Part 1: Indigenous Sharing Circle
Simoogit Saa Bax Patrick R. Stewart - PhD, Architect AIBC, NCARB, FRAIC
Patrick Stewart is a member of the Killerwhale House of Daaxan of the Nisga’a Nation. He has operated his firm, Patrick R. Stewart Architect, for 26 years. Patrick was the first architect of First Nations ancestry in B.C. to own and operate an architectural firm in B.C. (1995) and the first person of First Nations ancestry elected as President of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (2005-2007). He has chaired the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Indigenous Task Force since 2015 and has co-chaired the RAIC Truth and Reconciliation Task Force since 2019. Patrick has also chaired the Provincial Aboriginal Homelessness Committee in B.C. since 2005.
He is an alumnus of Simon Fraser University (BA), Dalhousie University (BEDS, BArch), McGill University (MArch) and University of British Columbia (PhD). Patrick is also an Adjunct Professor at the McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ont. He has had the privilege to be a co-editor of Our Voices: Indigeneity and Architecture (2018) and Our Voices II: the decolonial project (2021), both published by ORO Editions. Currently, he is the lead editor for the forthcoming book, Our Voices III: catalysts for change (2022) to also be published by ORO Editions.
It is important to Patrick to always give back to community, whether it is within his Nation, the architectural profession or those less fortunate. Having been born homeless and growing up in care, Patrick has never taken anything for granted. He continues to push the boundaries and look to the future.
Harriet Burdett-Moulton - NWTAA, FRAIC, Ph. D. (hc) / Senior Architect (Dartmouth, NS)
Métis architect Harriet Burdett-Moulton, Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), was the first architect to practice in what is now known as Nunavut. One of the most iconic and important projects to Harriet as a Métis person is the Piqqusilrvvik Inuit Learning Facility in Clyde River, Nunavut. Piqqusilrvvik—which roughly translates as “a place to keep the things we’ve learned”—is a cultural learning facility specifically designed for the Inuit culture.
Harriet is from Labrador, with Inuit, British and Montagnais roots. She spent her early life in a traditional nomadic lifestyle. In 1976 Harriet graduated from TUNS, now Dalhousie School of Architecture, and became the first Indigenous female Architect in Canada in 1979. She is a member of the RAIC Indigenous task force and is well-respected and honored architect. In May 2016, Harriet was made a fellow of the RAIC, in June 2017, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Design from Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University in Toronto, and in November 2017, she was awarded a Labradorian of Distinction metal.
Harriet has been responsible for numerous design projects across northern Canada building her expertise in collaborating with culturally diverse groups designing an assortment of building types. She has been involved in the design of educational facilities, recreational facilities, health care facilities, places of worship and feasibility studies. Her work encompasses major additions, and renovations as well as new construction. In addition to her passion for well-designed culturally significant buildings, she is an award-winning jeweler and has experience and education in community international development.
Whare Timu
Whare Timu tōku ingoa (My name is Whare Timu)
He mokopuna nā Te Huhuti, nāna i kau i tāna tau ā Te Whatuiāpiti (I am a grandchild of Te Huhuti, she who swam to her love, Te Whatuiāpiti)
Arā, Nō Kahungunu te iwi ahau (Therefore, I am a descendent of the tribe Kahungunu)
Whare is a Principal and senior design lead and cultural advisor with over 15 years' experience across a range of sectors in the built environment. He leads Warren and Mahoney’s Advanced Indigenous Design Unit – Te Matakīrea, dedicated to empowering indigenous architecture in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
Whare has a deep understanding of tikanga Māori (custom and protocol) and is practiced in whaikōrero (oratory) and kapa haka (performance). His experience comes from a diverse range of projects and developments, including papakāinga (intergenerational housing), large scale typology housing, culturally-driven public architecture, and infrastructure. His capability in highlighting cultural impact with our partners and clients enables him to undertake specific roles as cultural advisor and stakeholder design manager, creating mutual outcomes and objectives for the benefit of all our partnerships.
Whare is passionate about sustainable design as an extension of Te Ao Māori and is a strong advocate for low impact and natural materials.
Reanna Merasty
Reanna Merasty is an architectural intern at Number Ten Architectural Group based on Treaty 1 Territory. She is a Nîhithaw (Woodlands Cree) artist, writer, and educator from Barren Lands First Nation. Reanna received a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Manitoba (UofM).
Reanna advocates for Indigenous inclusion and representation in design education and is committed to empowering Indigenous communities and youth. While at the UofM, she Co-founded the Indigenous Design and Planning Student Association and Co-Edited the publication “Voices of the Land: Indigenous Design and Planning from the Prairies.” Additionally, Reanna is working with Portage & Main Press on a three-part children’s book series on Indigenous Architecture.
Her work continues to amplify Indigenous voices, community engagement, and land-based pedagogies in architecture locally and nationally. She is a member of the Indigenous Task Force with the RAIC, Manitoba Regional Director with the RAIC Board of Directors, Chair of the Welcoming Winnipeg Committee with the City of Winnipeg, and a member of the local design advocacy organization Storefront Manitoba. Through this advocacy work, Reanna was recognized by CBC Manitoba with a Future 40 Award, by Women in Urbanism Canada as one of the 14 Mobilizing Women Impacting Urbanism in Canada and named the 2023 Youth-First Nations Laureate with the Indspire Awards, which is considered the highest honor Indigenous people bestow upon its own people.
Alanna Quock - Intern Architect, AIBC, MRAIC, MILFI
Principal, Regenative Design. Alanna is a Tāłtān and Tlingit planner, designer, and creative problem solver with a passion for building adaptive capacity. Alanna grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon, the home of the Ta’an Kwachan Council and Kwanlin Dun First Nations, and now calls the territory of the shishalh Nation home. Alanna has 20 years experience working with individuals, first nations, communities and governments in the Yukon, BC and Quebec. Alanna is most comfortable when navigating a space of ambiguity and complexity - she seeks to use design thinking as a practical and creative approach to bring clarity and simplicity to complex situations. Her training in architecture supports her ability for cross-scale interdisciplinary thinking that allows her to quickly see patterns and bring together disparate elements into a cohesive whole. As project lead Alanna knows how to build and coordinate a team to get the job done. Alanna’s approach to community-based project design and delivery has been recognized as leading the way in global indigenous design practice.
Alanna is also a member of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force and Low Carbon Education Advisory Committee.
Part 2: Where are we now: Canadian Architectural Community Perspectives
- Mona Lemoine
- Joanne Perdue
- John Peterson
- Keith Robertson
- Jennifer Cutbill
- Reanna Merasty
- Olivia Keung
- Giovanna Boniface
Mona Lemoine - Architect AIBC | MRAIC | LEED AP BD+C, LFA | Regenerative Practitioner | RELi AP
Associate, Senior Sustainability Consultant at Dialog. Mona is a licensed architect with more than twenty-three years of experience in the built environment. Her work addresses the urgencies of climate change by offering design solutions that weave together resilience, equity, health, and biodiversity considerations. As part of these efforts, Mona remains focused on designing and building projects that are enabled to draw down carbon emissions—rather than contribute to them—through material performance, circular economy, and regenerative design and development. In combining big-picture systems thinking with attention to detail, Mona works together with clients to craft a carbon impact vision, fit with both ambitious and achievable goals that support their ideal outcomes for the project.
Mona is the Chair of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Committee on Regenerative Environments (CORE), and Co-Chair of the RAIC Climate Action Engagement and Enablement Plan (CAEEP) steering committee. Prior to joining DIALOG, she was Executive Director of the Cascadia Green Building Council, responsible for the successful leadership and operation of the International Living Future Institute’s bioregional program. Simultaneously, she was Vice-President, Education and Events, responsible for overseeing, planning, curating, and producing the organization’s internal-external education and events including their annual, international signature event, the Living Future unConference. Her influence has created a ripple effect throughout DIALOG’s culture and practice, design approach and delivery, as well as performance on projects locally, regionally, and internationally.
Joanne Perdue - Architect AAA, MRAIC, LEED Fellow
Joanne is the Associate Vice President, Sustainability at the University of Calgary. She is an architect, a Canada Clean50 Honouree, and the recipient of the Canada Green Building Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2022). Joanne founded the University of Calgary’s Office of Sustainability in 2007. Since then, the University has attained multiple recognitions as one of Canada’s top universities in sustainability, including a Times Higher Education top five percent global ranking for progress in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for the past four years. Joanne plays a leadership role in advancing the University of Calgary’s Climate Action Plan and commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. To date, the university has achieved a 39% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions representing approximately 90,000 tonnes of annual emissions. Joanne has a research focus on the intersection of architecture, climate change, and resilience. She is an avid supporter of preparing future leaders and of empowering women to accelerate the transformation toward a sustainable future.
Joanne is also co-chair of the RAIC Climate Action Engagement and Enablement Plan Steering Committee, and a member of the Committee on Regenerative Environments and the Low Carbon Education Advisory Committee.
John Peterson - OAA, FRAIC
John is a highly accomplished architect with over 30 years of experience in all design and construction phases. Believing that an architect should provide intelligent design solutions that make sense in a world where climate change is the preeminent problem, he has developed a reputation for successfully designing and managing challenging projects with award-winning sustainable designs throughout his professional career. He is well-known across Canada for his advocacy and thought leadership in low-carbon and regenerative design.
His desire to create performative designs has developed into a nationally recognized expertise in façade design and development. His experience working on tall, complex and refined projects gave him a unique playground to hone this skill. John has always advocated for the use of technology within architecture and design. John spearheaded the early industry adoption of BIM and continues to push for leveraging digital analysis to inform the design process through its successful implementation on signature design projects. John is regularly asked to speak at façade expert-oriented events or panel discussions. To give back to the profession, John volunteers time and leadership to several committees within the RAIC and the Commonwealth Association of Architects. John sees this as essential to his professional activity by maintaining a vibrant and connected profession.
Keith Robertson - M.Arch., NSAA, LEED AP BD+C
Keith has been involved in the construction industry since 1981 and his dedication to all things green motivates him to continually design and build better. Of note, Keith is Nova Scotia 's first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professional and has acted as LEED consultant on many LEED “firsts” in Atlantic Canada's. Solterre has consulted on more than seventy residential, commercial, institutional, and healthcare projects in Atlantic Canada that have achieved LEED or Green Globes certification, with many more in the works.
Keith has considerable technical experience in a variety of building types and construction methods. He worked for seven years as an architectural technologist in Alberta before upgrading his education to a Master of Architecture degree at the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1992. In his graduate studies Keith performed extensive research on the environmental impact and health impact of construction materials. His research has continued in his professional experience. He has presented at more than thirty conferences, seminars, and industry groups.
Keith is part of the Solterre team that teaches a “Net-positive design” studio in the Master of Architecture program at Dalhousie.
Jennifer Cutbill - Architect AIBC, FRAIC, LEED GA | Principal, Lateral Agency
Jennifer is a Regenerative Practitioner, Architect and founding Principal of Lateral Agency – a regenerative development consultancy and a research & capacity-building platform, founded as a social venture in response to the IPCC’s 2018 landmark Special Report. Lateral supports organizations and communities in leveraging projects to invest in intergenerational health and “mutual flourishing” (Kimmerer, 2013).
Over her career, she has worked on projects in Canada and the US, ranging from multi-unit affordable housing, post-secondary and healthcare; to block-scale adaptive reuse, regional wastewater systems, and framework development and capacity-building with regional Health and Housing Authorities. Beyond project work, Jennifer is honored to have taught in the Master of Architecture, Master of Engineering Leadership and Master of Public Policy & Global Affairs programs at UBC. And she is grateful to work alongside committed collaborators in various roles (e.g. the City of Vancouver’s Collaborative Leadership committee; UBC’s Urban Advisory Design Panel; RAIC’s Board and Committee on Regenerative Environments, Vancouver Design Week; Canadian Architects Declare and Architects Divest).
Born on the traditional and ancestral Indigenous territories of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat Nations to parents of mixed European decent, Jennifer lives and raises her 7-year old daughter on the unceded, shared Indigenous territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and other Coast Salish Nations. As an unsettled settler, she is working to better understand what it means to uphold the principles of UNDRIP through her everyday practices and to uphold her responsibilities to these Nations, lands and future generations.
Reanna Merasty
Reanna Merasty is an architectural intern at Number Ten Architectural Group based on Treaty 1 Territory. She is a Nîhithaw (Woodlands Cree) artist, writer, and educator from Barren Lands First Nation. Reanna received a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Manitoba (UofM).
Reanna advocates for Indigenous inclusion and representation in design education and is committed to empowering Indigenous communities and youth. While at the UofM, she Co-founded the Indigenous Design and Planning Student Association and Co-Edited the publication “Voices of the Land: Indigenous Design and Planning from the Prairies.” Additionally, Reanna is working with Portage & Main Press on a three-part children’s book series on Indigenous Architecture.
Her work continues to amplify Indigenous voices, community engagement, and land-based pedagogies in architecture locally and nationally. She is a member of the Indigenous Task Force with the RAIC, Manitoba Regional Director with the RAIC Board of Directors, Chair of the Welcoming Winnipeg Committee with the City of Winnipeg, and a member of the local design advocacy organization Storefront Manitoba. Through this advocacy work, Reanna was recognized by CBC Manitoba with a Future 40 Award, by Women in Urbanism Canada as one of the 14 Mobilizing Women Impacting Urbanism in Canada and named the 2023 Youth-First Nations Laureate with the Indspire Awards, which is considered the highest honor Indigenous people bestow upon its own people.
Olivia Keung - B.E.S., M.Arch., OAA, MRAIC, CPHD
Olivia Keung is an Associate at Moriyama Teshima Architects, where she has played key roles on some of the firm’s most forward-thinking projects to date. She is currently the Project Architect for Science North, which MTA is working on as part of the NorthWest Design Collaborative. This project comprises two science centres in Northern Ontario, both targeting Zero Carbon certification, that use science and education as tools to build knowledge, community resilience and cultural dialogue. She is also part of team for the Limberlost Place, a tall, mass timber building at George Brown College, and the Honey Bee Research Centre at the University of Guelph.
Olivia is active in a number of advocacy roles that enable her to push for greater climate action while highlighting related issues around environmental justice. She is a member of the RAIC’s Advisory Committee for Promoting Equity and Justice and their liaison to the Climate Action Engagement and Enablement Plan Steering Committee. She also serves as a Sustainability Advisor on the City of Toronto’s Design Review Panel. She has spoken extensively about low carbon design, including lectures at the CaGBC’s Innovation Series, the University of Toronto and George Brown College.
Giovanna Boniface - Reg. OT (BC), MRSc., B.Sc. OT, B.Sc., CCLCP (she/her/elle)
Giovanna is the Chief Implementation Officer at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and plays a critical role in leading, executing and implementing the work created from the strategic plan. Giovanna is focused on the RAIC’s purpose to create a better world for all by empowering Canada’s architectural community through advocacy and and has been working closely with RAIC committees that intersect with climate action for the past several years (ITF, CORE, PEJ-AC, CAEEP). Giovanna is the chair of the RAIC Climate Action Engagement and Enablement Plan Advocacy Working Group.
Giovanna is also a regulated health professional, licensed as an occupational therapist for over 25 years. She has held various leadership positions in occupational therapy, most recently as the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. She has a long-time personal interest in climate action and the environment and her current interest is intersecting climate and sustainability science knowledge from non-health sectors to accelerate climate action in health care delivery. She is the co-founder of a global advocacy group, the Occupational Therapy Climate Action Network (OT-CAN).
Part 3: Accelerating Climate Action: Collaboration and Collective Action
BC Housing - Wilma Leung, Senior Manager, Technical Research & Education
Wilma Leung has decades of experience in civil and structural engineering, environmental management, government administration, and building design and construction. Wilma is a recognized innovator and industry leader in energy efficiency and climate resilience for the housing and building sector. At BC Housing, she leads research and education that systematically improve the quality of residential design and construction. This research helps better prepare the sector to meet emerging needs and avert anticipated challenges. Wilma is a member of both the BC Energy Step Code Council and the Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency nationally. Through co-leading the Mobilizing Building Adaptation and Resilience (MBAR) initiative, she advances the development of sector knowledge and capacity in enabling, designing and building low-carbon, climate adapted and disaster resilient housing infrastructure.
City of Vancouver - Sean Pander
Sean Pander is the manager of the Green and Resilient Buildings Branch for the City of Vancouver and a member of the BC Energy Step Code Council, the Buildings to Electric (B2E) Leadership Council, is past-chair of the Zero Emissions Building Exchange (ZEBx), and a recipient of Canada’s Clean50 award.
Under Sean’s leadership, Vancouver established the regulatory framework underpinning the BC Energy and Zero Emissions Step Codes. Following this innovative framework, Vancouver’s Building By-Law has been updated in a series of steps to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings by over 70% to date and approved changes that will reduce emissions by 90% by 2025.
In addition, his Green & Resilient Buildings Branch recently had Council approve annual greenhouse gas and heating energy limits for existing commercial buildings that will drive electrification as well requirements to reduce embodied carbon for new commercial and multi-family residential buildings.
Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) - Thomas Mueller
Thomas Mueller is a Founding Director of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) and is President & CEO of the Council since 2005. As the Chief Executive, he oversees the Council’s national green building strategy, market development and policy initiatives. As part of his work, he provided the impetus for the development of the first zero carbon standards in 2017 to guide decarbonization in the building sector.
As a past Board member of the World Green Building Council (2008-2014), the Green Business Certification Institute, (2009-2018) and, currently, on the WGBC’s global CEO network and the Building Energy Innovators Council (BEIC), he supports the transition toward green, zero carbon and resilient buildings and cities. Between 2018 and 2021, he served as CEO of the Green Business Certification Inc. Canada (GBCI CA) to deliver advanced building performance standards to the industry.
Thomas is a well-known advocate for green building design and construction, building retrofit and sustainable real estate development. His focus is on market-based solutions to scale up investment in green building solutions across all segments of the industry. Over the last five years his emphasis has been on advancing climate action and transitioning the building sector to low carbon performance.
He works directly with senior levels of government and industry on climate change and sustainability solutions, and is a nationally and internationally recognized authority and speaker on green building.
Thomas has an Undergraduate Degree in Geography, Planning and Applied Ecology from the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany; and holds a Master’s degree in Regional Planning & Resource Development from the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He received his ESG Global Competent Boards Designation in 2021.
For his green building work, Thomas has received numerous awards and recognitions. He became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) in 2016; and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo in December 2019.
National Research Council of Canada - Trevor Nightingale, Ph.D.
Trevor is Director General of the Construction Research Centre at the National Research Council Canada where he oversees 350 research and technical professionals who push the frontiers of building science and engineering, and publish the National Model Codes and the National Master Construction Specifications. The Research Centre has three key areas of focus, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and health impacts of the built environment.
Prior to becoming Director General in 2019, Trevor led NRC's High-performance Buildings program, which helped industry develop and commercialize energy-saving retrofit technologies for commercial and institutional buildings.
Trevor was the Director of Research and Development for the Intelligent Building Operations research unit from 2010 to 2015, where he guided research in the areas of lighting, heating, ventilation, human factors, building controls, and energy measurement and verification.
Trevor began his career at NRC in 1992 as an acoustics researcher and holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of British Columbia, and a Ph.D. in Building Engineering, from Heriot Watt University in the United Kingdom.
Engineers and Geoscientists of BC - Harshan Radhakrishnan, P.Eng
As the Manager, Climate Change and Sustainability Initiatives, Harshan Radhakrishnan, P.Eng., deals with:
1. Management of programs and initiatives that help to address sustainability and climate change adaptation and mitigation in the practice of the professions.
2. Outreach to provincial and municipal governments, technical groups and others in relation to climate change and sustainability strategies.
At Engineers and Geoscientists BC, Harshan has helped spearhead the development of the first-ever EGBC Climate Change Action Plan, integrate the consideration of climate change into its Strategic Plan, and mainstream climate risk management practices into various engineering and geoscience practice guidelines.
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects - Jeff Cutler, Principal + Landscape Architect, Space2place
Jeff is the principal and founder of space2place. He has spent the last 25 years advancing the field of landscape architecture in Canada by leading complex design and planning projects. Jeff is constantly challenging conventional approaches and testing new technologies to create holistic solutions to today's challenges.
Jeff has received over 30 national awards for his skill in developing sensitive and innovative design solutions for a wide range of public and private projects over the years. In 2021, he was awarded the title of Fellow in the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects for his outstanding contributions to the field
Climate Risk Institute - Jenessa Doherty, MES, BED, BPHE
Jenessa is a Senior Project Manager with the Climate Risk Institute. A passionate and motivated climate change champion, Jenessa holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from York University with graduate diplomas in Environmental Sustainability Education and Business and Sustainability. She also holds a Bachelor of Education in Science and the Environment from the University of Toronto.
Jenessa’s previous roles have included extensive collaboration with municipalities across Canada focused on education and engagement, energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, water, wastewater and stormwater management, and sustainable transportation and logistics. These relationships have given her a strong knowledge of municipal, provincial and federal climate policy and practice, which has complemented her work managing and supporting diverse climate change adaptation and mitigation projects.
Canadian Institute of Planners - Dan Huang, RPP, MCIP
Dan is a seasoned professional planner, with over 25 years of experience in both the private and public sectors. He works with local and senior governments, First Nations, and private developers towards building vibrant, resilient communities throughout Western Canada. In addition to developing general land use policies and regulations for communities, Dan’s focus in recent years has been on infrastructure master planning, development finance, asset management and sustainable service delivery. However, Dan’s passion lies with helping to build self-reliance and self-determination amongst Indigenous communities through viable economic opportunities, healthy housing options, and strategic land management through reconciliation.
Dan has been involved with the planning profession for over two decades. He is the current President of the Canadian Institute of Planners, representing over 7,500 professional planners across Canada and internationally. He also served on the board of the Planning Institute of British Columbia, including as President from 2015 to 2017. Dan has also contributed as a volunteer on a number of committees, including the PIBC Policy and Public Affairs Committee, Asset Management BC Working Group and the Province of BC’s Development Finance Review Committee.
Centre for Greening Government, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat - Malcolm Edwards, Senior Engineer Greening
Malcolm Edwards is the Senior Engineer Greening at the Centre for Greening Government within the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. He leads the development of pathways to decarbonize the federal government’s real property holdings and fleet operations to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. In taking a holistic perspective he works to incorporate operational and embodied carbon reduction, as well as increased resilience to a changing climate, into the way government works.
With a focus on the incorporation of the cost of carbon into total cost of ownership, he engages departments on greening operations through portfolio planning and GHG life-cycle costing analysis of major projects.