More than 50 speakers from all walks of life across many geographies will come together to share moving and inspirational stories on protecting lands and waters in Ontario. The Peoples’ Summit is honoured that 12 Indigenous Nations are sharing their stories.
The Summit lays out a new vision on protected areas that is inclusive, equitable and expansive. From Tall Grass Prairie in Windsor to Rouge Valley in Toronto to Algonquin Park near Huntsville to the ‘breathing lands’ of Hudson Bay Lowland, the Peoples’ Summit has it covered. Don’t miss this unique experience!
Together, let’s show the world how people are making huge strides towards meeting international conservation targets of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
9:00 – 10:15 EDT The Peoples' Summit Opens
Welcome and land acknowledgement by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
Opening inspirational panel:
Moderator: Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Deputy Grand Chief Mandy Gull, Eeyou Istchee, will share her expertise and experience in protecting the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory in Québec. Recently the Cree Nation government and Quebec announced that more than 20% of the territory will be protected. Deputy Grand Chief Gull will share why she fought so hard and what was accomplished.
Harvey Locke will speak to what’s at stake and how Ontario and Canada can lead on biodiversity conservation.
10:30 – 12:00 EDT Decades in the making
Moderator - Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
JB Fobister - Asubpeeschoseewagong – Grassy Narrows First Nation
John Turner - Moose Cree First Nation – The North French Watershed First Nation Protected Area
Chris Burtch - IPCA Coordinator, Shawanaga First Nation and Elder Marilyn Capreol - Shawanaga First Nation Band Member – Shawanaga Island IPCA
Receiver: Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
12:30 – 2:00 EDT Protecting ‘The Breathing Lands’
Moderator – Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
Chief Donny Morris and Councillor Sam McKay - Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) - IPA
Sam Hunter - Weenusk (Peawanuck) First Nation - Winisk River
Dr. Jackie Hookimaw-Witt - Attawapiskat First Nation - Waban Meegwon Esquew Nina: Thoughts of a Mushkego-Cree woman about protecting the river of her people – the Attawapiskat First Nation
Ed Sutherland – Kashechewan First Nation – Conservation for our future: our Homelands, our Planet
Receiver - Constance O'Connor - Freshwater Conservation Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Receiver - James Snider - Vice President, Science, Knowledge & Innovation, WWF Canada
2:30 – 3:30 EDT Omushkego Land to Sea
Moderator – Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
Vern Cheechoo, Lands and Resources Director, Mushkegowuk Council
Lawrence Martin, Mushkegowuk Marine Region Manager, Mushkegowuk Council
Peatlands in the Territory and proposed National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) – Western James Bay/SW Hudson Bay
Receiver - Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Receiver - Chris Debicki - Vice-President, Policy Development and Council, Oceans North
3:30 – 4:00 EDT In Conversation: Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson and Janet Sumner, Wildlands League
This agenda is still subject to change.
8:50 – 9:00 EDT Opening Prayer by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
9:00 - 9:45 EDT ‘The Eye Opener’ a conversation with Marie-Eve Marchand and Jean Lemire about negotiations regarding implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, northern territories conservation and ambition in Québec.
10:00 – 11:30 EDT Northern Shores (Superior and Huron)
Moderator - Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
Bob Barnett – Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy - Heaven’s Gate (La Cloche)
Julee Boan - Boreal Program Manager, Ontario Nature - How Can Voluntary Forestry Certification Lead to More Protected Areas in Ontario?
Anthony Merante - Director of Campaigns, Earthroots - Wolf Lake: A Place Worth Saving
Franco Mariotti - Save Wolf Lake
Douglas Boreham - North Shore Environmental Resource Advocates and Gabriella Zagorski - Nature Reserves Coordinator, Ontario Nature - Blanding's of the North Shore
Naomi Grant - Co-chair Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury - #saveLUgreenspace
Cheryl Clavet - Co-owner of fly in fishing lodge - Co-existing with threatened caribou: a fly-in lodge owner perspective
Receiver - John McDonnell - Executive Director, CPAWS Ottawa Valley
12:00 – 2:00 EDT In the Cities 1: Greater Golden Horseshoe
Moderator: Shelley Petrie - Program Director, Greenbelt Foundation - Near Urban Nature
Dave Pearce - Senior Forest Conservation Manager, Wildlands League - Rouge expansion
Mary Delaney - Founding Member & Chair, Land Over Landings - The Accidental Protected Area, North Pickering’s “Airport Lands”
The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, MP Burlington, ON
Tomasz Wiercioch – Coordinator, Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System - Species on the Move (and other happenings) in Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System
Anne Bell - Ontario Nature - Defining the opportunity: ANSIs and PSWs on unceded Crown land
Aviva Patel - Senior Manager of Ecology & Monitoring, Credit Valley Conservation - Biodiversity targets: science to action at the watershed scale
Kim Statham - Acting Director, Urban Forestry, City of Toronto - Toronto's Ravine Strategy
Receiver: Alison Howson - Executive Director, Ontario Land Trust Alliance
2:30 – 4:00 EDT In the Cities 2: Carolinian Zone
Moderator – Eleanor McMahon - President and CEO, Trans Canada Trail
Brian Masse – MP Windsor West – Ojibway Shores and a National Urban Park for Windsor
Kieran McKenzie - Windsor City Council, Essex Region Conservation Authority - Ojibway Prairie Complex Windsor Essex
Kelly Antaya/Jonathan Choquette – Wildlife Preservation Canada - The Ojibway Prairie Complex as a new Key Biodiversity Area in Canada
Tom Woodcock – rare Charitable Research Reserve
Emily Williamson - Ecologist Planner, City of London
Bradley Fauteaux - Rondeau Provincial Park Private Leases
Receiver - Elizabeth Hendriks - Vice-President, Restoration and Regeneration, WWF Canada
4:00 – 4:15 EDT Closing
Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Closing Prayer by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
This agenda is still subject to change.
8:50 – 9:00 EDT Opening Prayer by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
9:00 – 10:45 EDT Partners in Lands and Waters
Moderator - Elizabeth Hendriks - Vice-President, Restoration and Regeneration, WWF Canada
Tamara Stomp - Local Action Group - Western Lake Erie Basin National Marine Conservation Area
Michelle Kanter – Executive Director, Carolinian Canada - Big Picture Protected Area Investment Opportunities
Annabelle Laurin - Environmental Technician with Chippewas of the Thames First Nation - Deshkan Ziibiing: Continuing Conservation
Daria Koscinski - Executive Director, Thames Talbot Land Trust - Nature Conservation Opportunities in a Biodiversity Hotspot
Chief Duncan Michano - Biigtigong Nishnaabeg - Pic River First Nation – Lake Superior
Mark Stabb - Program Director for Central Ontario, Nature Conservancy of Canada - Coming together for the tallgrass: The Rice Lake Plains Partnership
Receiver - Dave Pearce, Senior Forest Conservation Manager - Wildlands League
11:00 – 12:30 EDT Central Ontario Connectivity
Moderator - Bradley Fauteaux
Dave Pearce - Senior Forest Conservation Manager, Wildlands League – Expanding Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park
Paul Heaven and Shelley Hunt - Haliburton Highlands Land Trust - Protecting the Highlands Corridor
Gary Pritchard - Conservation Ecologist and Indigenous Engagement Specialist, Curve Lake First Nation - Jack Lake
Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee and Dr. Peter Quinby - Chief Scientist, Ancient Forest Exploration – Protecting Rare Old Growth in Catchacoma Forest
John Kintare - Kawartha Land Trust - East Kawartha Lakelands - Community and Corridors
Mark Bisset - Executive Director, Couchiching Conservancy
Receiver - Ian Attridge
1:00 – 2:30 EDT Whither Algonquin Park?
Moderator - Bradley Fauteaux
Dr. Peter Quinby - Chief Scientist, Ancient Forest Exploration – Algonquin Roadless Areas
Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee – Time to end logging in Algonquin Park
Dave Pearce - Senior Forest Conservation Manager, Wildlands League – Algonquin Park
Mathieu St-Laurent Addison – Conservation Coordinator, CPAWS Ottawa Valley - Algonquin Park to the Dumoine River, QC
Receiver - Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
3:00 – 4:30 EDT Eastern Woodlands
Moderator - Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Holly Hayes - Executive Director, Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) Collaborative - A2A Connecting for Nature
John McDonnell - Executive Director, CPAWS Ottawa Valley - Madawaska Highlands
Candice Vetter - Save Our Lake
Chris Craig, Abraham Francis - Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Augusta Lipscombe - Forests Ontario – The Healing Place
Don Johnston - Vice President, Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust - Conserving Wilderness One Property at a Time
Receiver - Dr. Robin Roth - Associate Professor, University of Guelph
Receiver - Anastasia M. Lintner - Principal of Lintner Law
4:30 – 5:00 EDT Closing
The Path Forward - Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
The Travelling Song - Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
This agenda is still subject to change.
9:00 – 10:15 EDT The Peoples' Summit Opens
Welcome and land acknowledgement by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
Opening inspirational panel:
Moderator: Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Deputy Grand Chief Mandy Gull, Eeyou Istchee, will share her expertise and experience in protecting the Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory in Québec. Recently the Cree Nation government and Quebec announced that more than 20% of the territory will be protected. Deputy Grand Chief Gull will share why she fought so hard and what was accomplished.
Harvey Locke will speak to what’s at stake and how Ontario and Canada can lead on biodiversity conservation.
10:30 – 12:00 EDT Decades in the making
Moderator - Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
JB Fobister - Asubpeeschoseewagong – Grassy Narrows First Nation
John Turner - Moose Cree First Nation – The North French Watershed First Nation Protected Area
Chris Burtch - IPCA Coordinator, Shawanaga First Nation and Elder Marilyn Capreol - Shawanaga First Nation Band Member – Shawanaga Island IPCA
Receiver: Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
12:30 – 2:00 EDT Protecting ‘The Breathing Lands’
Moderator – Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
Chief Donny Morris and Councillor Sam McKay - Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) - IPA
Sam Hunter - Weenusk (Peawanuck) First Nation - Winisk River
Dr. Jackie Hookimaw-Witt - Attawapiskat First Nation - Waban Meegwon Esquew Nina: Thoughts of a Mushkego-Cree woman about protecting the river of her people – the Attawapiskat First Nation
Ed Sutherland – Kashechewan First Nation – Conservation for our future: our Homelands, our Planet
Receiver - Constance O'Connor - Freshwater Conservation Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Receiver - James Snider - Vice President, Science, Knowledge & Innovation, WWF Canada
2:30 – 3:30 EDT Omushkego Land to Sea
Moderator – Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
Vern Cheechoo, Lands and Resources Director, Mushkegowuk Council
Lawrence Martin, Mushkegowuk Marine Region Manager, Mushkegowuk Council
Peatlands in the Territory and proposed National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) – Western James Bay/SW Hudson Bay
Receiver - Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Receiver -Chris Debicki - Vice-President, Policy Development and Council, Oceans North
3:30 – 4:00 EDT In Conversation: Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson and Janet Sumner, Wildlands League
This agenda is still subject to change.
8:50 – 9:00 EDT Opening Prayer by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
8:50 - 9:45 EDT ‘The Eye Opener’ a conversation with Marie-Eve Marchand and Jean Lemire to talk about negotiations regarding implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, northern territories conservation and ambition in Québec.
10:00 – 11:30 EDT Northern Shores (Superior and Huron)
Moderator - Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
Bob Barnett – Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy - Heaven’s Gate (La Cloche)
Julee Boan - Boreal Program Manager, Ontario Nature - How Can Voluntary Forestry Certification Lead to More Protected Areas in Ontario?
Anthony Merante - Director of Campaigns, Earthroots - Wolf Lake: A Place Worth Saving
Franco Mariotti - Save Wolf Lake
Douglas Boreham - North Shore Environmental Resource Advocates and Gabriella Zagorski - Nature Reserves Coordinator, Ontario Nature - Blanding's of the North Shore
Naomi Grant - Co-chair Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury - #saveLUgreenspace
Cheryl Clavet - Co-owner of fly in fishing lodge - Co-existing with threatened caribou: a fly-in lodge owner perspective
Receiver - John McDonnell - Executive Director, CPAWS Ottawa Valley
12:00 – 2:00 EDT In the Cities 1: Greater Golden Horseshoe
Moderator: Shelley Petrie - Program Director, Greenbelt Foundation - Near Urban Nature
Dave Pearce - Senior Forest Conservation Manager, Wildlands League - Rouge expansion
Mary Delaney - Founding Member & Chair, Land Over Landings - The Accidental Protected Area, North Pickering’s “Airport Lands”
The Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, MP Burlington, ON
Tomasz Wiercioch – Coordinator, Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System - Species on the Move (and other happenings) in Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System
Anne Bell - Ontario Nature - Defining the opportunity: ANSIs and PSWs on unceded Crown land
Aviva Patel - Senior Manager of Ecology & Monitoring, Credit Valley Conservation - Biodiversity targets: science to action at the watershed scale
Kim Statham - Acting Director, Urban Forestry, City of Toronto - Toronto's Ravine Strategy
Receiver: Alison Howson - Executive Director, Ontario Land Trust Alliance
2:30 – 4:00 EDT In the Cities 2: Carolinian Zone
Moderator – Eleanor McMahon, President and CEO, Trans Canada Trail
Brian Masse – MP Windsor West – Ojibway Shores and a National Urban Park for Windsor
Kieran McKenzie - Windsor City Council, Essex Region Conservation Authority - Ojibway Prairie Complex Windsor Essex
Kelly Antaya/Jonathan Choquette – Wildlife Preservation Canada - The Ojibway Prairie Complex as a new Key Biodiversity Area in Canada
Tom Woodcock – rare Charitable Research Reserve
Emily Williamson - Ecologist Planner, City of London
Bradley Fauteaux - Rondeau Provincial Park Private Leases
Receiver - Elizabeth Hendriks - Vice-President, Restoration and Regeneration, WWF Canada
4:00 – 4:15 EDT Closing
Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
Closing Prayer by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
This agenda is still subject to change.
8:50 – 9:00 EDT Opening Prayer by Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
9:00 – 10:45 EDT Partners in Lands and Waters
Moderator - Elizabeth Hendriks - Vice-President, Restoration and Regeneration, WWF Canada
Tamara Stomp - Local Action Group - Western Lake Erie Basin National Marine Conservation Area
Michelle Kanter – Executive Director, Carolinian Canada - Big Picture Protected Area Investment Opportunities
Annabelle Laurin - Environmental Technician with Chippewas of the Thames First Nation
Daria Koscinski - Executive Director, Thames Talbot Land Trust - Nature Conservation Opportunities in a Biodiversity Hotspot
Chief Duncan Michano - Biigtogong Nishnaabeg - Pic River First Nation - Lake Superior
Mark Stabb - Program Director for Central Ontario, Nature Conservancy of Canada - Coming together for the tallgrass: The Rice Lake Plains Partnership
Receiver - Dave Pearce, Senior Forest Conservation Manager - Wildlands League
11:00 – 12:30 EDT Central Ontario Connectivity
Moderator - Bradley Fauteaux
Dave Pearce - Senior Forest Conservation Manager, Wildlands League – Expanding Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park
Paul Heaven and Shelley Hunt - Haliburton Highlands Land Trust - Protecting the Highlands Corridor
Gary Pritchard - Conservation Ecologist and Indigenous Engagement Specialist, Curve Lake First Nation - Jack Lake
Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee and Dr. Peter Quinby - Chief Scientist, Ancient Forest Exploration – Protecting Rare Old Growth in Catchacoma Forest
John Kintare - Kawartha Land Trust - East Kawartha Lakelands - Community and Corridors
Mark Bisset - Executive Director, Couchiching Conservancy
Receiver - Ian Attridge
1:00 – 2:30 EDT Whither Algonquin Park?
Moderator - Bradley Fauteaux
Dr. Peter Quinby - Chief Scientist, Ancient Forest Exploration – Algonquin Roadless Areas
Katie Krelove - Ontario Campaigner, Wilderness Committee – Time to end logging in Algonquin Park
Dave Pearce - Senior Forest Conservation Manager, Wildlands League – Algonquin Park
Mathieu St-Laurent Addison – Conservation Coordinator, CPAWS Ottawa Valley - Algonquin Park to the Dumoine River, QC
Receiver - Anna Baggio - Conservation Director, Wildlands League
3:00 – 4:30 EDT Eastern Woodlands
Moderator - Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
John McDonnell - Executive Director, CPAWS Ottawa Valley - Madawaska Highlands
Holly Hayes - Executive Director, Algonquin to Adirondacks (A2A) Collaborative - A2A Connecting for Nature
Candice Vetter - Save Our Lake
Chris Craig, Abraham Francis - Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Augusta Lipscombe - Forests Ontario – The Healing Place
Don Johnston - Vice President, Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust - Conserving Wilderness One Property at a Time
Receiver - Dr. Robin Roth - Associate Professor, University of Guelph
Receiver - Anastasia M. Lintner - Principal of Lintner Law
4:30 – 5:00 EDT Closing
The Path Forward - Janet Sumner - Executive Director, Wildlands League
The Travelling Song - Elder Marilyn Capreol, Shawanaga First Nation Band Member
This agenda is still subject to change.