Thank you.
Returning to testify before a parliamentary committee takes me back to some very good times I had on Parliament Hill, not as a member of Parliament, like you, but as an officer of Parliament, specifically as the Commissioner of Official Languages, a position I held from 1999 to 2006.
This morning, I will spend the few minutes you've given me to present a brief history of my journey with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. I have had ties with the foundation since 2008, when I was appointed as a mentor to two doctoral candidates who are now full professors at Quebec universities.
I then continued my involvement in the foundation's alumni network. I was vice-president of the network until 2015. The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation then asked me to sit on the selection committee for the president and CEO in 2018. That committee was chaired by the chair of the board of directors at the time, John McCall MacBain. Pascale Fournier, who I believe you've already met, is the candidate the committee selected.
I subsequently had the privilege of sitting on the advisory committee on the review of the strategic plan, which was led by Dr. Fournier. The result of this exercise, which was colossal, I must say, spread across the country. It really set the foundation's programs and operations on a completely new path focused on servant leadership, inclusion and diversity.
In May 2020, the chair of the board of directors at the time, Patrick Pichette, invited me to join the board of directors. I was appointed vice-chair of the board of directors in March 2021 and a member of the foundation's executive committee. At that time, I also sat on the strategic advisory committee charged with selecting the scientific cycles for the 2021 cohort, the “Language, Culture and Identity” cycle; for the 2022 cohort, the “Global Economies” cycle; and, more recently, for the 2023 cohort, the “Canada in the World: The Future of Foreign Policy” cycle.
I was also appointed to the governance committee responsible for policy and good governance. In addition, I sat on the mentor and fellow selection committee for 2022 and 2023.
That was an overview of my involvement with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation over the past 15 years.
In closing, I'd like to say that I fully support the mission and values of the foundation, particularly since the program review and management policies developed under Pascale Fournier's outstanding leadership.
I regret that a governance crisis has precipitated her and the chief financial officer's resignation, as well as my own resignation from the board of directors and that of seven other colleagues and board members. However, I remain a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation because of my status as a former mentor.
Thank you for your time. To the best of my ability, I'm prepared to answer any questions you may have on the subject your committee is currently studying.