CIPMM REGIONAL WORKSHOP SPEAKERS BIOS
Opening Keynote: Procurement Modernization
Carolyne Blain, Director General, Strategic Policy Sector Procurement Branch, PSPC
Carolyne Blain is Director General of the Strategic Policy Sector for PSPC’s Acquisition Program. She joined the department in March 2016. In this role, Carolyne is responsible for providing strategic advice and direction related to federal procurement. She is also leading a number of initiatives supporting the government’s Procurement Modernization Agenda. Prior to assuming this role, Carolyne spent 13 years at Environment and Climate Change Canada occupying several functions, including Executive Director for the Mining and Processing Division, Director of the Waste Reduction and Management Division, Director of Regulatory Affairs Division and Director of the Biotechnology Secretariat. Before joining ECCC, she worked with the Treasury Board Secretariat and with the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Carolyne has been with the federal public service for over 27 years. She has a BSc in Biology and an MBA from the University of Ottawa.
Session # 1 - Fairness Monitoring
Steve Johnston, Managing Director, RFP Solutions Inc.
Steve Johnston is the Managing Director of RFP Solutions Inc., specializing in providing procurement and fairness support to all levels of the public sector in Canada. Steve is a Fairness Specialist for Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Fairness Monitoring Program. Prior to joining RFP solutions in 2010, Steve enjoyed a career in the Federal Public Service for more than 35 years.
Steve has over 30 years of experience in public sector procurement. In the last 5 years alone, he has provided Fairness Monitor and Advisory services to over 50 high profile public procurement projects, including a variety of infrastructure, capital equipment, complex services and solutions’ acquisitions, across a variety of sectors; collectively valued at over $12 Billion.
Steve is the former Corporate Secretary for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (now Indigenous and Northern Affairs). As a member of the department’s Senior Executive Committee, he was responsible for providing executive support and planning to the Minister’s and Deputy Minister’s offices, as well as for the corporate management of the department’s Access to Information and Privacy and Indian and Inuit Art Centre programs. Steve established the department’s Centre for Integrity, Values and Conflict Resolution and served as Senior Integrity Officer. In this role, Steve was the Departmental liaison to the Procurement Ombudsman on fairness, and was also responsible for conducting investigations and reviews into procurement and fairness issues.
Prior to his appointment as Corporate Secretary, Steve served as INAC’s Director of Administrative Services for nine years where he was responsible for a wide range of support services, including the management of the department’s $250 million plus annual procurement program and management of departmental assets and property. During this time, Steve was a very active member of the federal procurement and real property communities, serving on various interdepartmental fora. He was a member of CIPMM’s Board of Directors for many years and served both as President for three (3) terms and as past president. He was also a founding member of the Real Property Institute of Canada. In 2012, Steve received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to the Federal Public Service.
Session # 2 - Client Relations
Caroline Landry, Regional Director, National Capital Region, PSPC
Caroline hails from Atlantic Canada and joined the federal public service in 2000 after a lengthy career in the regional economic development field. In 2008, she moved to Ottawa to join Public Works and Government Services Canada, Acquisitions Branch. Caroline is currently an Account Executive for the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises and Strategic Engagement.
Caroline holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Session # 3 - The Impact of Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements (CLCA's) on your process
Dennis Brunner, Senior Advisor, Treaties & Aboriginal Government, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
Dennis is a federal government employee with many years of experience in the fields of contracting, policy development, professional training and development, systems design, accounting and finance.
He is currently a senior advisor with the Implementation Branch at Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. He provides advice and guidance to federal government contracting and project authorities when their contractual requirement is a deliverable of a good, service or construction in a Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (CLCA) area.
He has built Aboriginal Benefits Plans to address CLCA contracting obligations for major projects such as the DND Alert Bay facility in Nunavut, the 5 Wing Goose Bay care and maintenance in Labrador, and the North Warning System.
Dennis has trained over 2,700 federal government employees on CLCA contracting obligations. In addition, he has provided contracting related awareness sessions to numerous CLCA signatories.
Dennis has an outstanding grasp of the complex constitutionally protected contracting obligations found in CLCAs.
Session # 4 – Build in Canada Innovation Program
Kevin Turner, Regional Manager, PSPC
Kevin Turner is the Regional Director, Office of Small & Medium Enterprises (OSME) of Public Works and Government Services Canada. The office’s role is to help Western region companies learn what products & services the Government of Canada buys and how the procurement processes work. OSME is also responsible for the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) which helps companies bridge the pre-commercialization gap by procuring and testing late stage innovative goods and services within the federal government before taking them to market.
Kevin brings a wealth of varied and diverse experience to the OSME role. Graduating from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing and labour relations, he joined his family-owned industrial manufacturing business where he gained valuable experience in small business operations. From there he moved on to the Province of Alberta where he progressed through increasingly responsible managerial positions, and then took the opportunity to become the Canadian account executive for a multinational gaming manufacturer before venturing into the consulting world providing business advisory services to small businesses. This blend of private and public experience, coupled with his broad knowledge of client and stakeholder relations, allows him to help educate and assist small and medium enterprises in finding opportunities to do business with the Government of Canada.
Government wide Procurement Modernization
Sarah Paquet, ADM Procurement Modernization Integration Team, TBS and PSPC
On August 2, 2016, Sarah Paquet was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister, Procurement Modernization Integration Team. She reports to the Deputy Minister and to the Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).
The mandate of the Procurement Modernization Integration Team is to make it easier for federal government organizations to buy from suppliers, and for suppliers to sell to the Government of Canada. Ms. Paquet will be responsible for aligning and mobilizing the work of PSPC, TBS and all federal organizations involved in procurement, in order to identify and support key improvements in the federal procurement regime.
Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Paquet served as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Integrated Services Branch, where she led the Client Service Strategy and was responsible for the implementation of major information technology-enabled business solutions, such as GCDOCS, My GCHR, the Shared Case Management System and Shared Travel Services, across more than 100 government departments and agencies.
Before joining the Department, Ms. Paquet worked for the Department of Justice Canada as Executive Director and General Counsel for Public Works and Government Services Canada, as well as for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Legal Services. Prior to this, Ms. Paquet occupied various positions in Health Canada's Legal Services, as well as in its Civil Code Section. She also worked at a general legal practice in Gatineau, which focused on civil, commercial and family law.
Ms. Paquet holds two law degrees from the University of Ottawa: civil law (1993) and common law (2001). She has been a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1994.
Session # 6 - Supplier Engagement
LaVona Parker, Supply Specialist, Acquisitions Branch - Winnipeg, PSPC
La Vona Parker is a Procurement Specialist with the Office of Small & Medium Enterprises (OSME) of Public Works and Government Services Canada. The office’s role is to help Western region companies learn what products & services the Government of Canada buys and how the procurement processes work. Annually it is an $18 billion market, so please talk to La Vona to determine if it should be a target for you.
La Vona has been employed by the federal government for 17 years. She began her career with Health Canada as a Grants and Contribution Officer and moved to Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) in 2008 as a Procurement Specialist. In 2015 she joined OSME bringing a wealth of procurement and supplier engagement experience to the team. She is excited to help educate and inform suppliers on finding opportunities and to assist them in navigating the procurement system.
Session # 7 – Things that make you go hmmm: Tales from the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman
Lisa Teed, Manager of the Intake Team, OPO
Ms. Lisa Teed has been a part of the Office of the Procurement Ombudsman (OPO) for several years. She is currently the Manager of the Intake Team at the Office. She has extensive experience in federal government procurement having spent the bulk of her career at Public Works and Government Services Canada (currently Public Services and Procurement Canada). As Manager of Intake, Lisa’s responsibilities include the review of the procurement practices of federal departments to determine how they are conducting their purchasing activity or how a particular aspect of contracting is carried out across organizations.
Session # 8 - Assets Management
Blair Hurd, Assets Manager, Materiel and Assets Management Division, Health Canada
Blair Hurd is Assets Manager, Materiel and Assets Management Division, Health Canada and has over 15 years experience in the Materials Management field. Blair started his career at Industry Canada in 1998 in the warehouse at the Communications Research Centre and has gained his experience in the field of procurement and assets management over the years. Blair has worked in various modules in SAP, such as the Materials Management Module, the Plant Maintenance Module and the Assets Accounting Module of SAP and is a strong promoter of the systems capabilities.
Session # 9 – Certification Program for the Federal Procurement and Materiel Management Communities
Melody Jeaurond, Senior Advisor and Certification Program Manager Acquired Services and Assets Sector, Office of the Comptroller General, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Melody Jeaurond joined Treasury Board Secretariat in 2014, where she passionately shares her vast knowledge, gained during almost 15 years in procurement operations, as Senior Advisor in the Acquired Services and Assets Sector Communities Management Office, Office of the Comptroller General. She moonlights as the jet-setting representative of the Certification Program for the Federal Government Procurement and Materiel Management Communities. She has a degree in international business from Carleton University and speaks four languages.
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