Biographies of the Members for the Selection Committee

Jenifer Aitken is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs, at Canadian Heritage. She was appointed to that position in April 2017. Prior to that, she was Executive Director in the Social and Cultural Sector at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, responsible for Employment and Social Development Canada, Canadian Heritage and Parks Canada portfolios.

Before making the leap to the public service, Ms. Aitken enjoyed a successful career as a lawyer in private practice in both Canada and the United Kingdom. She focused her practice on commercial law, primarily in the areas of information technology, intellectual property licensing and e-commerce.

Renu Mandhane is the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She was appointed to that position in November 2015. Ms. Mandhane is the former Executive Director of the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. She has an LL.M in international human rights law from New York University.

Ms. Mandhane sits on the Canada Committee of Human Rights Watch, and has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada and the United Nations. She has also trained Canadian and foreign judges through the National Judicial Institute of Canada. Ms. Mandhane has worked at several domestic and international organizations to advance women's human rights, and has represented survivors of domestic and sexual violence and federally sentenced prisoners.

Ms. Audrey Poitras is the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) President and one of the highest profile Métis women in Canada. Ms. Poitras’ career in Métis politics began in 1996 when she was elected to lead the MNA as its first female President. From Métis identity to Métis rights and recognition, Ms. Poitras remains a key figure among Canada’s political leaders.

Under her leadership, the MNA continues to be a model of success in representing and pursuing the social, political, and economic interests of the Métis people in Alberta. The credibility of the MNA continues to increase, as evidenced by activities over the past 20 years with Ms. Poitras at the helm, where the legitimacy and accountability of the MNA has risen to unprecedented heights.

Laurie Wright has been the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Public Law and Legislative Services Sector at the Department of Justice Canada since 2013. Among her areas of responsibility are human rights law and policy, and official languages law and policy.

Ms. Wright completed her law studies at Queen’s and at Columbia University in New York, and clerked at both the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

She joined the Department of Justice in 1994 as counsel and practiced in the areas of constitutional and international law before becoming a manager. She has had the privilege of working on varied and exciting files over the course of her career with the Government of Canada.