Local Conference of Youth Canada
LCOY Canada 2022 will be held on Saturday, October 22. The conference will involve keynote speeches, workshops, presentations, and panel discussions surrounding the themes of LCOY Canada inaugural conference. From these sessions, the Organizing Team will compile the highlights and perspective of youth into the LCOY Canada 2022 Output statement.
Opening Speakers
Julie Dabrusin
Danielle Ignace
Julie Dabrusin
Julie Dabrusin is a long-time resident of Toronto-Danforth who is committed to building up federal support for a strong, safe and sustainable city. She advocates for public transit, housing, the arts and small businesses. Julie has worked with the community on strengthening gun control and taking action to fight climate change. Currently, she is a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and a Member of the Natural Resources Committee.
Patrick Weiler
Danielle Ignace
Julie Dabrusin
Patrick Weiler is the Member of Parliament for West Vancouver – Sunshine Coast – Sea to Sky Country. Before entering politics, Patrick was an environmental and Aboriginal lawyer and international development professional with deep roots in the communities which he has been representing in Parliament since 2019.
Robert Kozak
Danielle Ignace
Danielle Ignace
Professor Robert Kozak is Dean of the Faculty of Forestry. His research and teaching focus on providing solutions to complex issues related to sustainable development, forestry, wood products and the emerging conservation economy. He has published more than 200 scholarly peer-review publications and was awarded IUFRO Scientific Achievement Award, the Killam Teaching Prize and the Doctor of Agriculture and Forestry honoris causa, University of Helsinki.
Danielle Ignace
Danielle Ignace
Danielle Ignace
Dr. Danielle Ignace is an Assistant Professor in Indigenous Natural Sciences at the Faculty of Forestry. She is an enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alene tribe and a broadly trained ecophysiologist with a passion for science communication. Her research and teaching focus on how global change impacts ecosystem function and Indigenous communities. Dr. Ignace is deeply committed to developing Indigenous curricula and her unique perspective bridges Indigenous communities, people of colour, and scientists.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Xuebin Zhang
Dr. Xuebin Zhang is Senior Research Scientist with Climate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada. His main research interest is the understanding of how and why the climate, in particular its extreme weather and climate events, has changed over the past century and how it is likely to change in the future. He works closely with the users of climate information. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He serves as Editor-in-Chief for the journal Weather and Climate Extremes. He served as a coordinating lead author for the chapter on Weather and Climate Extreme Events in a Changing Climate of the IPCC 6th Assessment WGI Report, and he was also a lead author for the IPCC Special Report on managing the risks of extreme events and the 5th Assessment Working Group I Report. In addition, he led the assessment on changes in temperature and precipitation for Canada’s Changing Climate Report.
Dr. Stephen Sheppard
Dr. Stephen Sheppard is a Professor Emeritus and Director Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning at the Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. His research focuses on climate change planning, outreach, and community engagement, to name a few. He published more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in reputed journals. He is also the author of an influential book, visualizing climate change. He led UBC’s Research Cluster of Excellence on Cool Tools: Social Mobilization on Climate Change using Digital Tools and spearheaded many cool community-based climate solutions programs such as The Cool 'Hoods Champs program. His works have been widely featured on CBC, CTV, and other local networks.