Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 04

20 / Canadian Government Executive // July/August 2018 ness people in Northern Canada know, CANNOR is a very impor- tant institution, and its reach is significant across the North. It has been very important in devel- oping a more diversified economy in the territories. So I was won- dering if you could talk a little bit about your mandate at CANNOR: some of the things that have been achieved and your priorities in the future. Certainly, George. The CanNorCANNOR mandate : we work with partners across the North to foster strong, diversified and sustainable northern economies. The mandate, I should be clear, pertains to the three northern territories – Yukon, NWT and Nunavut – so that’s where we are fo- cused. We have staff and people who work with stakeholders, clients, territorial gov- ernments, Indigenous organizations and governments. They are all our partners. We look for opportunity. We look for le- verage. We look to pursue priorities that can really start diversifying and contrib- of the Northern Affairs organization in what was then known as INAC, and had the honor of doing some really remark- able collaborative work with northern- ers. Another career highlight that you mentioned– leading the federal work on NWT devolution of lands and resources, and helping to design and build the Ca- nadian High Arctic Research Station. The career I’ve had has allowed me to directly support Canadians, particularly in the North. And recently as the leader of CANOR, enabling communities and regions to work towards a sustainable economy. When I look back, I realise that every piece of very diverse experience in my career has led to my ability to take on the next interesting responsibility. So I would say all of those activities allow me to do the job I am doing right now, and every one of them was fascinating and rewarding. Q: Let’s shift focus here a little bit and talk about CANNOR. As many public servants and busi- Q: Janet, thanks for chatting with CGE today. Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be talking with you, George. Q: Janet, when I looked over your bio, I think its fair to say you have a remarkable background and set of experiences. You are a trained geologist, and you have had many years working with the federal government in se- nior capacities – as a scientist, in policy lead and more recently, with extensive executive experi- ence focused on northern Canada. Your work on northern issues includes work on establishing the High Arctic Research Station, the devolution of powers from the federal government to the territo- rial government in the Northwest Territories and now as the Presi- dent of CANNOR. I think our CGE readers would be really interested learning a bit more about your background. Well, with pleasure. I do look back – and there are more years than I would like to count right now – but as you noted, I actu- ally entered the public service as a scien- tist. I was hired as a summer student in one of the summer programs that is on- going and still bringing in young public servants. I was hired out of a Yellowknife office, so introduced to the North and fell for the North in my field of specialty at the time. I spent 10 or 12 years as a field scientist on the land in the North in the summers, creating new knowledge for Canada, which was and remains a career highlight. I then started taking on man- agement responsibilities that led to pol- icy work, program work and the federal public service. There’s such an opportu- nity to work on such diverse opportuni- ties and challenges in the public service! Through my post-research career I’ve had the opportunity of doing regulatory work with Health Canada, economic work with Industry Canada, and I’ve worked with western economic diversification. But of course, I came back to the North as ADM INTERVIEW Sunrise reddens the mountains and the sea ice floating on Admiralty Inlet, northwest Baffin Island, Nunavut. Photo: Lee NARRAWAY / WWF-Canada