Ron Anderson
is the Edmonton Police Service’s Chief Innovation and Technology Officer
Colin Bennett
is Emeritus Professor of Political Science and Fellow at the Center for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. For over thirty years, his research has focused on the comparative analysis of privacy protection policy at domestic and international levels. In addition to numerous scholarly and newspaper articles, he has published seven books on these subjects, including The Governance of Privacy (MIT Press, 2006), as well several policy reports for national and international agencies. His current work focusses on the importance of privacy for democratic rights, and on the capture and use of voters’ personal data by political parties in Western democracies.
Dawn Gallagher Murphy
serves as the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Newmarket—Aurora (Ontario), having first been elected in June 2022 and re-elected in the 2025 provincial election.
Dawn is an active member of the Standing Committee on the Interior and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, and she also serves as Vice-Chair of the Ontario section of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, where she advocates for Ontario’s Francophone communities on the national and international stage.
Dawn has championed several major initiatives at Queen’s Park, including a groundbreaking motion on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in government.
Before entering politics, Dawn spent more than 25 years in the secure payments industry, including 15 years as the head of her own consulting firm. She held leadership roles developing bilingual solutions for digital card payment technologies, working with major Canadian banks and clients across North America. Her expertise helped usher in innovations in mobile payments, chip cards, and contactless transactions, building trust and security in the digital economy.
Antoine Guilmain
is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Montréal office where he co-leads the firm’s national Cyber Security and Data Protection Law Group and serves as a member of its Technology Group.
With an international background in Canada, the United States, and Europe, including high-level experience at one of the largest US technology companies, Antoine provides strategic and operational advice on a range of data protection and cyber security issues. His practice encompass privacy, European data protection regulation (GDPR), anti-spam compliance, risk management and cyber security compliance, access to information and consumer protection, among other areas.
Harnessing this broad experience, he routinely supports clients in the design and deployment of emerging technologies, including with respect to artificial intelligence automation, the monetization of megadata, immersion through virtual and augmented reality and connectivity through the Internet of Things or the metaverse.
In the realm of AI, Antoine helps clients anticipate and address the distinct legal implications of integrating intelligent systems into their operations. From drafting AI-focused contractual terms to advising on the accountability of AI-driven decisions, he ensures that businesses mitigate risk while staying ahead of regulatory requirements and ethical considerations. His guidance extends across industries, helping organizations manage the complexities of data governance and liability as they incorporate AI into both customer-facing products and internal systems.
Antoine holds two PhD’s in Information Technology Law from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and from the University of Montréal
Grace Hessian David
is the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Saskatchewan.
Marc Alexandre Ladouceur
As a Media Education Specialist, Marc Alexandre is responsible for creating resources for educators, parents and community groups and for conducting outreach activities with French language schools, school boards, education ministries, faculties of education and community organizations across Canada. He holds a Master’s Degree in Theology, as well as Bachelors’ in Education and Theology. Marc Alexandre has previously worked as a teacher in the Ontario and Alberta school systems, as a facilitator in Ontario schools and as an editor and translator.
Kurt Martin
is Acting Superintendent of the Information & Analytics Division at the Edmonton Police Service
Diane McLeod
is the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta
Toby Mendel
is the founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian-based international human rights NGO which 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 freedom of 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 inter-governmental 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.
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). He is the author of a large number of articles, monographs and books on a range of freedom of expression, right to information and communication rights issues, including several books published by UNESCO.
Adam Molnar
is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, where he is also primary investigator on a five-year SSHRC-funded project, “Understanding the Risks and Regulation of Workplace Surveillance in Canada’s Digital Economy.”
As homes have become offices, and laptops and smartphones are used for business, school, and entertainment, the increasing surveillance of ‘remote workplaces’ complicates boundaries between work and personal spaces.
Adam has conducted similar interdisciplinary projects on the use, risks, and regulation of consumer spyware, and investigates the emergence of new surveillance technologies and analyse techniques in practices of law enforcement and security intelligence.
Jennifer Quaid
is the Executive Director of the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange (CCTX).
Aany Vital Ramos
is a mutlilingual, highly motivated, and community-oriented 16-year-old high school student and youth leader dedicated to public service, youth advocacy, and mental health. She has served as a Mental Health Champion and an active member of the CHEO National Youth Forum, contributing to youth mental health initiatives such as Kids These Days and co-hosting CHEO’s mental health launch on YouTube. She volunteers with CHEO Hospital, the CHEO Research Institute, and Perley Health Retirement Home, supporting both pediatric care and senior wellness.
As the Logistics Coordinator for PuMP (Prospective Medical Professionals), Aany connects youth with healthcare and data governance opportunities through partnerships and guest speaker outreach. Nationally, she has served as an SDG Facilitator with Children First Canada, participating in G7 Youth Data Privacy Discussions.
Most recently, Aany was selected as one of the youth voices for the Actua National Girls Program Roundtable, contributing to national conversations on digital literacy, online safety, and equitable access to technology. A strong advocate for digital and data privacy, she is committed to empowering youth to navigate an increasingly digital world safely and responsibly. A high-achieving student who qualified for OFSAA in both cross-country and swimming, she also works as a certified lifeguard, swim instructor, and tutor for neurodivergent children. Across all her work, Aany remains dedicated to strengthening youth privacy awareness and promoting the well-being of young people across Canada.
Niki Sharma K.C.
is British Columbia’s Deputy Premier and Attorney General, serving as MLA for Vancouver-Hastings since 2020. As Attorney General, she has been a national leader in public safety and justice reform, championing changes that make communities safer. Under her leadership, B.C. successfully pushed for national bail reform, introducing tougher standards and reverse-onus provisions to keep repeat and violent offenders off the streets. She has also advanced stronger protections against online exploitation, led efforts to hold multinational corporations accountable for harmful practices, and is working to create a better legal system for victims of gender-based and intimate-partner violence.
A lawyer by profession, Niki’s practice focused on representing Indigenous peoples, including residential school survivors. She is a strong advocate for reconciliation, climate action, and equity, and has been recognized for her work combatting racism and advancing community development.
Raised in Sparwood, B.C., Niki now lives in East Vancouver with her two children and is committed to building a safer, fairer, and more inclusive province.
Valerie Steeves
is a Full Professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa. She was the lead researcher of Young Canadians in a Wired World from 2001 to 2022 and is the principal investigator of The eQuality Project, a cross-sectoral partnership looking at young people’s experiences of privacy, surveillance and equality in networked spaces.
