Events

Status of the Internet in Canada and the importance of Canadian IXP’s

Jacques Latour

Chief Technology Officer, CIRA/.CA

A quick overview of the Canadian Internet exchange landscape from coast to coast to coast. Canada has its share of challenges and opportunities in building and growing the IXP infrastructure near the Canadian border, and also to support the need of the rural communities.

As an expert in developing innovative, leading-edge IT solutions, Jacques has established CIRA as a global leader among ccTLD registries. He has 25+ years of experience in the private and not-for-profit sectors and as CIRA’s CTO,is currently leading CIRA Labs, CIRA’s innovation hub and providing leadership and direction for the management and security of the .CA registry and its underlying DNS.

A visionary in the Internet community, Jacques led the development of CIRA’s Internet Performance Test, is an outspoken advocate for the adoption of IPv6 and represents the .CA registry internationally as a member of a variety of working groups and advisory groups, including being a member of ICANN’s Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), TLDOPS standing committees and TechDay and DNSSEC Planning Program Committee.

Jacques is committed to the development of a new Canadian Internet architecture. He has served as the catalyst for the creation of a national Canadian IXP association, CA-IX, and is a member of the Manitoba Internet Exchange’s (MBIX) and the DNS-OARC Board of Directors.

Jacques holds an Electronics Engineering Technologist diploma from Algonquin College in Ottawa, is ITIL v3 Foundation certified and is a certified Agile ScrumMaster.

Agenda

11:30 – 12:00  Lite Lunch, Networking, and Welcoming Remarks
12:00 – 13:00  Seminar

IEEE Canada Technology Leadership Monthly Webinar

Speaker: Alan R. Emery, Founder, The Stable Climate Group

Topic: Net Zero 2050? Canada’s Options in a Human-Caused Hot World

Registration Link: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/249205

Flyer/PDF: The-2020-IEEE-Canada-Technology-Leadership-Webinar-Series-VII

Summary

The sources of human-caused global warming will be presented briefly followed by overwhelming evidence that global warming is real and dangerous.  The speaker will position Canada in a global hot world context. Next, a synopsis of the scale required to get to net zero 2050 and the psychology of global fossil fuel “addiction” will be discussed.   A broad series of what could be excellent options for an innovative future Canada to lead the world by example with a focus on engineering opportunities combined with social and economic requirements will be outlined. Finally, the more probable trajectory for Canada and the world given the current Canadian and world governance in a predatory capitalistic world will be presented.  Even in this dangerous future probability, Canada has many favourable options, if it plans carefully.

Biography

Alan received his BSc. from the University of Toronto; MSc. from McGill University; and PhD from Cornell University and University of Miami.  His scientific specialty is ecology and evolution with a focus on marine sciences. He pioneered in direct observation
underwater at night on coral reefs and in fresh water. He was among the first to dive under the ice in the Arctic. He has led expeditions to the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. He was a research scientist with the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, the Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario, professor at the University of Toronto, Curator and Sciences Coordinator at the Royal Ontario Museum, President of the Canadian Museum of Nature, and has been the governor, president, or director of many scientific organizations. When his brother fell terminally ill, Alan brought his engineering company back to a profitable position to be sold by his brother’s family.

He has published nearly 100 scientific, technical, and popular articles and books spanning subjects from marine biology to the management of academic organizations. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television interviews and has been the subject of, technical advisor for, or written over 150 television shows for CTV, Discovery, and the CBC.

As part of his work with indigenous people, he prepared policy papers for Canada, the World Bank and the UN. In addition, he has worked as a consultant with the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization almost since its inception.

Recently, Alan has moved his primary attention from global biodiversity loss to the solution of human-caused global warming. In 2015, he initiated and is now leading an international group of scientists and engineers to help solve the global warming problems: The Stable Climate Group.