Members of the National Advisory Council on Poverty

Chairperson (full time)

Scott is a lifelong learner, a facilitator, a coach and a connector. He spent almost 20 years with the Government of New Brunswick where he worked on poverty reduction through the department of Social Development and the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation.

Scott has chaired OMISTA Credit Union, Falls Brook Centre, New Brunswick Food Security Action Network and the Fredericton Loyalists Rugby Club. He has also sat on the boards of the Atlantic Summer Institute, the Healthy Eating Physical Activity Coalition and Team Rural NB.

Scott is passionate about community, storytelling, innovation, belonging and supporting others.

Member with particular responsibilities for children's issues (full time)

Sylvie Veilleux is driven by strong values of equity, justice and social inclusion. She worked with Quebec's first "garderie populaire," in St-Henri and as the Executive Director of the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Vaudreuil-Soulanges. For more than 35 years, she has advocated for the needs of children and young adults.

She has a Bachelor of Arts from the Université de Montréal. She has furthered her knowledge through continuing education in intervention, management and organization. She feels very strongly about helping young people reach their full potential, making services accessible to them and improving their quality of life.

Member with lived experience (part time)

Rachelle Metatawabin is a social justice advocate, who takes a personal interest in supporting children and youth involved in the child welfare system. Rachelle is passionate about ensuring that communities support individuals to address systemic barriers such as poverty. Rachelle has over 18 years of experience in coordinating, mentoring, program support, research and policy work on issues concerning vulnerable youth, poverty, the welfare system, and food sustainability.

She has experienced the negative impacts of homelessness and as a result can identify many of the gaps in current social policy. Rachelle currently works part-time with the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition, while consulting as an Independent Advocate for Children and Youth in and from the Child Welfare System. She is also a member of the Indigenous Inclusive Strategic Planning Committee with the Child and Youth Permanency Council of Canada. To balance it all out, she adventures the land with her daughter during their free time.

General member (part time)

Hannah Brais is a long-time advocate for low-income and homeless communities. Her advocacy began during her role as a housing and employment advocate for tenants at Concordia University Student Union. Since 2018, Hannah has served as the research coordinator at the Old Brewery Mission. Old Brewery Mission is the largest homelessness organization in Montreal, Quebec. In this role, Hannah oversees research projects focused on developing an evidence base for better programming for people experiencing homelessness. Hannah is also a member of the steering committees of the Women's National Housing and Homelessness Network and the Quebec Homelessness Prevention Policy Collaborative. She is a doctoral candidate at McGill University.

General member (part time)

Avril Colenutt is a lawyer with expertise in child welfare, marginalized communities, government supports, education, health, board governance and ethics. She has worked as a faculty member in post-secondary education, teaching criminal law, correctional law and business law. She has sat as a member, an adjudicator, and in leadership roles for various boards, panels and tribunals in the areas of health, government benefits, child welfare, education and professional regulation. She was previously the Provincial Chair for the Children's Services Appeal Panel and for the Community and Social Services Appeal Panel. Avril has worked with various levels of government, the Ethics Commissioner, the Ombudsman, non-profits, professional regulators, and First Nations communities. She has researched in the areas of youth, literacy, recidivism, health, ethics and artificial intelligence. She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Edinburgh, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the University of British Columbia.

General member (part time)

John Cox has spent more than 30 years advocating for the rights of Canadians with disabilities. He has advocated for persons with intellectual disabilities as well as persons experiencing poverty. John has worked for a variety of non-profit and grassroots organizations in the disability sector. He brings with him valuable research and policy and program development experience. John is a founder for People First of Nova Scotia and worked as the Development Coordinator before retiring. People First is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting people with intellectual disabilities. John is still involved with People First as a member. John has been an effective and tireless advocate for the human rights and social support for his fellow Canadians.

General member (part time)

Dr. Kristen Desjarlais-deKlerk has nearly two decades of academic experience and peer-reviewed scholarship. Her research has focused on social development topics, including inequality, homelessness, housing, social support, health, and harm reduction. She has served on a variety of community boards dedicated to housing, and poverty reduction. She holds current roles on the Cape Breton Affordable Housing and Homelessness Working Group and the Board of Directors of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. Dr. Desjarlais-deKlerk has taught at universities and colleges throughout Alberta. She is currently an assistant professor at Cape Breton University in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

General member (part time)

Nathalie Lachance has worked in leadership positions in community and youth-centred organizations in Quebec for over 30 years. Her career has focused on social reintegration and supporting youth and families living in poverty to return to school or work. After serving as the Director of youth organizations in Montréal-Nord and Boisbriand, Nathalie joined the Carrefour Jeunesse-Emploi Thérèse-de Blainville. She became its Director General in 2003-a position she holds to this day. She has also held several positions in social and economic forums in Quebec.

General member (part time)

Noah Lubendo is a published author, poet, researcher and policy analyst. He brings several years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, including work in settlement and employment services, as well as providing resources to refugees and newcomers. He has also worked in public policy, researching economic inequality across Canada. As a public speaker, he is an advocate for Black Students as well as an award-winning panelist and thought leader. He brings leadership expertise and a high-level understanding of Canadian public policy and economic principles, and experience with policy analysis in the non-profit and para-public sector. Noah applies his professional experience, Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University, and personal experience to several areas of interest. These include economic inequality, immigration, diversity, equity, and inclusion. He also focuses on representation in socioeconomic reporting, specifically on the conditions that engender poverty in Canada, and barriers to class mobility.

General member (part time)

Dr. McKenzie is the Chief Executive Officer of Wellesley Institute. The Wellesley Institute works to improve health and health equity through research, policy and action on the social determinants of health. He is an international expert on the social causes of mental illness, suicide and the development of effective, equitable health systems. He is a practicing psychiatrist, Director of Health Equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

He was a Co-Chair of the Expert Task Force on Substance Use, a member of Canada's Expert Advisory Panel on COVID-19 and Mental Health and was a member of the Minister of Health's Covid-19 Testing and Screening Advisory Panel.

Dr. McKenzie was previously a Human Rights Commissioner for Ontario and Chair of the Research and Evaluation Advisory Committee of Ontario's Basic Income Pilot. In addition to his academic, policy and clinical work, Dr. McKenzie has written columns for the Guardian, Times-online and Toronto Star and is a past BBC Radio presenter.