Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Commission Members
The Nuclear Safety and Control Act provides for the appointment of not more than seven permanent Commission members by Order in Council and of temporary members. One permanent member of the Commission is designated as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's (CNSC's) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The current Commission Tribunal membership is as follows:
Michael Binder
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Ronald J. Barriault
Charlo, New Brunswick
Ms. Jocelyne Beaudet
Lunenberg, Nova Scotia
Mr. Alan R. Graham
Rexton, New Brunswick
Mr. André Harvey
Québec, Québec
Dr. J. Moyra J. McDill
Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
Mr. Ken Pereira
Ottawa, Ontario
Mr. Dan D. Tolgyesi
President of Quebec Mining Association
Québec, Québec
Ms. Rumina Velshi
Toronto, Ontario
Michael Binder
Dr. Michael Binder was appointed in January 2008 as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
Throughout an extensive career in the federal public service, Michael Binder has held senior positions at Industry Canada, the Department of Communications, the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs and the Defence Research Board.
During his tenure as Industry Canada’s Assistant Deputy Minister of Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications, Michael Binder oversaw Canada’s transition to a network economy. He also managed the regulation of telecommunication industries, promotion of electronic commerce, and development and use of world-class information and communications technologies for the economic, social and cultural benefit of Canadians.
As CNSC President, Michael Binder is responsible for overseeing the use of nuclear energy and materials in Canada. He leads and manages the Commission in order to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment, and to respect Canada's international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He appreciates the challenges and opportunities of being the watchdog of the nuclear industry, and his avowed mission is to ensure that Canadian nuclear facilities and activities are the safest and most secure in the world.
Michael Binder holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Alberta.
Dr. Ronald J. Barriault
Dr. Barriault was appointed as a member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on December 3, 2007.A native of Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Dr. Barriault received his pre-medical science degree from St. Francis Xavier University and completed his medical training at Dalhousie University. He did post graduate medicine in the field of Advanced Study in Primary Care at the Montreal General Hospital, part of McGill University.
Dr. Barriault has practised medicine in several regions across Canada, holding professional licences in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories. He held hospital appointments at the St. Joseph and Campbellton Regional Hospitals in New Brunswick and at the Carthage General and Smith County Memorial Hospitals in Tennessee, U.S. He has worked extensively in both the private sector and government. He served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Health, New Brunswick where he was responsible for medicare, public health and medical education. Dr. Barriault was the Medical Advisor to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta and Vice-President, Medical and Chief of Staff of the Restigouche Regional Health Authority, New Brunswick. He brought his medical expertise and knowledge to bear in various private sector positions with Imperial Oil Limited, Brunswick Mining and Smelting (Noranda) and Canadian National Railway. Dr. Barriault was also a Professor of Medicine at McGill University and the University of Alberta. He is currently a practising physician with the Restigouche Regional Health Authority.
Dr. Barriault has been an active participant in many medical professional associations. He is currently a member of the Canadian Medical Association, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the New Brunswick Medical Society.
Ms. Jocelyne Beaudet
Ms. Jocelyne Beaudet is a consultant with more than 25 years of experience in various fields related to the environment and public participation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physical anthropology from the University of Montreal and a master’s degree in cultural anthropology from McGill University. She resides in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.Ms. Beaudet has developed communications plans and public consultation strategies for numerous environmental initiatives. As a consultant, she has advised the Office of the Auditor General of Canada on issues related to the Canadian North, organized strategies on climate change and air pollution, and advised the Task Force on Sustainable Transportation for the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. While working for Tecsult Inc., she developed communications and public consultation plans for transportation and mining projects in Quebec and Africa.
Ms. Beaudet has extensive experience undertaking public consultation as a panel member for federal, provincial and municipal environmental agencies. She served on the joint federal-provincial review panel for the Eastmain 1-A/Rupert Hydroelectric Project in Quebec and acted as the Provincial Executive Co-Secretary of the joint review panel for the Lachine Canal Decontamination Project. She has served on eight panels for the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement du Quebec, presiding over six. Several of her mandates addressed Aboriginal issues. She is currently an ad hoc member with the Office of Public Consultation of Montreal, recently presiding over the review of a family policy.
Mr. Alan R. Graham
Mr. Alan R. Graham was first appointed a member of the former Atomic Energy Control Board in 1999, and has since been reappointed a member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Mr. Graham is a native of Main River, New Brunswick. He was first elected as a Member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 1967 and served as MLA for the riding of Kent for 31 years until his retirement in 1998. He was Minister of Agriculture from 1987-1991. He was Minister of Natural Resources and Energy from 1991 to 1998 and served on Cabinet committees of Policy and Priorities, Board of Management, and Budget. From 1997-1998, he was Deputy Premier of New Brunswick. During his political career, Mr. Graham served on numerous Legislative Committees. While in opposition, he acted as critic for Agriculture, Natural Resources, Housing, Health, and Alcoholism and Drug Dependency. He was also Liberal Caucus Chairperson and Opposition House Leader.
A long-time community activist, Mr. Graham serves on numerous corporate boards at both the local, national and international level. He is a Trustee of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and a member of the Board of the Atlantic Salmon Federation and of the Miramichi Uganda Foundation Inc. He also serves on several boards of family-owned businesses related to lumbering, transportation and export.
Mr. Graham is currently the Chair of the Joint Review Panel for the proposed Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant Project.
Mr. André Harvey
Mr. André Harvey was appointed as member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on June 2, 2006.
A native of Baie-Saint-Paul, Québec, Mr. Harvey received a B.Sc.A. in Civil Engineering from Université Laval, and an M.Sc.A in Water Management from the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Mr. Harvey was, for eight years, President of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), the Québec agency responsible for the public part of the environmental evaluation and assessment process. He held several positions within the Ministère des Richesses naturelles and the Ministère de l’Environnement, including, Director General of the Water Resources, Director General of the Environment and the Economy and Assistant Deputy Minister for Sustainable Development within the Ministère de l’Environnement.
Mr. Harvey has been a member of various organizations related to water and environment management. Notably, he was co-chairman of the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Committee, and under the auspices of the International Joint Commission, he was the Quebec representative on the International St Lawrence River Board of Control and a member of the Conseil d’étude sur le niveau d’eau des Grands Lacs. He was also member of the Board of Directors of Recyc-Québec and Collecte sélective Québec and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
Mr. Harvey received the 2005 Grand Prix d’excellence from the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec – the highest honour for Québec engineers.
Dr. J. Moyra J. McDill
Dr. J. Moyra J. McDill has been a member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission since May 2002.
Dr. McDill, a native of Ottawa, received a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) in 1979, a Master of Materials Engineering in 1980 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering in 1988 from Carleton University. She is currently a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University, where she also served for one year as Associate Chair to the National Science and Engineering Research Council/Nortel Joint Chair Ontario for Women in Science and Engineering and more recently for seven years as Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies.
Dr. McDill has made significant contributions to the cause of women in engineering and holds many academic and teaching awards including the Y-Ottawa Women of Distinction Award (Education) in 2002, the Student’s Choice Award, Best Professor, International Students’ Centre in 2001, the National Academy of Engineering, Gallery of Women in Engineering in 2000, and a Carleton University Teaching Achievement Award in 1997-1998. Dr. McDill was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2004, and in 2009 received the Medal for Engineering Excellence from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
Her major research contribution, with colleagues, has been the development of special elements and techniques useful in analyzing welds, heat transfer and stress in many manufacturing processes.
Mr. Ken Pereira
Mr. Pereira received a Bachelor of Science degree (Mechanical Engineering) in 1968 from the University of London in England. He subsequently obtained a Master of Science degree (Engineering Technology) from the University of Manchester also in England. He has accreditation as a Professional Engineer in Ontario, Canada.
Mr. Pereira has over thirty years experience in nuclear safety working at the regulatory agencies in Canada and the United Kingdom. He held the position of Vice-President, Operations at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission from 2002 until his retirement in 2007. In this role, he was responsible for strategic leadership and direction of the nuclear regulatory program in Canada.
Mr. Pereira has served on a number of national committees and advisory panels. He was a member of a number of committees working on the development of nuclear safety standards with the Canadian Standards Association. From 2002 to 2007, he was the Canadian delegate on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Commission on Safety Standards. In 2007, he was invited to join an External Advisory Panel of the Canadian Federal Executive Committee on Generation IV Reactor Technology.
Mr. Dan D. Tolgyesi
Dan D. Tolgyesi has been appointed a member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and his term begins May 30, 2008.
A resident of Quebec City, Mr. Tolgyesi holds a B.Eng. in Mining Engineering and a Master’s in Mineral Economics from Laval University in Quebec City. For over fifteen years, he has held the position of President of the Quebec Mining Association, the organization responsible for promoting the development of mineral resources and of the mining, metallurgy and related industries in Quebec.
With over thirty years of experience in the mining industry, Mr. Tolgyesi has held operational and supervisory positions at Noranda Inc. and Falconbridge Limited. He managed the Portage, Opémiska and Lac Shortt mines and then, as general manager, was responsible for all the mining operations of Minnova Inc. in Quebec.
Mr. Tolgyesi is involved with various natural resources (mines) and business agencies as well as with associations that protect the health and safety of workers in the mining industry.
He is a member of the boards of directors of several organizations, including the Conseil du patronat du Québec, the Centre patronal en environnement du Québec and MISA (an economic development agency in Abitibi -Témiscamingue), and is co-chair of the Association paritaire pour la santé et la sécurité du travail – Mines (APSM). He was a cofounder of COREM (a consortium of applied research for the treatment and transformation of mineral substances) and SOREDEM (a mining research and development consortium). He is also a member of the mining engineering advisory boards of McGill University, the École Polytechnique de Montréal and Laval University in Quebec City.
Mr. Tolgyesi has several professional affiliations, including the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, the Society of Mining Engineers of AIME (USA) and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK). He is also a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) and the Mine Ventilation Society of South Africa. In 1998, Mr. Tolgyesi received an award of recognition for his outstanding services to the Canadian mining industry and the CIM.
Ms. Rumina Velshi
Ms. Rumina Velshi was appointed as a member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission on December 15, 2011.
Ms. Velshi holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Civil Engineering), Master of Engineering (Chemical Engineering) and a Master of Business Administration, all from the University of Toronto. From June 2010 to December 2011, Ms. Velshi served as a Chairperson of the Board of Referees (Ontario Regional Division), an administrative tribunal responsible for conducting hearings and making decisions on appeals filed pursuant to the Employment Insurance Act. Previously, between 1978 and 2009, she worked in various capacities at Ontario Hydro and Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Most recently, she was Director, Planning and Control, for the Darlington New Nuclear Project. In that role, she was OPG’s commercial lead for the procurement of new nuclear reactors for the Darlington site as well as responsible for developing and implementing the project management infrastructure. The Darlington New Nuclear Project is one of the largest mega capital projects in Canada.
Throughout her career, Ms. Velshi has worked relentlessly on promoting careers in science and engineering, especially for women. She is the founding member of Women in Science and Engineering (Canada), has served on the Board of Directors of Women in Nuclear (WiN) (Canada), and is a member of the Board of Directors of Scientists in School – an organization with the mandate of inspiring an excitement for science and technology in children of all ages. She is the recipient of the 2011WiN Canada Leadership Award.
Ms. Velshi is also very active in international development activities. She is the founding member of Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada, which has since become an internationally recognized humanitarian assistance agency. Ms Velshi currently serves as the Aga Khan Foundation Canada’s City Chair for Toronto for the World Partnership Events, Canada’s largest annual event dedicated to increasing awareness and raising funds to fight global poverty.
