Vancouver, BC, December 10, 2021 – Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping (Clear Seas) is pleased to announce a new member of its Board of Directors, and three new members of the organization’s Research Advisory Committee. “We are pleased to bring new advisors on board and to continue to leverage their impressive knowledge and experience in our work to help diversify the views and voices in research around current and emerging marine shipping issues,” says Bud Streeter, Clear Seas’ Chair of the Board of Directors.
The new board and committee members bring invaluable Indigenous perspectives along with extensive expertise in maritime law, environmental law, research, and marine ecology in the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors.
Aldo Chircop Joins Clear Seas’ Board of Directors
Aldo Chircop, Ph. D, is moving from Clear Seas’ Research Advisory Committee – where he has served since 2016 – to the Board of Directors. Dr. Chircop is a professor and the Canada Research Chair in Maritime Law and Policy at Dalhousie University, as well as the Chair of the Comité Maritime International’s International Working Group on Polar Shipping.
Formerly, Dr. Chircop was the Director of the Marine and Environmental Law Institute, the Marine Affairs Program, the International Ocean Institute, and the Mediterranean Institute at the University of Malta, as well as the Canadian Chair in Marine Environment Protection at the International Maritime Organization’s World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden.
“With its deep knowledge of the frameworks that govern marine shipping and environmental conservation at the national and international level, Dr. Chircop brings significant capabilities to Clear Seas,” says Streeter.
Clear Seas’ Board of Directors includes ten members from First Nations, the public sector, the scientific and engineering communities, and marine-related industries. Learn more here.
Gary Drouillard, Martin Forêt, and Sonia Simard Join Clear Seas’ Research Advisory Committee
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. Mr. Drouillard is the Operations Coordinator for the Lyackson First Nation and is very involved within his community, where he sits on multiple boards.
Martin Forêt, Ph. D., is the Program Coordinator of MeRLIN – the maritime transport innovation network of Technopole maritime du Québec – which supports Quebec’s maritime industry in the definition of its research needs while encouraging solutions-oriented collaboration around common issues. He holds a Ph. D. in oceanography, from the University of Quebec in Rimouski, and marine ecology, from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Dr. Forêt has significant experience in the aquaculture, fundamental and applied research, and education sectors, in Canada and Europe.
Sonia Simard, LLB, brings more than fifteen years of experience as an advocate for sustainable maritime transportation to her role on Clear Seas’ Research Advisory Committee. 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.
About the Research Advisory Committee
Clear Seas’ Research Advisory Committee is composed of individuals from different regions and backgrounds. Through their experience and unique perspective, they help Clear Seas define and deliver its research agenda. Learn more about Clear Seas’ Research Advisory Committee members here.
About Clear Seas
Clear Seas is a not-for-profit independent research centre funded by Canada’s provincial and federal governments as well as industry. It provides impartial information on marine shipping in Canada to policymakers and the public. Its mandate is to initiate and interpret research, analyze policies, identify best practices, share information, and facilitate dialogue. The organization’s research agenda is defined internally in response to current issues, reviewed by a research advisory committee, and approved by a board of directors. All publications are available at clearseas.org
Media Contact:
Edward Downing
Director of Communications
Tel.: (778) 730-1359 or cell (604) 817-3058
edward.downing@clearseas.org