Host

Arjun Ram
CBC Kids News Contributor

Arjun Ram
CBC Kids News Contributor
Arjun Ram is a Grade 10 French immersion student from Hamilton, Ont., with many diverse interests such as sports, music and math. Arjun has developed an interest in reporting on social and political issues as well as important developments in the area of professional sports. He hopes to one day work as a news anchor for CBC.
Traditional Blessing

Elder Verna McGregor
Algonquin Cultural Advisor

Elder Verna McGregor
Algonquin Cultural Advisor
Verna McGregor is from the First Nation Algonquin Community of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, which is approximately 120 kilometres north of Ottawa, Ontario. Ottawa and Gatineau form part of the Algonquin Nation’s traditional unceded lands.
Verna works at Minwaashin Lodge – The Indigenous Women’s Support Centre in Ottawa delivering an employment and training.
Verna has remained firmly grounded in her community and nation by being part of also the group of traditional Grandmothers (Kokomisag) and Elders. This includes the importance of promotion of retention of the Algonquin language and culture which is so important when addressing issues from a cultural perspective.
Special Appearances

The Honourable Karina Gould
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
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Sylvie Bérubé
Porte-parole du dossier Famille, Enfants et Développement Social, Bloc Québécois
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Chris Hadfield
Canadian Astronaut (Ret'd), Engineer, Pilot and Author
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Chris Hadfield
Canadian Astronaut (Ret'd), Engineer, Pilot and Author
Click here for a video messageA heavily decorated astronaut, engineer, and pilot, Colonel Hadfield’s many awards include the Order of Canada, the Meritorious Service Cross and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. He
was named the Top Test Pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy and was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. He has flown three space missions, building two space stations, performing two spacewalks, crewing the Shuttle and Soyuz and commanding the International Space Station. Colonel Hadfield is the author of three international bestsellers: An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, You Are Here, and The Darkest Dark, plus a new thriller novel, The Apollo Murders. He released a music album, Space Sessions: Songs from a Tin Can, and his version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity has been seen by 100s of millions. His TED talk on fear has been watched 11 million times. Colonel Hadfield is the co-creator/host of the internationally acclaimed BBC series Astronauts, and helped create/host, with actor Will Smith, the National Geographic series One Strange Rock. Colonel Hadfield is the producer of the celebrated Rare Earth series on YouTube and the creator of the on-stage celebration Generator, which combines science, comedy, and music for sold-out audiences. Additionally, Colonel Hadfield is an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo, an advisor to SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and Board Chair of the Open Lunar Foundation.

Karen Joseph
CEO of Reconciliation Canada

Karen Joseph
CEO of Reconciliation Canada
Karen Joseph is a Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw visionary and leader committed to weaving reconciliation into the social, economic and environmental fabric of our lives, and the profound transformations that this work requires. She co-founded Reconciliation Canada in 2012 to uphold a dream held by her father to witness thousands of people walking together in support of Indian Residential School survivors and Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In September 2013, the Walk for Reconciliation brought 70,000 people to the streets of downtown Vancouver to display their commitment to revitalizing the relationships among Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. With over 30 years’ experience in social change making and capacity building, Karen works with thought leaders and organizations of all kinds to develop and champion transformative initiatives that will move the social, economic and environmental reconciliation needed for a future to benefit all our relations. Karen is a Fellow of the Academy of Systems Change and a graduate of the Getting to Maybe: Social Innovation Residency. She was recognized by BC Business Magazine as one of the Top BC Women of Influence in 2017, and was awarded Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) for her contributions to Canada’s reconciliation movement.
Back Pocket Reconciliation Action Plan – https://
Community Action Toolkits – https://

Chief Dr. Robert Joseph
O.B.C., O.C., Member of the National Assembly of First Nations Elders Council, Residential "School" Survivor

Chief Dr. Robert Joseph
O.B.C., O.C., Member of the National Assembly of First Nations Elders Council, Residential "School" Survivor
Chief Joseph is currently the Ambassador for Reconciliation Canada and a former member of the National Assembly of First Nations Elders Council. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Indian Residential School Survivors Society and is an honourary witness to Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). As Chairman of the Native American Leadership Alliance for Peace and Reconciliation and Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation with the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IFWP), Chief Joseph has sat with the leaders of South Africa, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Washington, DC to learn from and share his understanding of faith, hope, healing and reconciliation.

Marissa Papaconstantinou
Canadian Paralympian
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Being born without a right foot has never got in the way of Marissa Papaconstantinou pursuing what she wanted to achieve in life. Originally a soccer and basketball player, Marissa fell in love with track after being fitted for her first running prosthetic (blade) at the age of 12 at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital (whom she is currently a proud ambassador for).
Marissa joined a local track club in Scarborough, the city she calls home, becoming a Canadian record holder just a year later. She competed in her first World Championships at 16 years of age, making it to the finals of both the 100m and 200m. At the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, Marissa finished 9th in the 100m but was disqualified during the 200m finals for stepping on the line. Seeking redemption at the 2017 World Championships, Marissa placed 6th in the 100m. Then while sprinting to the finish line in podium position in the 200m, Marissa tore her hamstring. Despite agonizing pain and heartbreak, she got up and finished the race in dramatic fashion, with the support of 40,000 cheering fans. Images from that moment went viral on social media all around the world.
Fully recovered from her injury, Marissa carried the momentum from a Canadian record T64 200m run set at the 2021 Toronto High Performance Twilight event to an incredible performance at the Tokyo Paralympics. Breaking the Canadian record again with a 27.08 second run in the T64 200m event, Marissa went on to a win a Bronze Medal in the T64 100m event with another personal best and Canadian record time of 13.07 seconds.
Off the track, Marissa is studying sports media at Ryerson University with aspirations of becoming a sports broadcaster. She is also a proud dog mom to Myles, a cockapoo. Marissa is an experienced public speaker sharing her messages and experiences to youth about never giving up, resiliency, and believing anything is possible.

Jill Schnarr
Chief Social Innovation and Communications Officer

Jill Schnarr
Chief Social Innovation and Communications Officer
Jill Schnarr leads corporate communications, social media, media relations, public affairs, sponsorships, community investment, brand office, brand marketing, TELUS Studios, and corporate events. With over 29 years of telecommunications industry experience, Jill is a dynamic and engaging leader with a natural ability to build strategy and enable collaboration. She has significantly influenced TELUS’ reputation as a global leader in corporate citizenship, enabling TELUS to be the most trusted telco brand in Canada. She has ensured our social purpose approach focuses on business benefit, enabling every dollar invested in the community to return over 4 times back to TELUS in business impact and 150% to the community in societal impact.
Jill leads TELUS Days of Giving, facilitating over 40,000 volunteers globally in 2019 alone, and our Team TELUS Cares programs, enabling over $700 million in giving and 10 million volunteer hours from TELUS since 2000. She has launched major marketing campaigns including We Give Where We Live, Go Pink, Rise Above, Share Love, All Connected, Million Hours, and 2019’s Most Giving Company in the World campaign.
Jill was recognized as one of Canada’s Distinctive Women, as one of the Most Influential Women in Vancouver, and as Most Innovative Leader by the Canadian Women in Communications. Under Jill’s leadership, TELUS was acknowledged as the Most Philanthropic Corporation in the World by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and was awarded the Prime Minister’s Inaugural Corporate Volunteer Award.
Jill earned her Honours Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business and completed her Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation from the University of Waterloo. She achieved her Masters of Business Administration from the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria in 2018, winning awards for top GPA and best overall MBA thesis project. Jill has also attended Executive Education programs at INSEAD, Rotman School of Business, University of British Columbia, Sauder School of Business, and Harvard University.
Jill is a board member of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, and served as a director on the BC Women’s Hospital Foundation for 7 years, and as a TELUS Vancouver Community Board member for 6 years. She was a Board Director and Chair of the Women’s Leadership Circle on the Vancouver Board of Trade. She served on the fundraising cabinet for BC Women’s Hospital Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, and was Co-Chair of Glow, the inaugural BC Women’s Hospital Gala, raising $1.4M, significantly over the $500K target.
Jill lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband, David, her two teenage sons, Dylan and Andrew, their three cats and one dog. She likes to go camping in her Airstream on Hornby Island during the summer, and to go skiing at Big White in Kelowna during the winter.

Sara Austin
Founder and CEO, Children First Canada

Sara Austin
Founder and CEO, Children First Canada
Sara is a world class champion for children, with more than 20 years of global and Canadian experience. As the Founder and CEO of Children First Canada, she leads a national movement to make Canada the best place in the world for kids to grow up.
You’ll find her name on several “most powerful” lists, and for good reason. She has led highly successful advocacy, public awareness and philanthropic campaigns and shaped major public policy efforts. She has learned multiple languages and is fluent in the parlance of diplomacy. Her work has taken her into the top circles of power in the UN, national governments, and boardrooms around the world. In recognition of her efforts, she has twice been awarded the Top 25 Women of Influence, and in 2017 she was the youngest person to be inducted into the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame.
Sara has a proven track record of leading high achieving teams with local and global impact. Most recently she served as the CEO of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre, where she led Canada’s most advanced frontline agency responding to child abuse. Previously she served as Director of the President’s Office of World Vision Canada, supporting the CEO and Board of Directors and leading strategic initiatives for children and workplace diversity and inclusion.
Her leadership has impacted the lives of millions of children. Most notably, she led a global campaign that resulted in the adoption of the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child for a Communications Procedure (OP3). This ground-breaking law allows kids or their advocates to hold governments accountable for violations of children’s rights.
She is an expert in governance best practices and has served on the UN’s Global Advisory Council on Violence Against Children, the WXN Diversity Council and the Boards of Dalhousie University, the Canadian Coalition on the Rights of the Child, York Region Children’s Aid Society and the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre.
Sara holds an MSt/LLM with Distinction in International Human Rights Law from Oxford and an Honours BA in International Development and Women’s Studies from Dalhousie University. She has completed the Governance Essentials Program for Non-Profits with the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Maytree Foundation’s Public Policy Program and the University of Alberta’s Indigenous Partnerships Program.
On a personal level, Sara is married and has a son, and she is a cancer survivor. She is an avid downhill skier, water sports enthusiast and international traveler.

Jagmeet Singh
Leader of the New Democratic Party
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Member of Parliament for Burnaby South.
Jagmeet Singh grew up in Scarborough, St. John’s, and Windsor, and served as an Ontario MPP from 2011 until 2017. On October 1st, 2017, he became leader of Canada’s NDP – guided by values rooted in his experiences growing up, Jagmeet is working to build a fairer, more just Canada where everyone can get ahead.
Jagmeet is fighting for services people urgently need right now. That means creating good jobs to combat growing inequality. It means a real plan for our environment that includes workers and their families. And it means addressing the skyrocketing costs of housing and health care that squeeze too many families in Burnaby South.

The Honourable Erin O’Toole
Leader of the Official Opposition
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Erin O’Toole has led a life of service. Born in Montreal, QC, he grew up as a middle-class kid in Bowmanville, ON. He enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force when he was 18 and attended the Royal Military College. His time in the RCAF took him across Canada, completing basic training in Chilliwack, BC; earning his wings in Winnipeg, MB; and serving out of Halifax, NS as a tactical navigator. During that time, Erin participated in search and rescue missions on Sea King helicopters and learned French.
After 12 years of service, Erin retired from the military and spent the next decade working in the private sector as a corporate lawyer. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the True Patriot Love Foundation, a charity that serves veterans and military families across Canada.
He has been elected to represent Durham three times, first in a 2012 by-election, then in 2015, and 2019. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade before becoming Minister of Veterans Affairs, a beleaguered file he successfully turned around within 10 months at the end of the Harper government.
After serving as the Conservative Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs for two years, Erin is now the Leader of Canada’s Conservatives.
Erin is married to Rebecca and they have two children, Mollie and Jack.
Youth Panelists

Ziya Bhayani
Young Canadians' Parliament

Ziya Bhayani
Young Canadians' Parliament
Ziya Bhayani, is a 14-year-old from Calgary and her pronouns are she/her. She is very passionate about advocating for more platforms where youth voices are heard and valued! Some of her hobbies and passions include singing, playing soccer, writing, and art. Along with her hobbies, she is very interested in neuroscience, emerging technologies, and how to use that knowledge to solve real world problems.

Lucy Diaz
Young Canadians' Parliament

Lucy Diaz
Young Canadians' Parliament
Lucy Diaz is a passionate advocate who has been raising awareness about accessibility issues for the last four years. Being a daughter of immigrants and a sister of a full-time wheelchair user has given her a deeper understanding of different people’s perspectives.
She is a high school student, patient/family advisor, and a 24/7 obstacle breaker. She is also a photographer, book lover, dog mom, and a coffee connoisseur.
For eight years she has been living in Port Coquitlam, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish, Kwikwetlem, and S’ólh Téméxw people. Most of her time is dedicated to fighting against climate change, ableism and xenophobia as a member of different organizations like AWFA (Accessible Washrooms for All), Heritage Fair Alumni, and as an EAF Youth Accessibility Leader.
She loves how many opportunities the young generation has to be involved in the creation of a better future for our beloved Canada, so she encourages others to look for ways to help and do their part. One of her favourite quotes is: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

Lily Kurtz
Young Canadians' Parliament

Lily Kurtz
Young Canadians' Parliament
Lily Kurtz is a 12-year-old girl who lives in Ottawa. Her pronouns are she/her and she would like to one day be able to help end world hunger and help people with their mental health struggles. She has been with the Young Canadians’ Parliament (YCP) for a year but has attended three other events in Ottawa in the past. She has also been a public speaker at the Ottawa Carleton District School Board and has organized a number of school-wide events, helping her become a great leader in her community. She is a hearing-impaired person with a love for competitive trampolining and sports. She is an outgoing person and in her free time you can always find her listening to music.

Ispeeta Ahmed
Young Canadians' Parliament

Ispeeta Ahmed
Young Canadians' Parliament
Ispeeta Ahmed is a Grade 12 student in rural Nova Scotia. She is a curious learner and believes everyone has the potential to follow their passions under the right support!
Ispeeta’s own interest in technology specifically started in Grade 9, when she became the only girl in her school’s robotics team. Eventually, she became captain and was able to recruit more members and place in the top 10 at the provincial competitions.
Ispeeta wanted to use her own experiences to improve digital literacy and confidence in her community. She mentors middle school kids, shows pre-service teachers robotics in partnership with the local university and is in charge of showing all Grade 9 girls in her school potential STEM careers.
Ispeeta also has a passion for public speaking and politics, which prompted her to co-found her school’s first Model UN Club. With the weekly meetings, Ispeeta opens dialogue about national and world issues, effectively creating a more globally aware mindset of students.
Overall, Ispeeta cares about transferring her knowledge and experience to those around her, and learning from those interactions as well! She believes that creating a prosperous and supportive community will help in any situation and enact real change.