Speakers
Hay River Mayor’s welcome
by his Worship
Mayor Kelly Schofeild
Community Leader:
His Worship Mayor Kelly Schofield
Town of Hay River
73 Woodland Drive
Hay River, NT X0E 1G2
Phone: 867-874-6522 867-874-6522
Web Site: http://www.hayriver.com/main.htm
Chief Roy Fabien
Welcome Greetings from our chief
Today, the KFN Reserve is a thriving community, by healing many wounds and by building a viable economic base for itself and for the future of their children.
The Reserve residents elect a Chief and four Councilors every two years (Election on Treaty Day), which govern their community with a vision and mission for their people. The KFN Organization is administered by the Band Administrator, who oversees the programs, services and the personnel, with the direction of the Band Council to bring positive results.
Since it’s inception, the KFN has been very successful in building an economic base, that ensures a brighter future for the Reserve. Ranging from retail in the form of Ehdah Cho Store (gas, cigarettes and groceries), Evergreen Forestry, Tu Cho Gha Contracting and Office leasing.
Shaun Majumder
This Gemini award winning Actor/Comedian joins the cast of the new Farrely Brothers Fox Comedy entitled Unhitched early next year.
David D. Swisher, B.Sc.
AV
AVALON Rare Metals Inc.
David Swisher has underground and surface mining experience in precious and industrial mineral operations, including the study of underground and surface mining techniques in Sweden. He has held positions of increasing responsibility in all facets of mining at the mine manager level. His experience includes the evaluation and implementation of mining methods, environmental, health and safety processes, maintenance best practices, operations optimization as a Six Sigma Black Belt, feasibility assessment and advanced behavioral instruction.
Robert J. Reid, P. Eng. 
Bob joined the Aboriginal Pipeline Group in November, 2003. APG was formed in June, 2000 with a mandate to maximize benefits to northern Aboriginal communities through ownership in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. Today, APG owns 33.3% of the Pipeline, and is actively participating in the development of this important project.
Stephen Barkley, President,
RATS, Lac La Biche, Ab.
Stephen Barkley ~ Inventor, Artist and Entrepreneur has carved a niche business in the “Global Market of Outdoor Remotely Piloted Airships”.
Stephen has taken a lifetime of interest and experience in remote controlled aviation to an obvious next level. As a young man, he migrated towards the Ultra-light Aircraft Industry and with a background as an instrumentation machinist, he then managed the development of the Christensen Ultra-light program. This included setting up manufacturing facilities, training of employees and clients. In total, Stephen has produced over 35 fixed-wing aircraft, including a number of antique aircraft restorations.
With a desire to train as a Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, he hired on with a company that had acquired a Challenger 601 for the purposes of aerial reconnaissance of ice flows throughout out the Arctic Circle. It was during this 3 year Arctic period that was most influential for Stephen. As it was then ''he derived the concept of Remote Controlled Imagery''. In 1993 Stephen founded a company which was first to introduce R/C Aerial Photography to the public. After a couple of years, clients included everyone from government agencies, corporate firms to private individuals.
In 1997 another inventor, Keith Campbell and Stephen formed their present company, Rats Inc. Collectively they have developed their line of products into the company as it now stands. With combined focus, their long term plans have withstood the test of time and as a result, one of the finest products developed within the Canadian Borders.
Stephen was born in 1960. He resides In Lac La Biche, Alberta and is single, without kiddies, which allows him the energy to author and administer
Web Site: http://www.ratsinc.net/
Peter S. DeRobertis
Pete DeRobertis is currently a Principal in the Business Development and Strategic Planning organizations of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas. His primary responsibilities include the development of business strategy for Hybrid Heavy Lift and U.S. Army programs. He served previously as Senior Manager of Finance in the Business Pursuits Directorate. He has been with Lockheed Martin for nine years.
Prior to his career at Lockheed Martin, Pete served for 20 years in the United States Army. He received his commission from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1979 and commanded an Air Defense Artillery Battery in Korea from 1985 to 1986. He was an Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1988 to 1991 and he served various tours in the Acquisition Corps before being assigned as the Executive Officer to the J-3 in Yongsan, Korea. Pete is a resident graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and is Airborne qualified. He retired in 1999 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Pete has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from West Point, a Master of Science degree in Operations Research and Systems Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duke University. Pete has served as a Vice President for Admissions in the West Point Society of North Texas. He volunteers for the local West Point Society and at the Fort Worth Country Day School in Fort Worth, where his children are in fourth grade. He is also active in sports programs and the Boy Scouts.
Pete resides in Fort Worth with his bride Tina and his ten year old twins, Zoe and Samuel.
Brandon Buerge, PhD
Lead Scientist, Guardian Flight Systems, LLC
Brandon has a research background in high-lift devices and low-speed aerodynamics. He holds an MS in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Washington University in Saint Louis, a commercial pilot’s license (fixed wing, multi-engine land, single engine sea), and flight instructor certificate. He has the good fortune to work with arguably the world’s most experienced airship engineering team in finding cost-effective ways to reclaim and expand the practical operational capability of airships. He recently joined the AIAA LTA technical committee and resides in Wichita Kansas, USA, with his wife and two children.
Jim Guthrie, Expert in Arctic Logistics
Providing logistics to Exploration and Production operations both onshore and offshore in the Canadian, American and Russian Arctic.
Jim has worked in many remote areas of the world; Canadian Arctic, the North Slope of Alaska, Russian Arctic, Kazakhstan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Niger, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Philippines.
Jim will address the potential use of airships to support arctic off shore drilling.
P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair of History, St. Jerome’s University
Whitney is a professor and chair of the department of history at St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He has travelled extensively with the Canadian Rangers in the North over the last decade, and is a frequent commentator on Arctic sovereignty and security issues. His co-authored book Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North won the 2009 Donner Prize for the best Canadian book on public policy. Whitney is married with two children.
P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Ph.D. (Calgary, 2004), is associate professor and chair of the department of history at St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. He is also a fellow with the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute, the Arctic Institute of North America, and the Wilfrid Laurier Centre for Military and Strategic Disarmament Studies.
His recent books include The Canadian Forces and Arctic Sovereignty: Debating Roles, Interests, and Requirements, 1968-1974 (2010), Arctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North (with Ken Coates, Bill Morrison, and Greg Poelzer, 2008) (winner of the 2009 Donner Prize for the best book on Canadian public policy), Battle Grounds: The Canadian Military and Aboriginal Lands (2007), and Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian Military: Historical Perspectives (2007). As a Canadian International Council Research Fellow in 2008-09, he completed a major report entitled From Polar Race to Polar Saga: An Integrated Strategy for Canada and the Circumpolar World. His recent commentaries have appeared in the Toronto Star, National Post, Waterloo Region Record, and Nunatsiaq News. He has also served as a consultant to federal departments, and is an advisor to the Gwich’in Council International.
Whitney’s current research includes histories of the Canadian Rangers, the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, Arctic sovereignty and security since the Second World War, and community-based histories of Cambridge Bay in partnership with the Kitikmeot Heritage Society.
Web site: http://www.lackenbauer.ca
Dennis Bevington
Member of Parliament, Western Arctic
Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities
Northern Development and Sovereignty
Elected the Member of Parliament for Western Arctic in 2006
President of Stand Alone Energy Systems Ltd.
Served as Special Advisor on Energy to the Premier of the Northwest Territories
Mayor of Fort Smith from 1988 to 1997 and served on the Green Funds Council of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
Served as a board member on the Northern River Basin Study and as a federal government representative on the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board
Former co-chair of the Constitutional Development Steering Committee for the Western Arctic
Married with two children and three grandchildren
Parliament Hill:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-4587
Fax: (613) 992-1586
Web site: http://www.ndp.ca/dennisbevington/
Constituency:
4908-49th Street PO Box 1986 (Main Office)
Yellowknife, NT X1A 2P5
Telephone: (867) 873-6995
Fax: (867) 920-4233
Don Balsillie
Member of the Deninu Kue First Nation, Akaitcho Treaty #8 Territory
Has been working with his First Nation as well as with the Akaitcho Territory Government since its inception in 1992.
Was Chief of Deninu Kue First Nations for 7 years and served as Grand Chief for the Akaitcho Territory Government for one year
Involved with the Treaty Eight Tribal Corporation since they began their negotiation process in 1992, as their Executive Director, Lands Coordinator/Negotiator, and Chief Negotiator.
Involved in the tourism industry as a fishing lodge owner on Great Slave Lake
Most recently, Don has been appointed as Chairman of the Dezé Energy Corporation, where he also represents the Akaitcho Energy Corporation.
Dan Grabke
Started with the federally owned Northern Canada Power Commission in 1981 as a laborer at Snare Hydro with a 2 week term.
Has held various positions with the Northwest Territories Power Corporation from Operator to Mechanic to Hydro Officer to Operations Superintendent for the western arctic
Currently works for the NWT Energy Corporation (03) Ltd, a NWT crown Corporation, as the Director for Business Development. This role is responsible for identifying, researching, recommending, and implementing opportunities towards new hydro business ventures and partnerships
Also is the Managing Director of the Dezé Energy Corporation, the entity pursuing the Taltson Hydroelectric Expansion Project
Has resided in the Northwest Territories for over 35 years including a 4 year period living at Snare Hydro.
Ron Hochstetler
SAIC – Director of LTA Programs
An internationally recognized leader in the lighter-than-air industry
Mr. Hochstetler has used his LTA expertise and industry contacts for the past 25 years to continuously promote the advancement of LTA technologies for government and commercial applications. Ron began his airship career in 1984 as a mechanic/assembler on the Piasecki Helistat program, which developed a novel hybrid airship/helicopter for heavy lift applications. In 1985 he joined Airship Industries, providing technical support on the US Naval Airship Program. During this time he also flew as an airship flight test engineer, and managed a 22 person commercial airship tour. He joined Veda Inc., in 1990 to support the US Navy Airship Program office, and in 1998 joined CargoLifter as a Senior Project Analyst locating critical airship technical reference documents. For the past 10 years Ron has worked for Science Applications International Corporation where he is currently the Director of LTA Programs. Mr. Hochstetler has a Masters degree in Technology Management from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Technology from Purdue University. Ron is the former Chairman of the AIAA LTA Technical Committee, and a current member of the British based Airship Association Council.
Ron Hochstetler
SAIC
4001 North Fairfax Drive
Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22203
Work: 703-516-3162
Bob McLeod
MLA Yellowknife South
Minister of Human Resources
Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment
Minister Responsible for the Public Utilities Board
Minister Responsible for Energy Initiatives
Biography
Bob McLeod was elected to the 16th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories on October 1, 2007 to represent the Yellowknife South constituency. Mr. McLeod was born and raised in Fort Providence. He and his wife, Melody, moved to Yellowknife in 1979, where they continue to reside. Mr. McLeod and his wife have one son, Warren (Shannon) and two beautiful grandsons: Carter and Cooper.
Mr. McLeod’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Alberta and an Honours Diploma in Administrative Management from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton.
Mr. McLeod is one of only two NWT civilians to have participated in completing a program of national and international studies at the National Defense College in Kingston, Ontario. As part of that program, Mr. McLeod traveled to 25 countries and completed a thesis on Aboriginal Self Government and the Possibilities for Constitutional Reform.
Mr. McLeod is an active member of the Yellowknife community serving and participating in several community organizations. He has served as president of the Yellowknife recreational hockey league, organizer of the annual Easter long weekend recreational hockey tournament, president of the Yellowknife golf club (led the expansion to 18 holes), member of the Yellowknife Elks club, Senator for the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre and is a longtime hockey, golfer and broomball player.
Mr. McLeod has served on numerous boards and agencies. He served as the co-chair of the Northern River Basin study, Director for the Canadian Tourism Commission and chaired the Canadian Diamond Strategy Working Group and the Mackenzie River Basin Committee. He has also served as a board member of the Northern Employee Benefits Services, NWT Arctic Tourism, NWT Association of Municipalities and the Northern Buffalo Management Board. At the national level he served as vice president for the Fur Institute of Canada, and was the chair of the Canadian Wildlife Coalition.
Mr. McLeod has over 28 years of service in the public service with both Governments of the Northwest Territories and Canada in various senior management roles including Deputy Minister, and most recently, Secretary to Cabinet during the 15th Legislative Assembly.
Ministers Office
P.O. Box 1320; Yellowknife, NT; X1A 2L9
Ph: 867-669-2388; Fax: 867-873-0169
e-mail: bob_mcleod@gov.nt.ca
Michael McLeod
MLA Deh Cho
Minister of Public Works and Services
Minister of Transportation
Minister Responsible for Infrastructure
Biography
Michael McLeod was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories on December 6th, 1999 as the Member for Deh Cho in the 14th Legislative Assembly. He was elected again to the 15th Legislative Assembly in 2003, and acclaimed as the Member for Deh Cho in the 16th Assembly.
During the 15th Legislative Assembly, Mr. McLeod served as the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs, the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Minister responsible for Youth. Mr. McLeod also served as the Minister of Transportation, Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, and the Minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board.
Mr. McLeod is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for his contributions toward Community Development.
Born in Fort Providence, Mr. McLeod served as the mayor of the Deh Cho hamlet, prior to being elected to the Assembly, and is a former president of Métis Local #57 in Fort Providence.
Mr. McLeod worked as the band manager for the Deh Gah Gotine Dene Council, an economic development officer for the Government of the Northwest Territories, and spent several years as a private contractor.
Mr. McLeod has a diploma in Management Studies from Arctic College and is an active community volunteer with the Mackenzie Daze Celebration in Fort Providence and the New Years’ Eve First Night celebration, promoting sobriety. Mr. McLeod is an honourary lifetime member of the Zhahti Koe community Friendship Centre. He is a founding member of Digaa Enterprises Limited, a local economic development corporation, a founding member of the Deh Cho Regional Council, now known as the Deh Cho First Nation Tribal Council, and a founding member of the Fort Providence Resource Management Board.
Mr. McLeod and his wife Joyce have one son, Kevin, and two daughters, Robyn and Shawna.
Minister's Office
Box 1320; Yellowknife, NT; X1A 2L9
P: 867-669-2377; F: 867-873-0169
Constituency Office
PO Box 149; Fort Providence, NT; X0E 0L0
P: 867-699-4003; F: 867-699-4005