Annual Public Policy & Administration Lecture features Mario Dion

The School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) will present its annual Public Policy & Administration lecture on March 31 with keynote speaker Mario Dion.

Mario Dion
Mario Dion

The event, titled “Leading Canada’s Largest Tribunal: Opportunities & Challenge” runs from 5:30 to 7pm at 1014 Osgoode Hall Law School and is an open event.

Dion, the chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) since 2015, will explain how he approached the new challenge after his appointment by the government. Dion will describe the steps he went through in determining the key strategic challenges faced by the board, the strategies to address them and how he approached partnerships both within the public sector and with external stakeholders.

Dion will also draw on his experience at the helm of several other federal organizations during the course of his career since 1980.

Dion holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa. He joined the federal Department of Justice upon being called to the bar in 1980 and has assumed a number of management positions both within that department, as well as several other departments and agencies.

After leaving the practice of law in the late 1980s, Dion was assistant deputy minister at the Correctional Service of Canada and associate deputy minister of Justice. He also worked in deputy minister’s level positions at the Privy Council office and the office responsible for Indian residential schools resolution.

He was appointed chairperson of the National Parole Board in 2006 and public sector integrity commissioner in 2010 until his appointment to his current position at the IRB.

A reception will follow the lecture. The event is presented by the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) an the Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law (MPPAL).

To RSVP, follow the link sppa.laps.yorku.ca/about/event-registration/.

For more, contact Jasmattie Jewan at 416-736-2100 xx77528 or jewan@yorku.ca.