Members of the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security
Mr. Leo Adler graduated from McGill University and then attended Osgoode Hall Law School, graduating in 1973. While in law school Mr. Adler co-authored a report entitled "The Police Function in Our Changing Society" for the Solicitor-General of Canada. In 1972-1973, Mr. Adler was named Special Project Director for the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario and worked with the Chief Judge of the (then) Provincial Court (Family Division) in the complete re-organization and overhaul of that court.
Mr. Adler was called to the Ontario Bar in 1975, and eventually opened his own law firm, now known as Adler Bytensky Prutschi.
While Mr. Adler's practice is almost exclusively criminal, he has also appeared before various boards and tribunals and at inquests. He has acted as counsel in extradition matters, trials and administrative and quasi-criminal hearings throughout Ontario, as well as in other provinces. Mr. Adler's experience in DNA cases and other forensic issues has caused him to be consulted by other counsel for these and other legal issues.
Mr. Adler has authored numerous articles that have been published in a variety of journals. He has appeared frequently as a commentator with regards to the criminal justice system. As well, he has either spoken to or chaired a number of committees, groups and seminars dealing with different aspects of criminal law.
Mr. Adler is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where he now teaches International Criminal Law. He has also lectured or spoken at various other law schools.
From 1999 to 2009, Mr. Adler was the Director of National Affairs for Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. In that capacity, Mr. Adler was responsible for the NGO's social action programs and national public relations campaigns and regularly met with Government Ministers, diplomats, politicians and other officials.
Mr. Riazuddin Ahmed of Alberta holds a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Mr. Ahmed recently retired from the Government of Saskatchewan after working in various senior corporate planning, program management and administrative capacities. As a professional urban planner, Mr. Ahmed has extensive experience in community work, including organizing the 2004 Muslims for Peace and Justice Conference in Regina as well as a number of community workshops on the Anti-Terrorism Act for the Muslim community in Regina. He is also a founding member and two-term chair of the Regina Multifaith Forum (1993-2004) and is a founding member and community liaison director for Regina Muslims for Peace and Justice (2001-2004).
Dr. David Bensoussan of Quebec holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from McGill University. He has been a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the École de technologie supérieure de l'Université du Québec since 1980. Currently, Dr. Bensoussan is the President of the Communauté Sépharade Unifiée du Québec and has been involved in philanthropic and community organizations for many years. He has published extensively in the telecommunications and energy fields and has filed a large number of patents. He has also written a number of literary works, including a Bible commentary. His other accomplishments include receiving a fellowship from the Matsumae International Foundation in Japan in 1988 and the Prix du mérite et d'excellence du Centre communautaire juif in 2001.
Dr. Frank Dimant of Ontario was educated at Yeshiva University and McGill's Graduate School of Sociology. In May of 2004, Dr. Dimant received an honorary doctorate from Canada Christian College. He serves on several community boards in Israel and Canada, including York Region Neighbourhood Services, the Ramot Shapiro Youth Town and the World Zionist Assembly. In January 2005, he became a member of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Advisory Council. He was appointed to the Mayor's Community Task Force on Safety and Security, as well as serving on the Toronto Police Chief's Advisory Board. In recognition of his commitment to human rights, Dr. Dimant was inducted as Honourary Chief of First Nations Keewatin Tribal Council. He is currently the Executive Vice President of B'nai Brith Canada and the CEO of the organization's Institute for International Affairs and the League for Human Rights. He also serves as publisher of Canada's largest Anglo-Jewish publication, The Jewish Tribune. Dr. Dimant is a frequent lecturer, writer and media commentator on both Israeli and Middle Eastern affairs and world Jewish issues.
Mr. Peter Dinsdale of Ontario holds a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Laurentian University. He is currently the Executive Director of the National Association of Friendship Centres. He has been involved with a number of urban Aboriginal organizations, both as an employee and a board member. While employed with the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres, Mr. Dinsdale worked on provincial urban Aboriginal homelessness programming, and youth employment and training initiatives. Previously, he worked with urban Aboriginal youth at Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, developing alternative education programs. Mr. Dinsdale is a member of Curve Lake First Nation.
Ms. Rita Giang has been in Canada since October 1970. She received two Bachelors of Arts degrees from the National University of Cheng Chi in Taipei and from the University of Toronto majoring in Political Science. Over the past 40 years in Canada, Rita has worked in many Chinese media venues, including newspapers and television. She is now the news controller at Fairchild TV in Toronto for which she supervises a staff of 40, the daily news production, as well as four weekly news magazines.
Rita is also a productive writer. She has written columns for many local newspapers, magazines, as well as for many papers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. She has written eight books, five of them published. She just finished a book on Canadian history, which, when published, will be the first comprehensive Canadian history book in Chinese.
Mr. Hussein Hamdani of Ontario holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Toronto. Mr. Hamdani is currently a Barrister and Solicitor with Simpson Wiggle LLP and a law instructor at Niagara College. He also serves as a Public Relations Officer with the Halton Islamic Association and a Senior Advisor to the Muslim Youth of North America Organization. Mr. Hamdani is a Director on the Board of the Hamdani Foundation of St. Catharines and the Settlement and Integration Services Organization of Hamilton. He co-coordinated the Toronto Muslim Summit in 2003 and is a founding member of the Ihya Foundation.
Mr. Ahmed Hussen graduated from York University with a BA in History in 2002. He has always demonstrated a keen interest in improving the community around him. Mr. Hussen was the founder of the Regent Park Community Council, which is the official voice of the residents of the Regent Park community on matters like the $500 million revitalization and redevelopment project in Regent Park. He was charged with the responsibility of consulting with the community and providing the necessary leadership to ensure that the interests of the approximately 15, 000 residents of the area are protected as this project is implemented. This Project is the largest urban public housing redevelopment project in Canada.
His success as a community activist was recognized in the fact that he was profiled on the front page of the Toronto Star newspaper on January 1st, 2004 as a community activist and as one of ten individuals in Toronto who have made substantial contributions in a number of fields such as science, sports, business and community service. He was also awarded a Queen's Jubilee medal and the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Authority Award for his effective advocacy work in Regent Park. Ahmed is involved in the Canadian International Peace Project (CIPP) as its director of communications and sits on the task force for modernizing income security for working age adults of the Toronto City Summit Alliance. His interest in politics and public service led him to start volunteering in the legislative assembly of Ontario in the fall of 2001. In January 2002, Ahmed was hired by the office of the leader of the official opposition in Ontario to become an assistant to the honourable Dalton McGuinty. He held this position for three years and he was eventually promoted to become Premier McGuinty's Special Assistant in November 2003 when the Liberals won the election in Ontario. He served as Premier McGuinty's Special Assistant for intergovernmental affairs in charge of issues management, communications and policy and he held this position for 2 years. He then chose to study law at the University of Ottawa. He has appeared in various media outlets in order to comment on issues affecting the Canadian Somali community and the peace process in Somalia. He has in the past worked with the RCMP's Youth Engaged in National Security Issues committee and is currently the National President of the Canadian Somali Congress. It is in this national leadership role that Ahmed has partnered with the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Canadian International Peace Project to create the Canadian Somali-Jewish Mentorship Project. This is the first national project in Canada between the Jewish community and a large Muslim community.
Mr. Soon Kim, a Chartered Accountant, is founder and president of Newgen Group of Companies, a leading real estate development and financial management company based in Burnaby, BC. In this role, Soon provides the overall vision and leadership for Newgen's various business lines. He has an exemplary track record of success in both entrepreneurial ventures and real estate investments. His passion and dedication to building stronger communities has led to over $200 million in real estate development projects including various residential, commercial and mixed used properties across Canada since 1997.
Since he immigrated to Canada in 1979, Soon has been a staunch believer in philanthropy and community involvement. He supports various charitable and non-profit organizations – most recently donating a condo unit at the Ridge Resort development to BC Children's Hospital Foundation. A graduate of UBC Commerce, he is also a past nominee for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He currently lives in Coquitlam with his wife and two children.
Dr. Myrna Lashley of Quebec, Chair of the Roundtable, holds a PhD in Counselling Psychology from McGill University. She has been a Professor of Psychology at John Abbott College in Montreal since 2003 and was recently appointed Vice-President of the Governing Board of the École nationale de Police du Québec. Dr. Lashley has served as a consultant to the Jewish Family Services Centre, as well as the Ville Marie Social Services, both of Montreal. She was a member of the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations from 1999-2002 and is the Recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award from the City of Montreal in 2004, an award presented to an individual whose contributions to the community exemplify the work of Dr. King.
Ms. Sharon Ross attended Mount Saint Vincent University, earning a Business Administration degree. Sharon began her career with the federal public service in 1982 serving in several departments and central agencies in the Maritimes and Ontario and retired as Senior Manager at Service Canada in 2008. Previously, she held various positions at Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat including the Task Force on an Inclusive Public Service. Before joining Treasury Board Secretariat, Sharon's work was closely aligned to enriching Canada's cultural heritage through her work with the Department of Canadian Heritage in the Multiculturalism Program and Parks Canada with the National Historic Sites as National Audio Visual Policy Project Manager and for the Historic Sites and Monuments Act amendments. She held a variety of regional managerial positions with the Public Service Commission of Canada specializing in the analysis and interpretation of legislation and policy related to human resource management, as well as the regional revenue dependency pilot program for Public Works Canada, Atlantic Region. Earlier in her professional development included hosting and coordinating community television programming for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and serving as Executive Assistant to the Executive Director at the Halifax Infirmary Hospital.
Over the years Sharon has contributed voluntarily to numerous non-governmental organizations focusing on social, cultural and heritage issues affecting Canadian citizens. For example, she served on the Advisory Committee of the Conference Board of Canada regarding diversity issues resulting in the production of one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted in Canada regarding the barriers to the advancement in the public and private sectors, of visible minorities. In March 2005 this study entitled "Business Critical: Maximizing the talents of Visible Minorities, an Employers Guide" was released and makes a business case for hiring visible minorities. She was a founding member and served as 2nd Vice President over a three year period to the People's Forum a non-profit organization mandated to create a collective voice for Canada's Visible Minorities on issues that affect them, their families and communities. She considers the task given to her over 25 years ago, by the Society for the Preservation and Protection of Black Culture in Nova Scotia, to launch the design and fundraising campaign for the million dollar 'Black Cultural Centre' as one of the proudest achievements in her life. The Centre has served as the chronicler of contributions made by Black Nova Scotians to Canadian Society over the past 400 years. Currently she serves as Member of the Board of Governors of the Nova Scotia Museum and Member of the Board of Directors (NS Central) of the Federal Superannuates National Association.
Ms. Bronwyn Shoush of Alberta is an Aboriginal lawyer, member of the Law Society of Alberta, and since 1999 a member of the executive committees of Alberta Justice and Attorney General, Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security, and most recently Alberta Aboriginal Relations. As the Director of Aboriginal Justice Initiatives, she works with Aboriginal communities and others to promote safe communities and confidence in the justice system. She has served on a number of Taskforces and Boards including the Canada Employment and Immigration Advisory Council, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative (CBCRI), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (IAPH), the Premier's Taskforce on Crystal Methamphetamine, the Alberta Cancer Board; and is a Board member of the University of Alberta Centre for Constitutional Studies. Bronwyn has spoken at provincial, national and international conferences on justice, health, and security themes. In 1992, she received the Canada 125 medal for outstanding service to community.
Ms. Yusra Siddiquee of Ontario was called to the Bar in 1996. She graduated from the University of British Columbia law school and holds a bachelors degree from McGill University. Ms. Siddiquee is a partner at the law firm of Ogilvy Renault and leads the Business Immigration and International Mobility practice group in Toronto. She has been selected as a leading specialist in her field by international publications. Ms. Siddiquee is a founding member and Chair of the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association. She has been actively involved in human rights, refugee protection and immigration awareness issues for over 20 years. Ms. Siddiquee has made representations on civil liberties issues to the Senate sub-committee, and has spoken and written on immigration and human rights issues domestically and internationally.
Mr. Sukhvinder Singh Badh of British Columbia holds a Masters in Economics from Simon Fraser University. He is currently an instructor at the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Department of Economics and the Douglas College Department of Economics. Mr. Badh's qualifications to serve the ethnic community are enhanced by his work in International Business Studies at the University College of the Cariboo, along with a number of active roles in student and curriculum/program development. His many service roles include his participation on the Advisory Committee on the Environment to City Council for the City of Richmond, his role as Trustee for the CKNW Radio Orphans' Fund, Chair of the Richmond Hospital Foundation, and as a Richmond Youth Soccer coach.
Ms. Anju Virmani of Ontario holds a B.Sc. and B.Ed. from the University of Delhi, India, and an MBA from Baruch College, City University of New York. She has a keen interest in corporate governance and holds the designation of Charter Director of McMaster University. Since 2001, she has been the Chief Information Officer of Cargojet Canada, the country's cargo airline. Ms. Virmani has been an adviser and consultant in the field of information technology for more than 20 years in both Canada and the U.S. She currently serves on the Advisory Council for National Security, a body that advises the Prime Minister on all issues related to national security. Ms. Virmani also serves on the board of TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, a global, non-profit organization of entrepreneurs and professionals that nurture entrepreneurship through networking, mentoring and knowledge sharing. She has served on the Trade Committee of the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Board of Spatialview, Inc., and has served as a member of the Panorama India Board. Ms. Virmani is involved in activities and leadership conferences that bridge the gaps between India and Canada and bring both countries together.