About Clear Seas:
Supporting Sustainable Marine Shipping
Who We Are
Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping is an independent not-for-profit research centre that supports safe and sustainable marine shipping in Canada.
Clear Seas was established in 2014 after extensive discussions among government, industry, environmental organizations, Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities revealed a need for impartial information about the Canadian marine shipping industry.
What We Do
RESEARCH • ENGAGE • INFORM
Clear Seas provides impartial information on marine shipping in Canada to policy makers and the public. Our mandate is to initiate and interpret research, analyze policies, identify best practices, share information and facilitate dialogue.
Our research focuses on the human, environmental and economic impacts of marine shipping. That includes practices for safe handling of bulk commodities at marine terminals, impacts of oil and liquid natural gas shipping, spill prevention and response, impacts on coastal and Indigenous communities, and much more.
We collaborate with Indigenous groups, stakeholders and experts to identify knowledge gaps, share results of existing studies, and facilitate new research to ensure decision makers have access to accurate, up-to-date information.
Indigenous Relations & Participation
Clear Seas recognizes the unique place of Indigenous Peoples – including First Nations, Inuit and Métis – in Canada, which affords them rights, as protected under Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution and as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This may include titles or rights and associated stewardship over their territories, including marine areas.
Accordingly, Clear Seas strives to actively involve Indigenous communities in carrying out its mission concerning research and knowledge sharing on safe and sustainable marine shipping in Canada. In particular, Clear Seas seeks to:
- Create awareness among Indigenous communities of Clear Seas’ mission and activities;
- Learn about Indigenous communities’ perspectives on marine shipping issues;
- Identify areas where Clear Seas can contribute to addressing marine shipping issues using research capacity, communication, and convening power;
- Appropriately apply Traditional Knowledge* to Clear Seas’ research;
- Collaborate with Indigenous communities to lead or participate in research activities, and also provide employment and business opportunities; and
- Build respectful relationships between Clear Seas and Indigenous communities.
*Traditional Knowledge is a body of knowledge specific to Indigenous People. It comes from their cultural heritage, traditional lifestyles and the strong relationship they cultivate with the natural environment. Traditional Knowledge includes deep understanding and insights into traditional subsistence and resource harvesting practices as well as extensive knowledge of environmentally sensitive and culturally significant coastal areas.
Our Team
Paul Blomerus
Executive Director
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Andrea Mitchell-Rozario
Finance and Operations Coordinator
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Meghan Mathieson
Director of Strategy and Innovation
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Edward Downing
Director of Communications and Engagement
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Sarah Thomas
Director of Indigenous and Coastal Community Relations
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Jennifer Steele
Manager of Research and Knowledge Mobilization
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Sarah Landry
Manager of Communications
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Stephanie Hurlburt
Program Lead, Indigenous and Coastal Community Relations
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Tessa Coulthard
Research Associate
On leave
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Rachel Stewart-Dziama
Research Associate
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Clara Kaufmann
Research Associate
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Board of Directors
Murray Coolican
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Kim Baird, C.M., O.B.C.
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Aldo Chircop, Ph. D.
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Ginny Flood
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Julie Gelfand, MBA
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Serge Alain Le Guellec
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John W. Hepburn, Ph. D., FRSC
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Kate Moran, Ph. D.
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Bud Streeter
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Jane Weldon, MBA
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Duncan Wilson
Read moreResearch Advisory Committee
Our Research Advisory Committee advises Clear Seas’ team and Board of Directors on all research and peer review issues.
How We Operate
Clear Seas is an independent organization that publishes research on sustainable marine shipping in Canada. It incorporates authoritative scientific data along with Indigenous Peoples’ Traditional Knowledge to facilitate dialogue based on the idea that accurate information leads to better decision-making.
Founded in 2015, Clear Seas’ research and findings contribute to the national conversation on topics from maritime traffic safety, air and water pollution, underwater noise, decarbonization and climate change, to building a sustainable marine economy. The organization is funded by governments and industry, as detailed in its annual audited financial statements.
Clear Seas funding, 2015-2021
Clear Seas’ board of directors includes members of First Nations, the public sector, the scientific and engineering communities, and marine related industries. They present a wide range of experience in the human, environmental and economic issues related to shipping on Canada’s oceans, coastlines, lakes, and waterways.
All reports and findings are freely available to the public through the Clear Seas website and its social media channels.
Board of Directors
Murray Coolican
Board Chair
Murray Coolican has held leadership positions across a number of sectors including not for profit, government, and the private sector. He has worked on environmental and aboriginal issues, in the energy and natural resources sectors, and in financial services. Mr. Coolican was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of Clear Seas in January 2022.
He served as Senior Executive Vice President at Maritime Life, and Vice President at a number of companies including Nova Scotia Power, Corporate Communications Limited and National Sea Products. In government he worked as Deputy Minister of Energy and Business in the Government of Nova Scotia, Deputy Minister of Native Affairs in the Government of Ontario and Special Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Robert Stanfield. He was also Executive Director of the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, an environmental NGO when it won the Governor General’s Conservation Award.
As a volunteer he Chaired the Halifax Metro United Way, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce and served as Vice-Chair of the Dalhousie University Board of Governors. He has also served as a Director of the Canadian Geographic Society and the World Wildlife Fund (Canada.)
Kim Baird, C.M., O.B.C.
Board Vice-Chair
Kim Baird is the owner of Kim Baird Strategic Consulting and offers First Nation related and strategic advice to industry, government and First Nations. In June 2020, she was appointed to a three-year term as chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in Vancouver, BC effective October 2020.
While Chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation, she negotiated and implemented British Columbia’s first urban treaty. Kim serves on several boards, Including the Infrastructure Bank of Canada, and is the recipient of both Orders of Canada and British Columbia. Kim holds an Institute of Corporate Director’s designation.
Aldo Chircop, Ph. D.
Dr. Chircop is a professor and the Canada Research Chair in Maritime Law and Policy at Dalhousie University. His principal areas of research are in Canadian maritime law, international maritime law, and international law of the sea. His research focuses on the international regulation of marine shipping in polar regions, especially in the Arctic. He is Chair of the Comité Maritime International’s International Working Group on Polar Shipping. His previous positions include directorships of the Marine and Environmental Law Institute, Marine Affairs Program, International Ocean Institute, and the Mediterranean Institute at the University of Malta. Dr. Chircop was also the Canadian Chair in Marine Environment Protection at the International Maritime Organization’s World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden. Dr. Chircop has published extensively in Canada and overseas.
Ginny Flood
Ginny Flood is a senior executive with an extensive background in corporate and public service focused on the Canadian and international energy and mining sectors.
She recently retired as Vice-President, Government Relations at Suncor Energy Inc., Calgary, Alberta. Ms. Flood led the development, implementation and evaluation of the company’s government relations strategy to contribute to government policies and regulatory agendas.
Previously, Ms. Flood held senior roles as Vice-President, Canada, for Rio Tinto and in the Canadian federal government in resource development. This included participating as the Government of Canada’s representative on international and government-to-government working groups globally in the minerals and metals sector.
In 2018-2019, she was Chair of the Board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and is one of the founding members of the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN) and a member of its Board of Directors.
Ms. Flood resides in Victoria, BC, and has a Queen’s University Executive MBA, and studied Business Administration at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Julie Gelfand, MBA
Julie Gelfand is a distinguished fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto with a background in environmental affairs and sustainable development.
Ms. Gelfand is the former federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. She led a historic collaborative audit on climate change with the provincial Auditors Generals as well as audits on subjects such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), toxic substances, biodiversity, and the federal oversight of industrial activities (mining, aquaculture, nuclear energy, pipelines).
Formerly, Ms. Gelfand was the Vice President of Environment and Social Responsibility at Rio Tinto, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) where she was a member of the Executive Team and directed all environmental and social responsibility files. Before joining IOC, Ms. Gelfand was Vice President of Sustainable Development at the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) from 2008 to 2011 and President of Nature Canada from 1992 to 2008. At Nature Canada, she led campaigns to establish new National Parks and laws to protect nature (including the federal Species at Risk Act), and founded and chaired the Green Budget Coalition, an alliance of twenty-two national environmental NGOs working to achieve ecological fiscal reform.
Ms. Gelfand has significant experience sitting on boards of directors of charitable organizations both nationally and internationally. She is fluent in English and French, is a certified coach, and has an MBA from the University of Ottawa.
Serge Alain Le Guellec
Mr. Le Guellec is President and General Manager Transport Desgagnés Inc. He holds a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering (Royal Military College of Canada), a Master’s degree of science in Project Management (University of Hull, Quebec, Canada) and a Master’s degree in Aerospace Vehicle Design (Cranfield Institute of Technology, UK). A former uniformed member of the Canadian Forces, Mr. Le Guellec has worked in turn in the defence, aerospace and maritime transportation industries, first in engineering specialist roles and, later in his career, in project / program management and senior management roles. As a result, he possesses a unique mix of experience in aerospace engineering, manufacturing, supply chain management, project / program management and, lastly, general management.
As the President and General Manager of Transport Desgagnés inc., Mr. Le Guellec is responsible for the technical management of a varied fleet of tanker vessels, bulkers, general cargo / heavy lift and cargo / passenger vessels. As a senior maritime transportation industry executive, Mr. Le Guellec is a strong advocate of safety as well as the protection of the environment, explaining in public forums those applicable regulatory frameworks, procedures and best practices the maritime industry follows to first prevent an incident from happening and, should it become necessary, those emergency protocols and procedures to be enacted in order to minimise the impact and consequences of a given maritime accident.
John W. Hepburn, Ph. D., FRSC
Dr. John Hepburn is CEO and Senior Scientific Director at Mitacs, a national, not-for-profit research and training organization dedicated to advancing collaboration between industry, academia and government in Canada.
Previously, he was the Vice-President, Research and Partnerships at CIFAR in Toronto. Dr. Hepburn also served as Vice-President, Research & International at the University of British Columbia. He had joined UBC in 2001 as a Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, and Head of Chemistry. Dr. Hepburn later became Dean of Science in 2003 and Vice-President, Research in 2005. Before his time at UBC he was a Professor of Chemistry and Physics at the University of Waterloo from 1982-2001.
He holds a BSc from the University of Waterloo, a PhD from the University of Toronto, and he was a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California Berkeley. He has been a Fellow of the A.P. Sloan Foundation, a Foreign Research Fellow of the CNRS (France), and a Canada Council Killam Fellow.
He has also been awarded the Rutherford Medal and the Noranda Prize, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Physical Society and the Canadian Institute for Chemistry. Dr. Hepburn also serves as a Board member for numerous organizations, including membership on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Council of Canadian Academies.
Kate Moran, Ph. D.
Kate Moran is currently the President and CEO of Ocean Networks Canada. She is also a Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Victoria. Previously, she was a Director of NEPTUNE Canada. From 2009 to 2011, Moran was seconded to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she served as an Assistant Director and focused on Arctic, Polar, Ocean, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and climate policy issues. Moran received degrees in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (BS), University of Rhode Island (MS), and Dalhousie University (PhD).
Bud Streeter
Bud Streeter retired as President Lloyd’s Register Canada Limited and Americas Manager of Naval Business and External Affairs at the end of 2017, capping a career of nearly 50 years in the marine business. He is a 1973 graduate in Marine Engineering from the Canadian Coast Guard College. His early career was spent as an Engineering Officer on various ships, as an Instructor in Marine Engineering Technologies at the Canadian Coast Guard College and as a Marine Safety Surveyor, Examiner and Manager in various offices. In 1987, he joined Marine Atlantic Inc. as Manager of Marine Technical Services. He left as Vice President Safety and Regulatory Affairs in 1996 to join Transport Canada as Director General Marine Safety, in which capacity he was the Head of the Canadian Delegation to various meetings at the International Maritime Organization and other international gatherings. Bud joined Lloyd’s Register, a global safety and risk management organization in 2002 and held various positions with Lloyd’s Register including Vice President, Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc. responsible for Canada and as Vice President Lloyd’s Register North America Inc, responsible for business in North America and the Caribbean. He was then appointed as President Lloyd’s Register Canada Limited and concurrently as President of Martec Limited, which was a Lloyd’s Register affiliated consulting company. In 2014 he took on the role of President of Lloyd’s Register Canada Limited and Americas Regional Manager of Naval Business and External Affairs.
He has served as a Board Member for Meridian Shipping Limited and on various of the Lloyd’s Register affiliated companies. He was appointed to the Canadian Advisory Council on National Security and served as a marine security advisor between 2005 and 2009. In 2013, he was presented with the inaugural Medal of Excellence from the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering and was cited for his long commitment to marine safety and the mentoring of young maritime professionals. Bud has been a Director of Clear Seas since its founding and assumed responsibility as Chair of the Board of Directors from February 2018 to January 2022.
Jane Weldon, MBA
Jane Weldon recently retired as the Executive Head of the Oceans Protection Plan at Transport Canada, where she served for several years. Previously, she was Director-General of Canada’s Marine Safety and Security and led the development of many government initiatives aimed at addressing key marine environmental issues, including the protection of North Atlantic right whales and the prevention of damage from flooding in Quebec and Ontario.
Throughout her career, Jane Weldon collaborated extensively with industry members, academia, the non-profit sector, and other international colleagues to develop and implement Canadian marine policies and regulatory frameworks. She also worked in transportation infrastructure funding, the management of federal ports and airports, social policy, and human resources.
She represented Canada as the Head of Delegation at the International Maritime Organization, was Co-Chair of the Canada-U.S. Maritime Security Committee, and Chair of Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan Management Committee.
Jane Weldon is a graduate of the University of Ottawa.
Duncan Wilson
As Vice President, Environment, Community and Government Affairs, Duncan Wilson leads the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s environmental programs, community engagement, aboriginal engagement, communications, and government affairs functions. With more than 25 years of experience working in communications, public engagement and marketing, Mr. Wilson also has a distinguished track record of community leadership, having served three consecutive terms as Commissioner on the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, including three years as Chair of the Board. Mr. Wilson currently serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He previously served on the boards of the Vancouver Aboriginal Skills and Employment Program (VanASEP), Vancouver Public Library, Downtown Vancouver Association and Hastings Park Conservancy.
Jackie Dawson, Ph. D.
Jackie Dawson is an Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics at the University of Ottawa, and Canada Research Chair in Environment, Society, and Policy. She received her Ph. D. in 2009 from the University of Waterloo. She is currently working on several projects, including Climate Change Adaptation Strategies and Policy Options for Arctic Shipping in Canada with Transport Canada; Arctic Marine Activities Integration & Synthesis Project; Enhancing Ocean Governance Through the Northern Marine Transportation Corridors with MEOPAR; and Change and Economic Development in Arctic Canada, and Marine Governance and Tourism in the Arctic with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Dr. Dawson is an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada, College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists, the Global Young Academy, and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. She is currently co-chair of the World Meteorological Organization’s Polar Prediction Project and Social and Economic Research Applications working group for the Year of Polar Prediction.
Gary Drouillard
Gary Drouillard is a proud member of the Cowichan Tribes and a lifelong subsistence fisherman and hunter. He shares a deep connection with his territory and the nature that grows and thrives on it. He is passionate about marine conservation and possesses a wealth of knowledge about the effects of marine shipping on his band’s territory.
Gary Drouillard is currently working as an Operations Coordinator for the Lyackson First Nation. He is also very involved in his community, where he sits on the Cowichan Tribes Community Fisheries Board, the Cowichan Bay Fisherman’s Wharf Board, and the Cowichan Tribes Community Land Use Committee.
Martin Forêt, Ph. D.
Martin Forêt holds a Ph. D. in oceanography from the University of Quebec in Rimouski and a Ph. D. in marine ecology from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. In 2020, he joined Technopole maritime du Québec’s maritime transport innovation network MeRLIN as the Program Coordinator.
In his roles, Martin Forêt works to improve access to research and development expertise to facilitate the implementation of innovative solutions addressing the many challenges the marine shipping industry stakeholders are facing. MeRLIN supports Quebec’s maritime industry in the definition of its research needs while encouraging collaborative, solution-oriented work around common issues, and promoting the development of long-term planning tools. Prior to joining MeRLIN, Martin Forêt worked for various organizations in the aquaculture, fundamental and applied research, and education sectors, in France and Canada.
Captain Philip McCarter
Captain Philip is the Associate Dean of the Marine Campus at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He has more than 30 years of experience in the marine shipping industry, where he worked within the public, private and education sectors.
After receiving his Bachelor of Science in Marine Zoology from the University of British Columbia, Captain McCarter enrolled in the Canadian Coast Guard College and worked his way up from cadet to master. Over 10 years, he worked on icebreakers, search and rescue vessels and was part of the team to lay fibre optic cable across the Atlantic. He was also involved in the recovery efforts following the1985 Air India plane crash.
After achieving his Master Mariner’s Certificate of Competency, Captain McCarter came ashore in Newfoundland, where he taught at the Marine Institute and attended Cardiff University for his Master’s in Marine Law. He then spent twelve years working in the private sector as a Shipping Safety Manager, and five years with BC Ferries as a Senior Manager for Bridge Simulator Operational Training. Captain McCarter recently joined the British Columbia Institute of Technology as Associate Dean of the Marine Campus.
Captain Ivan Oxford, MM
Captain Oxford is a Senior Master at Transport Desgagnés, a Director at the Nautical Institute-BC Branch as well as a part-time Instructor at the Camosun College. He is an experienced shipmaster, ice navigator, and educator. He graduated from Memorial University’s School of Maritime Studies and is a Master Mariner with over 35 years of experience at sea on commercial and government vessels engaged in near-coastal and foreign trade. Captain Oxford taught at Camosun College’s Nautical Department from 1999 to 2014, returned to sea, and is currently serving as Shipmaster and Ice Navigator on commercial heavy-lift vessels engaged in Arctic operations. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Nautical Professional Education Society of Canada.
Sonia Simard, LLB
Sonia Simard, LLB, has more than fifteen years of experience as an advocate for sustainable maritime transportation. Throughout her career, she practiced law within the non-profit, public, and private sectors, in both English and French. Most recently, she was Director, Legislative and Environmental Affairs for the Shipping Federation of Canada, and prior to this, held positions at Fednav Ltd, and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Ms. Simard received her law degree from the University of Ottawa and her Masters of Law degree from the School of Law of the University of Washington. She’s also a graduate in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
Francis Wiese, Ph. D.
Francis Wiese is the Technical Leader for Marine Science at Stantec Consulting. He joined Stantec in 2013 after serving as the Science Director for the North Pacific Research Board in Alaska. In that position, he designed, implemented, and managed large multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional marine ecosystems programs in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, and set annual research priorities. Since 2011, he has served on the Chukchi-Beaufort Ecosystem Collaboration Team of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee and been a lead-author on a conceptual ecosystem model document for the US Arctic.
Dr. Wiese has worked for and with academia, government, non-profits, and industry, and acted as a reviewer for over 20 international journals and has served on a variety of national and internal science panels and working groups. He has provided expert testimony for oil pollution-related issues in Canada and the United States. Dr. Wiese enjoys thinking outside the box and taking new, inter-disciplinary approaches to tackle old and current issues that require good science.