Political Science Professor at St. Thomas University

Dr. Bateman was born in Toronto and has lived in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Camrose, and now Fredericton. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Calgary. His MA thesis, entitled “The Law and Politics of Human Rights in British Columbia, 1983-1984,” is a study of the law and politics of changes to British Columbia’s human rights legislation. His PhD is from the University of Alberta. His dissertation, “Charter Rights Application Doctrine and the Clash of Constitutionalisms in Canada” is a study of the implications of the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of Canadian Charter of Rights provisions setting out the institutions and entities bound by Charter rights.

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Dr. Bateman has taught political science at Calgary’s Mount Royal College, Augustana University College in Camrose, Alberta, and has taught at St. Thomas University since 2003, where he has served as Chair of Political Science and as a member of the University’s Great Books Program.

Parliamentary and Political Party Strengthening Consultant

Elizabeth Weir served as a Canadian parliamentarian for 14 years, winning four elections.  As leader of the province’s New Democratic Party, she was the first woman party leader elected to serve in the Legislative Assembly.

Ms. Weir gained national recognition for her work as a parliamentarian.  She has extensive experience in both budgetary and legislative parliamentary oversight through her work as a parliamentary committee member.  As a legislator, she successfully secured government support for several Private Member’s Bills – more than any other Canadian legislator during her terms as a parliamentarian.  In 2004, she was appointed to chair a Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly which required a comprehensive public consultation and produced a consensus committee report.

In 2005, Ms. Weir left public office and was appointed as president and CEO to establish the province’s first energy efficiency and conservation agency.  Under her stewardship, Efficiency NB became a national leader in energy efficiency programs and services for residents, businesses and industrial clients, winning an international award for its industrial energy efficiency program. 

Ms. Weir has extensive experience in working with parliamentarians and political party activists in developing democracies and post-conflict states to strengthen their capacities in governance and oversight.  She has participated as a trainer and speaker in 19 countries in North and West Africa, Central and South Asia, the South Pacific, Eastern Europe and Northern Ireland working with the National Democratic Institute, U.N.D.P., the O.S.C.E. and the World Bank Institute.

Elizabeth Weir is an accredited member of U.N.D.P.’s Democratic Governance Roster of Experts in Parliamentary Strengthening.

She has also served as a member of international election missions in Tunisia (2011, 2014), Morocco (2011), Georgia (2012).  In 2013, she was a member of the Leadership Team for the National Democratic Institute’s observation mission in Jordan’s parliamentary elections.

A lawyer by training, Ms. Weir lives in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada and she and her husband, James Stanley, have one daughter, Sarah Stanley.

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Julie Gelfand was appointed as Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in March 2014.

Before joining the Office of the Auditor General, Ms. Gelfand held the positions of Chief Advisor at Rio Tinto Canada and of Vice-President of Environment and Social Responsibility at the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).

Prior to joining IOC, Ms. Gelfand was Vice-President, Sustainable Development at the Mining Association of Canada and co-chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Centre of Excellence, under the federal CSR Strategy for the Canadian International Extractive Sector.

From 1992 to 2008, she served as President of Nature Canada. She also founded and chaired the Green Budget Coalition.

Auditor General of Alberta

Merwan Saher was appointed Auditor General of Alberta in April 2010. His career as a legislative auditor began with the Office of the Auditor General in 1980, where he has engaged in various roles. Throughout his professional journey within the office, Merwan’s devotion to improving the Alberta public service has grown unceasingly, fuelling his decision to dedicate his career to the province. With nearly four decades of service in the Office of the Auditor General of Alberta, Merwan has shown an unwavering commitment to helping government managers wisely use the funds and resources that have been entrusted to them.

Merwan became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1972, and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 1982. In 2012, he was made a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Alberta (FCA). With his extensive experience and outstanding leadership, he has represented the office in the work of the Canadian Council of Legislative Auditors, and has served on the Public Sector Accounting Board Task Force on Indicators of Financial Condition, as well as a study group on accounting bases used in Canadian government budgeting. Currently, he is a member of CPA Canada’s Public Sector Accounting Board Conceptual Framework Task Force. At the international level, Merwan has provided mentorship and guidance to other governmental auditors in an effort to ensure key learnings are shared on efficiencies in performance auditing.

It is the job of government to communicate relevant and reliable material to Albertans about the effectiveness of government services. This necessary demonstration of accountability for results is why Merwan is focused on promoting the integration of financial and non-financial performance information. With his desire to engage with and communicate key messages to stakeholders, Merwan is determined to have the work of his office effectively deliver information that will ultimately make a difference in the lives of Albertans.

Alberta MLA & Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Scott Cyr was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the constituency of Bonnyville-Cold Lake, on May 5, 2015.

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He currently serves as chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and as a member of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund. Previously Mr. Cyr served as a member of the Select Special Ethics and Accountability Committee and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

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Prior to serving with the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Cyr worked as an accountant for 14 years. Previous to his career in accounting he was a field operator in the oil and gas industry.

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His educational background includes a management degree with a double major in accounting and finance, which he obtained from the University of Lethbridge in 1999. In 2003 he acquired his class 4 power engineering certificate from the Alberta Boilers Safety Association and his registered public accountant designation from the Registered Public Accountants Association.

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An active community member, Mr. Cyr spent two years volunteering as director of the Lakeland Credit Union.

Mr. Cyr along with his family — wife, Megan, and two children, Amelia and Charlotte — reside in Cold Lake where he enjoys reading, gardening, fishing and working on various projects around the home.

Auditor General of Nova Scotia

Mr. Pickup began his ten-year term as Auditor General of Nova Scotia on July 4, 2014.  He obtained his CA designation in 1992 in Nova Scotia and is now a CPA, CA.

He obtained a BA from Acadia University with a focus in Canadian economics and political science.   He leads an office that conducts both financial and performance audits with approximately 10 performance audits per year, as well as the annual financial audit of the Government’s financial statements and other related financial work.

Prior to becoming Auditor General of Nova Scotia, he worked at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada for nearly 25 years, with 15 years in Ottawa and 10 in the Halifax regional Office.  He worked under the leadership of 5 different Auditors General.   During his years in Ottawa he taught in the business schools of both Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.  He has also invested considerable effort to obtain abilities in French including a certificate program at Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia and in-depth individual training full-time in Ottawa. 

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Currently, Mr. Pickup serves on CPA Canada’s Auditing and Assurance Standards Board which sets assurance and related standards for the profession across Canada.  He began his 3-year term on April 1, 2017.  In addition, Michael contributes to the international advancement of the auditing profession through training and presentations with the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (previously CCAF) in Africa and Thailand and a Norwegian-led international peer review of the United States’ Government Accountability Office.  He also does presentations and shares his knowledge at events including:  Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Canada conferences, Institute of Internal Auditors events, and Financial Management Institute of Canada events.

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A very active person, he spends considerable free time pursuing his love for exercise, travel, and gardening to name a few.  

Director of Oversight of the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF)

As the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation's Director of Oversight Lesley leads our oversight program including the management and delivery of capacity building activities and initiatives to support Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and other oversight bodies in Canada and abroad.

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Lesley comes to the Foundation from the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), where she directed the oversight program, conducted research on strengthening legislative oversight and managed projects in the areas of legislative accountability and anti-corruption, including managing and delivering workshops for PAC members.

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She has extensive international experience, including experience with a number of international donor organizations, and has previously worked for the Government of Canada both domestically and internationally.

Lesley holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, an MA in Political Science from the University of Guelph, and an Honours BA in International Development from the University of Guelph.

President and CEO of the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF)

John Reed has been the President and CEO of the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation (CAAF), since July 1, 2016.

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Mr. Reed has worked closely with the Foundation's community over the past four years as its Vice-President responsible for performance audit and oversight. During this time, he has led the development of new innovative products, including our practice guides, discussion papers and other methodology tools, and has also led the renewal of our performance audit training. He has also worked extensively internationally in support of our International Legislative Oversight Program.

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Mr. Reed has been at the Foundation on interchange from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG). He joined the OAG in 1996 and, as a Principal, has extensive experience in leading performance audits in a number of federal departments and agencies including National Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, CIDA, Environment Canada, and Health Canada. Mr. Reed spent many years leading audits of environmental programs and sustainable development strategies for the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Mr. Reed also led the OAG's international environmental auditing-related work, including heading the Working Group on Environmental Auditing of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions.

Prior to joining the OAG, Mr. Reed spent more than a decade in environmental positions in the petroleum industry, with wide ranging responsibilities related to regulatory and public policy development, strategic environmental planning, risk communication, issues management, and environmental auditing. He was a co-founder of the Canadian Environmental Auditing Association and served as its President and Past-President. Mr. Reed also spent three years with Environment Canada as the lead negotiator for the United Nations' Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances.

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John Reed holds an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies (1982) from the University of Waterloo and a Masters of Environmental Studies from York University (1984).