Biographical notes on Panelists

Marion Dewar

Marion Dewar is a public health nurse (Bsc Nursing,University of Ottawa) who served as Ottawa Alderman from 1972 to 1978 when she was elected Mayor of the City of Ottawa and served as Ottawa Hydro Commissioner, Police Commissioner, on the Boards of Ottawa Carleton Economic Development Corporation, Ottawa Civic Hospital, Tourist and Convention Bureau, and as Member of the Executive Committee of the Corporation of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa Carleton. She retired from the mayoralty in 1985 after serving three terms. Ms Dewar served as NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain from 1987-1988, and as Executive Director of the Canadian Council on Children and Youth from 1988 to 1992. Ms Dewar has also served on the Ottawa Carleton Police Services Board, the Carleton University Board of Governors, and the Board of the Centre for Children at Risk. She serves as Past Chair of the Oxfam Canada Board of Directors, and Vice Chair of the Board of the Ottawa University Heart Institute.

Kenneth C. Binks, Q.C.

Kenneth Binks has a long history of public service as a judge, politician, legal counsel and Crown Attorney, journalist and author, and supporter of the arts and local institutions. Between 1991 and 2000, Mr. Binks was a justice with the Superior Court of Ontario. As a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada he has taken leading roles such as National Secretary of the Party and as a Member of Parliament (1979-80). As a journalist he has written syndicated columns (“Of Cabbage and Kings”), and has authored works such as Canada’s Parliamentary Library. He has taken an active role in promoting community institutions such as Little Theatre, the Presbyterian Church and the Grace Hospital. Educated at Queen’s, the University of Saskatchewan and Cambridge, he is married and has four children.

Right Reverend Peter R. Coffin, STB, MA, DD

Ordained to the Anglican ministry in 1971, Peter R. Coffin became the eighth bishop of Ottawa in September 1999. As well as serving for three years in Malaysia where he taught Biblical Theology, Peter has served many parishes in the Ottawa Region – in both the anglophone and francophone communities, and was Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of Ottawa for nine years. His interests in overseas aid and development, and in human rights, have taken him to a number of Asian and African countries.  Another of his “passions” is relations with First Nations people. Educated at Dalhousie University, Trinity College, Toronto and Carleton University, Peter has been honoured with a DD (honoris causa) from King’s College. He is married with one daughter.

Jacqueline Pelletier

Jacqueline Pelletier is an organizational development facilitator and trainer for business, organization, and government clients, who has hosted Canadian Center for Management Development discussions and Business Television (BTV) seminars. For over ten years, Jacqueline hosted a variety of prime-time programs on TVOntario's French language network, TfO. She is a graduate of Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, past Chair of La Nouvelle Scène, Ottawa’s French language theatrical center, a founding director of La Cité collégiale Board, member of the 1992 Guyana election-observation team headed by former American President Jimmy Carter, and a Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Pléiade de l'Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie. In 2001, Jacqueline was honoured by the government of Canada for her service and contribution as a volunteer.

Dr. Anne Squire

Dr. Anne Squire was the first Lay woman to be elected Moderator of the United Church of Canada (1986-1988).  That appointment recognized the leadership she has given the church in the ministry of the laity, in women's concerns, and in the understanding of human sexuality. Trained as a teacher, Dr. Squire has been involved in teaching, curriculum development and educational leadership all of her life. Between 1975 and 1982 she was an adjunct professor at Carleton University, teaching courses in Women and Religion.  From 1982 to 1985 she was General Secretary of the Division of Ministry Personnel and Education for the United Church of Canada. Since her retirement in 1985 she has been involved in interfaith dialogue, palliative care issues, and issues of peace, justice, and the environment.