OTTAWA - May 30, 2006 - The President and CEO of Export Development Canada (EDC), Rob Wright, is pleased to announce that three new members have joined the Corporation's Advisory Council on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
"EDC is very fortunate to have such a distinguished Advisory Council, one that brings great value to our decision making process," said Mr. Wright. "EDC's CSR program and its overall operations benefit from the Council's contributions, bringing a focused and effective approach to issues of accountability and the environment, among others."
The Advisory Council is a core component of EDC's stakeholder engagement strategy. The membership is comprised of accomplished Canadians with diverse backgrounds representing the private sector, academia and civil society. Their role is to offer advice and guidance on best practices in CSR. The new members are:
Daniel Gagnier is the Senior Vice President of Corporate and External Affairs, Alcan Inc. Mr. Gagnier has been with Alcan since 1994 and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Institute for Sustainable Development. In addition, he is the Chair of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical committee on Environmental Management as well as past Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group on Social Responsibility. Prior to joining Alcan, he held a number of senior positions with the governments of Canada, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Maureen O'Neil is the President of International Development Research Centre. Ms. O'Neil is also a member of the International Board of Governors of the Centre for International Governance Innovation and has been Chair of the Board of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, Chair of the Board of Governors of Carleton University and President of The North-South Institute.
David Zussman is the first recipient of the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa. Mr. Zussman is the former President of the Public Policy Forum and a former Dean of the University of Ottawa School of Management. In June 2004, he was confirmed as a part-time Commissioner for the Public Service Commission of Canada. He has held various senior positions in the federal government.
Since its inception in 2001, the Advisory Council has met eight times and has provided advice to EDC on such issues as EDC's environmental review and disclosure practices, CSR and developing markets, and support for environmental technologies.
EDC would like to thank retiring members Nancy Hughes Anthony, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Huguette Labelle, Chancellor of the University of Ottawa, for their exceptional contribution, advice and counsel provided to EDC over the past five years.
Mr. Gagnier, Ms. O'Neil and Mr. Zussman join current Advisory Council members Dezsö J. Horváth, the Dean of the Schulich School of Business at York University and the Tanna H. Schulich Chair in Strategic Management, Jean-Marie Toulouse, the Director of the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Wesley Cragg, the Chair and former President of Transparency International Canada. Biographies of all the Advisory Council members may be found on EDC's website at www.edc.ca.
EDC is Canada's export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC's knowledge and partnerships are used by 7,000 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining and is a recognized leader in financial reporting, economic analysis and human resource management.
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Media contact: Phil TaylorPublic Affairs, Export Development Canada(613) 598-2904ptaylor@edc.ca
