Date: FEBRUARY 25-26, 2026
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: The Westin Ottawa, 11 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON
CONFERENCE THEME:
Leadership for Human Security, Safer Communities, and Shared Pathways Forward
This national forum will also focus on Calls for Justice Calls for Extractive and Development Industries 13.1-13.5. Participants will engage in advancing the safety and dignity of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
TOPICS:
- Human Security and Safer Communities
- Leadership Responsibility and Shared Pathways Forward
- Implementing the Calls for Justice in Practice
- Indigenous Women’s Economic Participation and Safety
- Preventing Gendered Harm, Including Human Trafficking
- Identifying Governance, Decision-Making, and Establishing Public Confidence
Who should attend:
Regulators, industry and government leaders, community leadership, and service providers working to advance safety, accountability, and shared pathways forward.
Download or View the Event Program & Agenda
Master of Ceremonies and Speakers
MC
TINA KEEPER O.C., O.M., M.S.M
Tina is from Norway House Cree Nation, and on her maternal side she is from Muskrat Dam First Nation. She is a mother and a Kookum. She is currently the President of Kistikan Pictures Inc. which has produced Indigenous content for film and television since 2010.
Keeper won a Gemini award for acting in 1997 for her portrayal of RCMP Officer Michelle Kenidi in the CBC series North of 60 which ran from 1992-2003.
In 2005 Keeper ran and won in a federal election and served as a Member of Parliament. She introduced a Private Member’s Bill into the House that would ensure Canadian laws are consistent with UNDRIP, a Private Member’s Bill regarding Jordan’s Principle to address First Nations children’s healthcare in Canada, and she spoke on behalf of her party in the House of Commons to the IRS Settlement Agreement when it was formally finalized for implementation.
In 2014, in her role as an Honorary Witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Keeper co-produced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the TRC, a highly acclaimed new works ballet based on and guided by the IRS Survivors. It was called “Going Home Star.”
Tina currently serves on the board of directors for the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. She is a recipient of an Aboriginal Achievement Award, a Gemini Award, a Meritorious Service Medal, a Canadian Civil Liberties Association award for Public Engagement, a Canadian Screen Awards Lifetime Achievement award, a University of Winnipeg Distinguished Alumni Award, and an Honourary Doctorate of Letters from Wilfred Laurier University.
Speaker
HILDA ANDERSON-PYRZ
Hilda Anderson-Pyrz is a proud member of O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (OPCN) and a nationally respected Indigenous leader whose work turns lived experience into powerful advocacy and systemic change. As President of the National Family and Survivors Circle Inc., she brings the strength of a survivor and the perspective of a family member directly impacted by the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people (MMIWG2S+). Her leadership is grounded in deep community connection and frontline expertise.
Hilda’s work is rooted in the understanding that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are sacred. She is committed to centering the voices of families and survivors, and to advancing Indigenous-led, rights-based, and decolonizing approaches to justice and healing. Her advocacy is guided by cultural knowledge, humility, and a vision for self-determined futures for all Indigenous peoples. Raised on the shores of South Indian Lake and Rusty River, Hilda’s early life was shaped by the land and the teachings of her late father, a commercial fisherman and trapper. These foundations instilled a deep sense of identity, responsibility, and purpose, anchored in the strength of her Cree language, values, and traditions. For over two decades, Hilda has led transformative initiatives at the local, regional, and national levels. She played a key role in creating the MMIWG Liaison Unit at Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Inc., where she served as Director for five years. Her leadership has also extended to the Families First Foundation and the Manitoba MMIWG Coalition. Whether at community gatherings or international forums like the United Nations, she speaks with the authority of lived experience and the power of collective truth.
Hilda’s lifelong dedication has earned numerous awards recognizing her impact on justice, healing, and systems change. She is not only an advocate, she is a movement builder, a truth-teller, and a protector of community. With courage and compassion, she carries forward the stories of those who are missing, murdered, and surviving and calls on all to stand together in building a just future rooted in accountability and action.
Speaker
CHASTITY DAVIS-ALPHONSE
Chastity Davis-Alphonse is a mixed heritage woman of First Nations and European descent. She is a proud member of the Tla’amin Nation and married into the Tsilhqot’in Nation. Chastity is sole proprietor to her own multi-award-winning consulting business. She has worked with 100+ First Nation communities in British Columbia and several well-known corporations, companies, not-for- profits, and Indigenous organizations. Chastity’s work is completed in the spirit of reconciliation and focuses on building knowledge and capacities for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals, organizations, communities, and governments. In 2025, Chastity was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of her contributions to Indigenous relations. Chastity’s approach is from an Indigenous women’s lens. She is on the leading edge of Indigenous Gender-Based Analysis Plus (IGBA+) in Canada working with the federal and provincial governments, Tsilhqot’in National Government, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, and several others to weave the Indigenous women’s lens into their daily practices including Impact Assessment processes, policies, and procedures. Chastity is creator and visionary of “Deyen – An Invitation to Transform” – one of the only online learning platforms in the world that centers the wisdom, knowledge, and lived experiences of the original Matriarchs of the lands often called Canada. She is also Editor of one of the only
Indigenous Business Magazines in Canada titled Makook pi Selim (Chinook Jargon/Language) published in partnership with Business In Vancouver (BIV). Makook pi Selim is in its second year of publications and features 100% Indigenous writers and covers a wide and deep variety of topics as they relate to Indigenous Peoples and economic development. Chastity has a Master of Arts in Intercultural and International Communications, a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication, and a Diploma in Marketing Management & Professional Sales from BCIT. Chastity is also a certified yoga teacher in two modalities: Yin and Kundalini. She weaves the ancient practice and philosophy of yoga into her personal and professional life. For more visit: chastitydavis.com
Speaker
TRACY L. FRIEDEL, PhD
Tracy is President of the Lac Ste. Anne Métis Community Association, an organization representing her home community of Lac Ste. Anne Métis, in the Cree language known as âpihtawikosisânak ohci mânitow sâkahikanihk. As President and spokesperson, Tracy leads leveraging the formal recognition of her community’s Métis harvesting rights by the Province of Alberta in September 2022 to further advance the community’s section 35 rights as informed by Lac Ste. Anne Metis’ political, economic, spiritual and social values.
From 2011-2024, Tracy served on the Indigenous Leadership and Management Program Advisory Council at the Banff Centre and since 2017, as the Alberta Métis Member and Socioeconomic Subcommittee Chair for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee (the “IAMC” Committee) for the Trans Mountain Expansion (“TMX”) Project. The IAMC-TMX brings together Indigenous and senior federal representatives to enhance oversight regarding safety and protection of environmental and Indigenous interests as this pertains to the TMX Project and existing pipeline, and whose mandate also includes providing advice to government and regulators.
Tracy spent her early career working in various post-secondary educational contexts, including as a tenured Associate Professor (Indigenous Education) at UBC-Vancouver and as a Canada Research Chair (Indigenous Studies) at Mount Royal University-Calgary. Tracy has been Principal Applicant on various CIHR grants, leading research focused on topics linked to Indigenous health, education, and well-being. Tracy continues to mentor the next generation of Indigenous researchers through her role as Affiliate Associate Professor at UBC- Vancouver.
Speaker
MICHELLE OKERE
Michelle Okere is a proud Métis-Cree leader dedicated to advancing Indigenous economic participation, community empowerment, and systems-level change. She serves as Executive Director of the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation (IPF), where she leads national initiatives that strengthen access to financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and capital for Indigenous women, youth, and early-stage entrepreneurs across Canada.
Michelle holds an Executive MBA in Indigenous Business Leadership from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business and is widely recognized for her leadership in building pathways for Indigenous economic inclusion. She has spoken at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and represented Canada at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit in Brazil, contributing to global conversations on Indigenous economic development and inclusive growth.
Michelle serves on the boards of the Edmonton Community Foundation and PolicyWise for Children and Families and is a member of the University of Alberta Senate. Her contributions have been recognized through honours including Edify Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, the Deputy Minister’s Award for Innovation, and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal.
Her work focuses on building equitable economic systems that support Indigenous prosperity, leadership, and safety across sectors and communities.
Speaker
LISA KER
Lisa Ker is the Executive Director of the Community Housing Transformation Centre, where she advances equity-driven approaches to strengthening Canada’s community housing sector. With over 35 years of experience across government and community organizations, including the Province of Ontario, Toronto Community Housing, and as Executive Director of Ottawa Salus, she is a respected voice in national housing policy. Lisa serves on the boards of the Ottawa Community Land Trust, the Lowertown Community Resource Centre, and the Community Housing Management Network. She holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University and lives in Hull, Québec.
Community Leadership, Housing Solutions: This session explores how the Community Housing Transformation Centre supports community-led, non-market housing solutions, with examples from across Canada and a focused look at Nunavut’s Nunalingni Piruqpaalirut Fund. Participants will hear concrete project examples and engage in small-group discussion on the conditions that enable Indigenous women to lead housing solutions.
Speaker
AJA MASON
she/her pronouns (pronounced “Asia”)
Aja Mason is a white settler born, raised, and benefiting from the traditional territories of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, Kwanlin Dün First Nation, and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council. She is a northern researcher and measurement specialist who has spent over a decade working to make visible what official data systems erase. As Executive Director of the Yukon Status of Women Council from 2018 to 2024, she led research on the experiences of precariously housed and unhoused women, pandemic impacts on northern livelihoods, and the conditions faced by Indigenous and racialized women working in the mining industry. That work brought her directly into contact with the gap between what families know to be true and what data systems are designed to count. She is co-author of multiple publications and has worked extensively on community-level indicators for gender-based violence in northern and remote contexts. She currently runs Boreal Logic Inc and serves as a Commissioner on the Yukon Human Rights Commission.
Speaker
ERIN WHITMORE
Erin Whitmore is a strategic leader with extensive experience in non-profit management at both the national and community levels. As the Executive Director of the Ending Violence Association of Canada from 2019 to 2024, Erin shaped and led the organization’s advocacy efforts aimed at building a unified, coordinated voice to address sexual violence in Canada. Prior to this role, Erin served as a Senior Researcher for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She has also worked in research and policy analyst roles with the New Brunswick Women’s Council, as well as with a variety of grassroots and community-based organizations. In these roles, she led multiple national and provincial-level community-based research projects focused on a range of gender equity issues.
As a registered social worker, Erin’s policy, research, and advocacy efforts are deeply informed by her extensive direct practice experience supporting survivors of sexual violence. Erin currently leads Edgework Counselling & Consulting where she continues to support individuals and organizations in identifying and promoting possibility-rich solutions to complex and systemic social challenges.
Forum/Event Information
Event/Forum Floor Plan
NOTE: Rooms and event details subject to change.
The forum will be held on Level 3 & 4 of The Westin Ottawa. The following rooms and map locations are provided:
Room Name Location
Governor General 1 & 2 Level 4 – Plenary room
Governor General 3 Level 4 – Breakout room 1
Provinces Ballroom 1 Level 4 – Breakout room 2
Provinces Ballroom 2 Level 4 – Breakout room 3
Les Saisons Level 3 – Breakout room 4
Additional Support Rooms:
• Newfoundland – Health Support Workers Support room on February 25 & 26, 2026
• Nova Scotia – Health Support Workers Support Room on February 25 & 26, 2026
Stay tuned for the forum agenda and further event information.
