Membership

Biographies of the Expert Panel on Equalization and Territorial Formula Financing

Al O'Brien (Chair)
Mr. O'Brien retired as Deputy Provincial Treasurer of Alberta in 1999 after a 35-year career in the Alberta Public Service. Mr. O'Brien is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Economics at the University of Alberta, and a Director of ATB Financial and of Cordiant Capital Inc. (Montréal). He is also a Senior Fellow of the C. D. Howe Institute, a member of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University, and a member of the Investment Committee of the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund. Mr. O'Brien received a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Alberta.

Fred Gorbet
Mr. Gorbet is Principal in Strategy Solutions, a public policy consulting company he founded in 1997. He is also the CIT Chair in Financial Services and Co-Director of the Financial Services Program at the Schulich School of Business, York University. Mr. Gorbet spent some 24 years in the Public Service of Canada, and served in senior positions including Deputy Minister of Finance (1988–92). He held senior positions in the life insurance industry and served as Executive Director of the Task Force on the Future of the Canadian Financial Services Sector. Mr. Gorbet received a PhD in Economics from Duke University and is a member of the Order of Canada.

Robert Lacroix
Dr. Lacroix is the Rector of the Université de Montréal, former Director of the Economics Department of the Université de Montréal and Founder of the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations (CIRANO). Dr. Lacroix is a Board Member for the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada as well as the President of the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec. Dr. Lacroix has participated in many advisory bodies dealing with the financing of post-secondary education. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He is a Member of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the Order of Quebec, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Elizabeth Parr-Johnston
Dr. Elizabeth Parr-Johnston heads Parr Johnston Economic and Policy Consultants and served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of New Brunswick and Mount Saint Vincent University. She held senior positions at Inco Ltd. and Shell Canada Ltd., was chief of staff to the federal Minister of Employment and Immigration and taught at the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Parr-Johnston is a director of the Bank of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Power, the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the Canada Foundation for Sustainable Development Technology.

Michael B. Percy
Dr. Percy is dean of the School of Business at the University of Alberta. He served as co-chair of the Alberta Premier's 1997 Economic Growth Summit and took academic leave in 1993 to serve in the Alberta Legislative Assembly. Dr. Percy is the past president of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, has contributed to several health care funding review panels and is actively involved in several initiatives promoting sustainable development. Dr. Percy has authored many books and articles in the fields of public policy, international trade and economic development. He serves as director on the Boards of EPCOR Utilities Inc., Timber Investments Ltd., Riverside and Matrikon Inc. Dr. Percy received a PhD in Economics from Queen's University.

Last Updated: 2010-07-31		Important Notices