John Mills: retired Regional Director General, Ontario Region

John Mills worked at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for 36 years, retiring in 2004. Starting as an Operational Meteorologist in 1968, John moved into management at the Shift Supervisor and Director levels before becoming Regional Director General (RDG) of ECCC’s Ontario Region in 1993.

One highlight of John’s career was his time spent as the Canadian lead on the renegotiation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canada and the United States. This agreement identifies shared priorities and actions needed to restore and protect the Great Lakes. He is also proud of his work integrating forecast operations in the Western and Northern regions, while maintaining high quality services for Canadians. He also counts among his greatest career accomplishments supporting the establishment of the Downsview day care centre, which was the first day care in a federal facility.

John’s career has taken him across Canada. He has worked in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, and Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit). John cherished his time in the Arctic, where he worked as a Meteorologist, and fondly remembers the location’s uniqueness in terms of observing and forecasting. He will never forget that the temperature stayed at -25 °C or below for 40 days straight.

While at ECCC, John witnessed many advancements in weather services, including the enhancement of observation networks, specifically the integration of Doppler Radar and satellite information into forecast models. He also saw the development and advancement of computer modelling. When he started at ECCC, John had to carry box loads of punch cards to input the data into the computer models. By the time he retired, supercomputing was the norm.

John has received various awards for his work, including a Certification of Appreciation from the International Joint Commission for his work as Co-Chair of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board from 2001 to 2004. In 2004, he was the inaugural recipient of the John Mills Award, named in his honour. Given by the Federal Council, made up of regional heads of all federal departments, it celebrates excellence through collaboration, science, and sustainable development.

After retiring in 2004, John was a consultant working with Great Lakes mayors on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a bi-national coalition of mayors who rely on the Great Lakes and work with federal, state and provincial governments to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Following this, John spent 7 years as Senior Vice President of Content with Pelmorex Corp., owner of The Weather Network and MétéoMédia. In that role, he oversaw all Weather Network content and promoted the idea of an integrated weather enterprise involving collaboration between government, the private sector, and media, to effectively and efficiently produce weather services and deliver the information to Canadians.

While John has held many different positions, they have all had the common goal of seeking to provide services and essential information to the public.

“I am motivated to make a difference by protecting the health and safety of Canadians,” he says. “I’m fortunate to have had the opportunity to make that my career.”

Here are a few random facts about John:

• What was your first job? Stock clerk at a grocery store, but my favourite was being a waiter and porter on the CN Railroad while at university. I got to see the whole country from St. John’s, NL, to Vancouver, BC.
• What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play? Anybody who knows me already knows the answer to this…GOLF!
• If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? Turkey dinner (hold the Brussels sprouts). I do love Christmas!
• If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? 1967…a great year for Canada with the Montreal Expo and the last time Toronto won the Stanley Cup (go Habs go!).
• What are your hobbies? Again, this would be golf.
• How many pairs of shoes do you own? Not as many as my daughter.
• What's your favorite zoo animal? Elephant, they are majestic and highly social.
• If you could share a meal with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? My wife who is also my best friend. What else could you ask for in a dining partner?
• What's your favorite holiday? Christmas…the food, the people, the music, the lights and…of course the eggnog.
• Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Shooting a hole in one at St. Andrew’s.