Governing council
SSHRC’s governing council advises the president of SSHRC on strategy, risk management, performance management and stakeholder relations, with the goal of ensuring SSHRC’s priorities and programs support high-quality research, training and knowledge mobilization, and enable a strong, vibrant research community in the social sciences and humanities.
SSHRC’s governing council adheres to the SSHRC Council By-Law.
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Vice-president and chair of council
The vice-president and chair of SSHRC’s governing council chairs its meetings and plays a key role in strengthening the council’s ability to provide SSHRC’s president with independent guidance.
Normand Labrie
President and Vice Chancellor
Université de l’Ontario français
Toronto, Ontario
Council members
Council members elect the vice-president and chair of council, subject to approval by the governor-in-council.
Walid Abdelmagid
President and Chief Academic Officer
Swenam College
Burnaby, British Columbia
Aleem Bharwani
Physician (Internal Medicine)
Associate Professor
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
Yves Bourgeois
Professor of Economics and Dean of Studies
Université de Moncton, campus de Shippagan
Shippagan, New Brunswick
Neil Cooke
Vice-president, Academic
Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Meg (Margaret) Gassanov
Founder and Principal Consultant
Strategic Measures
Toronto, Ontario
Ted Hewitt
SSHRC president
Ottawa, Ontario
Angela James
President
Aurora College
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Åsa Kachan
CEO and chief librarian
Halifax Public Libraries
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Éric Montpetit
Professor, and Vice-Dean of Research
Faculty of Arts and Science
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Québec
Carmen Robertson
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in North American Indigenous Visual and Material Culture
Joint-appointed to the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies, the School for Studies in Art and Culture, and the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art, and Culture
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario
Bukola Salami
Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
Malinda Smith
Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion)
Professor, Political Science
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
Marie-Eve Sylvestre
Dean and full professor
Faculty of Law
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario
Dawn Wallin
Associate Vice-President Research (Engagement)
Professor, College of Education
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Council mandate
SSHRC’s governing council fulfills its mandate in accordance with a set of guiding principles and responsibilities.
Council’s role strengthens the president’s ability to lead the organization with the conviction that comes from independent advice, and, with the support of council, to account with confidence for the decisions made, the resources expended and the results achieved to the minister and to Parliament.
Guiding principles
- Council focuses on strategic direction, priorities, stewardship of resources, performance oversight, stakeholder relations, and the pursuit of excellence.
- Council’s committee structure reflects SSHRC’s strategic direction and business model.
- Council optimizes the effectiveness of its governance practices through disclosure, transparency and quality management.
- Building upon their diverse backgrounds and competencies, council members perform their duties in pursuit of the long-term interests and aspirations of Canadians.
- Council considers SSHRC’s broad risk context and applies risk management principles in making decisions and providing advice.
Responsibilities
- Council ensures that a strategic planning process is in place.
- Council participates in the development of, and endorses, the strategic direction, annual priorities and the broad-based allocation of resources.
- Council provides input into the annual performance objectives of the organization, monitoring achievement against those objectives, and endorsing the substance of performance reports.
- Council advises on and assists with stakeholder engagement.
- Council develops and maintains principles and processes for effective governance.