Mr. Solomon Wong
Dr. Zaheer Lakhani of Alberta, Chair of the Roundtable, holds a Bachelor of Medicine in Surgery from Leeds University. He has been a cardiologist and the Director of the Coronary Care Unit at the Surgeon General Hospital in St. Albert, Alberta since 1994. Dr. Lakhani was a member of His Highness Prince Karim Agakhan National Council for Canada from 1993-1996, was Vice-Chair of the Canadian Centre for Police-Race Relations from 1993-1996, and has been a member of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation from 2001 to the present. Dr. Lakhani has been recognized for his community work in a number of areas. Of note, in 2000, he received the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Clubs of Edmonton; in 1996, he was awarded a Humanitarian Award from the Mayfield Rotary Club; and in 1991, he received an Award of Excellence in the Outreach Category from the Ismaili Muslim Community of Edmonton.
Dr. Myrna Lashley of Quebec, Vice-Chair of the Roundtable, holds a PhD in Counselling Psychology from McGill University. She has been a Professor of Psychology at John Abbott College in Montreal since 2003 and was recently appointed Vice-President of the Governing Board of the École nationale de Police du Québec. Dr. Lashley has served as a consultant to the Jewish Family Services Centre, as well as the Ville Marie Social Services, both of Montreal. She was a member of the Centre for Research Action on Race Relations from 1999-2002 and is the Recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award from the City of Montreal in 2004, an award presented to an individual whose contributions to the community exemplify the work of Dr. King.
Mr. Leo Adler of Ontario holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, majoring in sociology and political science, as well as a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Mr. Adler has been a criminal defence lawyer since 1975 when he was called to the Ontario bar and has since become a member of the Criminal Lawyers Association as well as the International Association of Defence Attorneys. In 1999, he was named Counsel and Director of National Affairs for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. Mr. Adler has participated as an NGO delegate at the Assembly of States-Parties meeting of the International Criminal Court at the United Nations as well as chaired various committees, groups and seminars dealing with different aspects of the justice system.
Mr. Riazuddin Ahmed of Saskatchewan holds a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Mr. Ahmed recently retired from the Government of Saskatchewan after working in various senior corporate planning, program management and administrative capacities. As a professional urban planner, Mr. Ahmed has extensive experience in community work, including organizing the 2004 Muslims for Peace and Justice Conference in Regina as well as a number of community workshops on the Anti-Terrorism Act for the Muslim community in Regina. He is also a founding member and two-term chair of the Regina Multifaith Forum (1993-2004) and is a founding member and community liaison director for Regina Muslims for Peace and Justice (2001-2004).
Dr. David Bensoussan of Quebec holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from McGill University. He has been a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the École de technologie supérieure de l’Université du Québec since 1980. Currently, Dr. Bensoussan is the President of the Communauté Sépharade Unifiée du Québec and has been involved in philanthropic and community organizations for many years. He has published extensively in the telecommunications and energy fields and has filed a large number of patents. He has also written a number of literary works, including a Bible commentary. His other accomplishments include receiving a fellowship from the Matsumae International Foundation in Japan in 1988 and the Prix du mérite et d’excellence du Centre communautaire juif in 2001.
Mr. Ashraf Ghanem of New Brunswick holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick. Currently, he is employed as a financial analyst for the New Brunswick Department of Transportation, a position he has held since 1991. Mr. Ghanem is the President of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council Inc., a provincial umbrella organization for multicultural associations from across New Brunswick. He is the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Multiculturalism and a member of the Steering Committee on the National Anti-Racism Council of Canada (NARCC). He is also on the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Metropolis Centre. On behalf of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council Inc., Mr. Ghanem has presented numerous briefs and consultative documents to all levels of government, including, in 2003, a brief to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, titled “Settlement and Integration”. Over the past eighteen years, Mr. Ghanem has been extremely involved in immigration and multicultural issues at the community level and at all three levels of government.
Dr. Kuldip Gill of British Columbia holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia. She is an instructor in cultural diversity in health care with the Open Learning Agency of B.C. and is a Research Associate with the Institute of Asian Research with the University of British Columbia. Dr. Gill has extensive experience with various non-governmental organizations, and is a recent past president of the YWCA (Vancouver) and of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of B.C. For six years, she was a member of the Vancouver Police Chief’s Diversity Advisory Committee. Dr. Gill is a member of the Vancouver Working Group on UN Resolution 1325 -- women, peace and security, as well as a former board member, and now advisor for the Asian Heritage Month Society of Vancouver. She was elected as a fellow of the American Anthropological Association in 1993 and has been recognized with a Young Canadian Researchers’ Award from the International Development Research Centre. She is also a recipient of the Queen’s Gold Jubilee Medal.
Mr. David Gisser of Manitoba holds a Bachelor of Civil Law Degree (BCL) and a Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB) which were obtained through the National Program of McGill University Faculty of Law. He has been employed as Crown Counsel for the Manitoba Department of Justice since 1985. He is also a sessional instructor in Clinical Administrative Law at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law. Previously, Mr. Gisser was employed in general private practice, with emphasis in labour law, civil litigation and criminal law. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and was also the Chairperson for the Manitoba Department of Justice’s All Charities Campaign in 2001, for which the Department received an Outstanding Achievement Award. He also previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Child and Family Services of Winnipeg and as President of the Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Winnipeg from 1997 to 1999.
Mr. Mohinder Grewal of British Columbia holds an Advanced Level General Certificate of Education from the University of London, and is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. He has served as a board member for the Convention Refugee Determination Division with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Mr. Grewal was the Executive Director of the Sikh Professional Association of Canada and the President of the National Association of Canadians of Origin in India. Currently, Mr. Grewal is a member of the executive of National Visible Minority Council on Labour Force Development; the British Columbia Provincial Committee on Diversity and Policing; and the City of Richmond Intercultural Advisory Committee and Seniors’ Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Global Television Network Diversity Committee; the Vancouver Cross-Cultural Seniors’ Network and an associate member of the Committee for Racial Justice.
Mr. Hussein Hamdani of Ontario holds a Bachelor of Law from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Toronto. Mr. Hamdani is currently a Barrister and Solicitor with Simpson Wiggle LLP and a law instructor at Niagara College. He also serves as a Public Relations Officer with the Halton Islamic Association and a Senior Advisor to the Muslim Youth of North America Organization. Mr. Hamdani is a Director on the Board of the Hamdani Foundation of St. Catharines and the Settlement and Integration Services Organization of Hamilton. He co-coordinated the Toronto Muslim Summit in 2003 and is a founding member of the Ihya Foundation.
Dr. Edna Keeble of Nova Scotia holds a PhD in Political Science from Dalhousie University. Since 1990, she has taught at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax in the Department of Political Science and is currently an Associate Professor. Dr. Keeble has extensively researched and written about security issues, with special attention to human security aspects. She was part of the Southeast Asia Cooperation Program from 1997 to 2003 which worked with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Institute of Strategic and International Studies. Dr. Keeble’s role in the program focused on gender and security issues. She is also the author of the article, entitled “Immigration, Civil Liberties and National/Homeland Security: A Comparison between Canada and the United States,” published in the Spring 2005 issue (Vol. 60) of International Journal.
Dr. Vettivelu Nallainayagam of Alberta holds a PhD in Economics from McGill University. He has been an instructor in the Department of Economics and Political Science at Mount Royal College since 1987 and was the Chair of that department from 1993 to 1997. Since 2001, Dr. Nallainayagam has served as a Founder Director and Research Chair with the Ethnocultural Council of Calgary, and from 1990 to 2002, he was a Board member, Vice-President and President of the Calgary Multicultural Centre. In 2001, he received the Immigrant of Distinction Award from the Calgary Immigrant Aid Society for community service and the Commemorative Medal for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
Ms. Salma Siddiqui of Ontario owns and operates a corporate travel business agency. She is the 2nd Vice-President of the Circle of Canadians and is also a member of both the Canadian Ethnocultural Council and the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Organization. Ms. Siddiqui organized the first annual Festival of Friendship Dinner in Ottawa in 2001, and has also been involved in Black History Month celebrations.
Mr. Solomon Wong of British Columbia holds a Master of Sciences in Planning degree from the University of Toronto. Mr. Wong is currently the Director of Security and Planning with Inter VISTAS Consulting Inc. He has been involved in a number of community groups. Of note, he is currently the Director of the Multi-Lingual Orientation Service Association for Immigration Communities (MOSAIC). He also served a one-year term as President of the Association of Chinese-Canadian Professionals (ACCP) from 2003-2004. In 2002, Mr. Wong co-organized a multi-agency forum for the Vancouver region on the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
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