During Transparency International Canada’s 24th Annual General Meeting on June 22nd, three new members were voted onto TI Canada’s volunteer Board of Directors by the TI Canada membership. These members bring with them a deep understanding of TI Canada’s mission and a dedication to strengthening transparency across Canada. TI Canada is very pleased to welcome these new Board Members.
Suzanne Legault
She is the former Information Commissioner of Canada. She is recognised nationally and internationally as a leader in the field of information rights. During her tenure, Suzanne oversaw the completion of over 15,000 investigations under the Access to Information Act and provided the strategic direction on multiple precedent-setting litigation, dealing for instance, with the control of records in Ministers' offices and the exclusion from disclosure of records held by the CBC. She tabled several Special Reports to Parliament, including a comprehensive road map to modernize the Access to Information Act. She was at the vanguard of the Open Government movement in Canada. In recognition of her contribution, she was awarded the Spencer Moore Lifetime Achievement Award and the Canadian Open Data and Social Justice Award.
Suzanne continues to work tirelessly to assist countries worldwide to promote and protect information rights as a fundamental human right and a key pillar of democracy, in collaboration with UNESCO, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, the Carter Center and Global Affairs Canada.
Suzanne’s prior work was in competition law and criminal law. At the Competition Bureau she was the Deputy Commissioner responsible for legislative and parliamentary affairs. During her time at the Competition Bureau she was Special Advisor to the Commissioner and she investigated matters under the criminal and civil provisions of the Competition Act, including conspiracy to fix prices and bid-rigging. In her early career she worked as both defense and Crown counsel.
She is a former Board member of the not-for-profit organisation Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, an organisation that monitors, defends and reports on free expression and access to information. She is also a member of the Board of the Quebec Press Council, a Quebec not -for-profit organisation dedicated to the protection of freedom of the press and to the defense of the right of the public to quality reporting.
Anar Shamji Popatia, ICD.D, GCB.D
Anar is a certified Corporate Director with 20 years experience in governance, international business, stakeholder engagement and strategic consulting. With a purposeful and collaborative leadership style, Anar helps boards navigate through strategy, innovation, and emerging ESG issues. With a passion for lifelong learning and serving in the public interest she draws from her corporate, public, and not-for-profit leadership experiences to contribute to board discussions. Her board and professional experiences are in healthcare, education, government, regulatory, financial services, manufacturing, credit risk, and supply chain.
Anar's board committee experiences include Executive, CEO Search, Governance & Nomination, HR & Compensation, Finance, Audit & Investment, and Government Relations. She is Chair of the Honorary Governors Council at the Vancouver Foundation and member of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority Nominations Committee (CIRA).
Anar has held business development and consulting roles with Dun & Bradstreet, been an interim CEO for an international manufacturing and steel distribution company and leads client relations for a wealth management practice.
Having a keen interest in sustainability and governance best practices, Anar completed the Global Competent Board Program and certification (GCB.D) which focuses on identifying, articulating, and acting upon material ESG challenges within business. She has a Bachelor’s in Business & Economics from Brock University and is a graduated of the Wharton School's Executive Development Program and the Institute of Corporate Directors. She holds the certified Corporate Director's designation of ICD.D.
Anar’s recognitions include the 2020 BMO Celebrates Women on Boards Award for empowering women to lead in corporate governance and making a difference in the boardroom, the 2013 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Award for exemplary community engagement, and Dun & Bradstreet Presidential Citations for excellence in management of corporate clients across a wide range of industries.
Toby Mendel
Toby Mendel is the founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian based international human rights NGO that provides legal and capacity building expertise regarding foundational rights for democracy, including the right to information, freedom of expression, the right to participate and the rights to assembly and association. Prior to that, he was for over 12 years Senior Director for Law at ARTICLE 19, an international human rights NGO focusing on freedom of expression and the right to information. He has collaborated extensively with intergovernmental actors working in these areas – including the World Bank, UNESCO, the UN and other international rapporteurs on freedom of expression, the OSCE and the Council of Europe – as well as numerous governments and NGOs in countries all over the world.
His work spans a range of areas of legal work. This includes having drafted or participated in drafting numerous laws in countries all over the world, engaging in strategic litigation before senior national and international courts, providing training and other forms of capacity building, including to judges and legal professionals, and preparing in-depth analyses of laws and proposed legislation. He is also the author of a large number of articles, monographs and books on a range of freedom of expression, right to information, communication rights and refugee issues, including several books published by UNESCO. Before joining ARTICLE 19, he worked as a senior human rights consultant with Oxfam Canada and as a human rights policy analyst at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).