Minister Garneau Announces Appointments and Reappointments in the Transportation Sector

March 31, 2017 – Ottawa, Ontario – Transport Canada 

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, today announced the following merit-based appointments to various ports in Canada, Marine Atlantic Inc., and the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada. The appointees come from diverse backgrounds, with vast experience in a number of fields, and are active members of their communities:

• Kristopher Parsons, Chief Risk Officer at Memorial University of Newfoundland (newly appointed as Chairperson of Marine Atlantic Inc; term of five years);
• Darin Deschamps, Co-Head and Head of Investing Banking and Capital Markets Canada at Wells Fargo Securities (newly appointed as Director of the Toronto Port Authority; term of three years);
• Jennifer Stebbing, Associate Lawyer at Ross & McBride LLP (newly appointed as Director of the Hamilton Port Authority; term of three years);
• Dr. Josef (Jim) Spatz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Southwest Properties Ltd. (reappointed for three years as Director of the Halifax Port Authority);
• Kamal Ahmed, Port Warden of the Harbour of Quebec (reappointed for one year as Port Warden);
• Dr. George Pugh, consultant in emergency medicine (reappointed for eight months at the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada); and
• Dr. Abdo Shabah, Associate Professor at University de Montréal School of Public Health (reappointed for eight months at the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada).

The new appointments follow the Government of Canada's open, transparent and merit-based appointment process – one that recommends high-quality candidates who advance gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity.