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:
- Ms. Rumina Velshi
President - Dr. Timothy Berube
- Mr. Randall Kahgee
- Dr. Marcel Lacroix
- Dr. Victoria Remenda
Permanent members
Ms. Rumina Velshi
Rumina Velshi was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the CNSC in August 2018.
Ms. Velshi has had a long association with the CNSC, having been a Commission member from 2011 until her appointment as President and CEO.
Ms. Velshi has extensive technical, regulatory and adjudication expertise in the energy industry. Throughout her career, she has worked in various capacities at Ontario Hydro and Ontario Power Generation, the electrical utilities in the province. Ms. Velshi also previously served as a part-time Board member of the Ontario Energy Board, the economic regulator of the province’s electricity and natural gas sectors.
In February 2020, Ms. Velshi was appointed Chairperson of the Commission on Safety Standards (CSS), established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for a four-year term.
Ms. Velshi very actively promotes careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), especially for young women. Since joining the CNSC as President and CEO, she has launched a women-in-STEM initiative to consider ways to support women in STEM careers at the CNSC and elsewhere, and to further STEM education by working with interested partners. She has also delivered several international keynote addresses about breaking down barriers for women in STEM.
Ms. Velshi was one of the founding members of Canada's Women in Science and Engineering and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Institute for Women in Engineering and Science (CIWES), an institute that advances education in the STEM fields worldwide through an international network of organizations, foundations and experts.
She has served as Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors of Scientists in School, a non-profit organization that offers STEM-focused workshops to more than 700,000 students each year. Ms. Velshi is one of 150 Canadian women whose stories are compiled in Your Turn, a book published to mark Canada's 150th anniversary and inspire the next generation of women leaders.
Ms. Velshi holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in civil engineering, a Master of Engineering degree in chemical engineering and a Master of Business Administration, all from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Timothy Berube
Dr. Timothy Berube was reappointed on April 19, 2022, as a permanent, part-time Commission member for a 5-year term.
A resident of Brandon, Manitoba, 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 currently serves 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. He currently sits on the board of directors with the Manitoba Cooperative Association. He is frequently engaged in community stakeholder meetings and events across a broad spectrum of the Western Manitoba 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.
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