration, Intergovernmental Affairs & Unity, Transportation, Canada - US Border Issues and Auditor General.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Analyst