OVTS 2008 Plenary Speakers

The Honourable Michel Bastarache,
Counsel, Heenan Blaikie and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

"Financial Markets Regulation – A Contrast of Nations"

The Honourable Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache, Counsel, Heenan Blaikie In light of the current U.S. financial markets turmoil, the Honourable Michel Bastarache contrasts risks and protections afforded by the regulatory and legal environments on either side of the border. Mr. Bastarche will also provide some commentary on recent Supreme Court cases relevant to the audience.

Mr. Bastarache joined Heenan Blaikie's Ottawa office in 2008 as counsel in its Litigation Group. A distinguished jurist, scholar, professor, prolific author, as well as businessman, he possesses an exceptionally rich background and experience.

For more than a decade, Mr. Bastarache served as Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada rendering rulings that spanned a spectrum of issues as well as a large number of cases related to the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Preceding his appointment to the Supreme Court, Mr. Bastarache served as a Judge of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, where he presided over cases in a variety of fields, including constitutional, administrative and criminal law.

Prior to his judicial appointments, Mr. Bastarache was very much involved in the academic, government, business and legal communities. He was a legal translator for the Government of New Brunswick, Secretary General of the Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau Brunswick, a law professor and Dean at the University of Moncton Faculty of Law, Director General of the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada Promotion of Official Languages Branch, and Associate Dean of the Common Law section at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.

He also worked for the Assumption Mutual Life Insurance Company where he was appointed Vice-President and Director of Marketing and later President and Chief Executive Officer. In addition, he worked in private practice in Ottawa and Moncton.

Throughout his exceptional career, Mr. Bastarache was awarded numerous honorary degrees, prestigious decorations and awards in recognition of his outstanding leadership in private practice, legal education and public service. A Goodman Fellow of the University of Toronto and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Bastarache was recognized on numerous occasions for his significant contributions and commitment to French-speaking and Acadian communities across Canada.

Mr. Bastarache has sat on countless boards and committees involving legal education and the practice of law, and was quite active in the business community. He was a member of the editorial boards of the Revue générale de droit international, the Revue québécoise de droit international, the Revue générale de droit of the University of Ottawa and the Revue du Nouvel Ontario of Laurentian University. He was Associate Editor of the review C’est ton droit, Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Bar Review, Vice-Chair of the National Judicial Institute, a member of the Canadian National Group to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and, since 2003, has been a member of the University of Ottawa’s Common Law Honour Society.

Mr. Bastarache has edited and authored numerous publications and books including Language Rights in Canada, Les Droits linguistiques au Canada, Précis du droit des biens réels and The Law of Bilingual Interpretation.

Stephen S. Poloz,
Senior Vice-President, Financing, Export Development Canada

"The Impact of Global Economic and Financial Markets Upheaval on the Technology Sector"

Senior Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Chief Economist, Export Development Canada The past four years have seen red-hot global growth, capping a global expansion that experienced just one brief interruption in 16 years. Excesses built up during the four-year heyday are now being unwound. In the current market disorientation, many are wondering if the global integration of trade and investment are at risk. Slower demand growth and a rising wave of protectionism threaten to undermine the extraordinary advances trade has experienced in the past cycle. What is more, financial market turmoil is putting access to capital at risk. Mr. Poloz will trace out recent developments in global economic and financial markets and gauge their likely impact on the technology sector.

Mr. Poloz joined EDC in 1999 as Chief Economist. Today, he heads up EDC’s Corporate Affairs Group, which is responsible for strategic planning, corporate communications, public affairs, government and stakeholder relations, international relations, environmental risk, engineering, political risk, the information centre and economics.

Mr. Poloz was managing editor of The International Bank Credit Analyst, with Montreal-based BCA Research, from 1996-99. Prior to that, he spent 14 years with the Bank of Canada, where his last position was chief of the Research Department. He has been a visiting scholar at the Economic Planning Agency in Tokyo and at the IMF in Washington. He has served on the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of Economics, on the executive council of the Canadian Economics Association, as President of the Ottawa Economics Association, and on the advisory board of the John Deutsch Institute for the Study of Economic Policy at Queen’s University. Mr. Poloz holds a PhD and M.A. in economics from the University of Western Ontario, and a B.A. in economics from Queen’s University.

Export Development Canada provides financing and insurance to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC helps 7000 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining and is a recognized leader in financial reporting, economic analysis and human resource management.