Commission members

Appointments

The Nuclear Safety and Control Act provides for the appointment of up to 7 permanent members, appointed by the Governor in Council based on their qualifications and expertise. Commission members may be removed only for cause. Most members are appointed on a permanent, part-time basis, meaning they also have individual jobs. Temporary members can also be appointed to the Commission. Commission members commit to the highest standards of ethics and conflict-of-interest guidelines, and carry out their duties impartially.

The President of the Commission is appointed to hold office as a Commission member during good behaviour, and is also designated by the Governor in Council to hold office as President – a full-time rather than part-time position.

Permanent members:

• Dr. Timothy Berube
  Acting President
• Ms. Andrea Hardie
• Mr. Jerry Hopwood
• Mr. Randall Kahgee
• Dr. Marcel Lacroix
• Dr. Victoria Remenda

Permanent members

Dr. Timothy Berube

Dr. Timothy Berube was reappointed on April 19, 2022, as a permanent, part-time Commission member for a 5-year term. He began serving as Acting President of the Commission on October 14, 2023.

A resident of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Dr. Berube holds an Electrical Technologist diploma from Confederation College, Ontario; a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from Lakehead University, Ontario; a Master of Business Administration (International) from the University of South Australia; and a Master of Science (Leadership) from Capella University, Minnesota, U.S. He also holds multiple non-secular degrees in metaphysics and divinity from the University of Metaphysical Sciences, California, U.S., culminating in a Doctor of Philosophy (Metaphysical Sciences) and a Doctor of Divinity (Spiritual Counselling).

Dr. Berube has over 30 years of experience in the areas of global leadership, executive management, governance, business development, operations, sales, marketing, engineering, project management and consulting. Included in this profile is a 10-year international portfolio resulting in the creation of 2 multi-million-dollar multinational enterprises.

Dr. Berube's extensive career has been varied. He has held positions with the Canadian Forces Communications Command as Deputy Commanding Officer, Ontario Hydro as a nuclear operator, and with several telecommunications companies in Canada and abroad. He also served as the President and CEO for Westman Communications Group based in western Manitoba.

Dr. Berube is Métis. He has served on multiple for-profit and not-for-profit boards, including: the North West Local Health Integration Network, Digital Engineering Inc., and The Battalion Senate of 18 (Thunder Bay) Service Battalion.

Ms. Andrea Hardie

Ms. Andrea Hardie was appointed on September 25, 2023, as a permanent, part-time Commission member for a 5-year term.

With over 20 years of experience as a strategic leader and engineer within the energy industry, Ms. Hardie brings extensive knowledge on the inner workings of regulatory environments, technical issues facing industry, and balancing stakeholder interests. Throughout her career, she has worked in various capacities with the Canada Energy Regulator, the Alberta Energy Regulator and Energy Efficiency Alberta, in addition to holding industry association and private industry roles.

With a career focus on safety and a passion for building relationships with diverse stakeholder groups, Ms. Hardie has conceived, designed and delivered on strategic initiatives that address the challenges faced by communities, workers, industry and government bodies as the energy industry evolves and transforms across Canada.

Ms. Hardie has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and holds a Professional Engineer designation with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.

Mr. Jerry Hopwood

Mr. Jerry Hopwood was appointed on September 25, 2023, as a permanent, part-time Commission member for a 5-year term.

Since 2016, Mr. Hopwood has served as President of the University Network of Excellence in Nuclear Engineering (UNENE), leading Canada’s university-industry partnership in nuclear research and education.

Mr. Hopwood was educated at Oxford University, where he studied applied physics, and he has over 4 decades of extensive experience in the nuclear industry. After starting out in the nuclear field in Great Britain, he moved to Canada to join Atomic Energy of Canada Limited as a reactor safety specialist. After secondments to Point Lepreau during its initial operation and later to South Korea as technical director for AECL, Mr. Hopwood held progressively senior positions in design, product development and business development with AECL. From 2011 to 2015, he worked with SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis) CANDU Energy as Vice President for Product Development. He has published more than 40 journal articles and conference papers covering all aspects of nuclear technology.

Mr. Hopwood is active internationally, consulting with the IAEA and with the Canadian Nuclear Society. He also serves as the chair of the international Nuclear Education Networks association, covering networks of educators on all continents. In June 2019, he received the CNS/CNA Harold Smith Outstanding Contribution Award for services to the nuclear community.

Mr. Randall Kahgee

Mr. Randall Kahgee was appointed to a 5-year term as a permanent, part-time Commission member on February 26, 2021.

Senior Counsel with Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, Mr. Kahgee specializes in Indigenous rights law, with an emphasis on community-based processes and government-to-government negotiations.

Mr. Kahgee has worked with Indigenous governments across Canada and has participated in significant agreements between Indigenous communities and provincial and federal governments on energy matters, including issues relating to the development of nuclear facilities, transmission lines and renewable energy projects, as well as on environmental matters. He has also been involved in the development of proactive strategies for engaging both proponents and government on mining and resource development. He has extensive experience in consultation and accommodation-related issues, including the development and implementation of processes for the full expression of free, prior and informed consent. He has also been involved in the negotiation and implementation of land claim and self-government agreements and has participated in a number of successful impact benefit negotiations.

As Chief of the Saugeen First Nation for 4 consecutive terms, from June 2006 to June 2014, he dedicated a great deal of his time to the reconciliation of the Crown-First Nation relationship and the full recognition, protection and expression of Indigenous and treaty rights. He has extensive experience in strategic development and in a range of governance-related issues, including the development and implementation of laws, policies and processes. He has also played a key role on a number of important regional and national bodies, including task forces on consultation and accommodation, justice, environment and treaties. Mr. Kahgee is a member of the Saugeen First Nation Council.

Mr. Kahgee is a regular speaker at conferences and law schools on Indigenous legal and political issues. He received his BA from York University and his LLB from the University of Toronto and is called to the bar in Ontario.

Dr. Marcel Lacroix

Dr. Marcel Lacroix was re-appointed on March 25, 2022 as a permanent, part-time Commission member for a five-year term.

A resident of Montréal, Québec, Dr. Lacroix holds a Bachelor’s degree in physics, magna cum laude, from the University of Ottawa, Ontario; as well as a Master’s degree and PhD in nuclear engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal, Québec.

Dr. Lacroix is a full Professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, an engineering consultant and a technical adviser to law firms.

Dr Lacroix has worked in the power and process industry within the private and academic sectors for over 40 years, in America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He worked for Atomic Energy of Canada at the Chalk River nuclear Laboratories and for the Gentilly-2 Nuclear Generating Station’s (Hydro-Québec) Groupe d’analyse nucléaire. Dr. Lacroix was also a full Professor at the Université Claude Bernard of Lyon and at the École des Mines de France. As an energy specialist, he has authored and co-authored hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific papers and he has published several textbooks in thermodynamics, energy and nuclear technologies. During his career, Dr. Lacroix held fifteen invited professorships at foreign universities. He is a keynote speaker at international conferences as well as a public speaker. He appears regularly in the media across Canada to comment on issues pertaining to energy technologies.

Dr. Lacroix is a licensed engineer with the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.

Dr. Victoria Remenda

Dr. Victoria Remenda was appointed on May 18, 2022, as a permanent, part-time Commission member for a term of five years.

She holds a PhD in earth sciences from the University of Waterloo, with a specialty in the hydrogeology of low-permeability earth materials. Dr. Remenda also holds a bachelor of engineering degree and a master of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. She is currently a professor and head of the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering at Queen’s University, and resides in Kingston, Ontario.

Dr. Remenda was inaugural Chair of the CNSC’s Independent Advisory Group on GeoScience, which provides objective, independent advice to CNSC staff on the geoscience aspects for the long-term management of Canada’s used nuclear fuel. This role has allowed her to gain deep knowledge of the scientific, engineering, regulatory and stakeholder issues of siting and constructing a deep geological repository for the management of high-level nuclear waste.

A member of Queen’s since 1993, and an elected member of the Queen’s Board of Trustees since 2020, Dr. Remenda has extensive experience with legislative procedures and policies. As a professional engineer, scientist, instructor and researcher, she has instructed on the topics of federal and provincial guidelines and legislation concerning the practice of engineering, siting conditions, environmental assessments, and occupational health and safety — to name a few.

Dr. Remenda’s work in a variety of sectors and roles has required her to build relationships, seek partnerships, listen carefully, learn quickly and be prepared to consider and to embrace dissenting ideas and opinions. She has considerable experience evaluating technical and non-technical information from a variety of sources and disciplines.