Canadian Race Relations Foundation

Albert Lo
Chairperson
(Richmond, British Columbia)

Mr. Lo is a graduate of University of Guelph. He has more than 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors involving both for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations.

Between 1999 and 2005 he served as a Board member of Trinity Television of Winnipeg, and held several senior positions including Director of Programming Balance and Vice President Corporate Affairs and Partnerships Development at NOWTV in British Columbia. He was instrumental in establishing strategic alliances supportive of cross-cultural cross-religious dialogue through television programming and multi-ethnic forums.

He was also a professional in the real estate industry, and held a number of positions with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation from 1978 to 1997. He was a member of its Diversity Management Committee, Rotating Chair of the Employment Equity Committee, and Regional Representative (BC and Yukon) for its Visible Minorities Advisory Group. From 1990 to 1996, he was concurrently National President of the Advisory Group on Visible Minorities.

Mr. Lo also played a major leadership role in various other organizations notably in the areas of promoting understanding, respect and harmony among the diverse ethno-cultural and multi-faith communities through television program production, multicultural workshops and seminars, as well as immigrant, youth and seniors support services.

In recognition of his contributions to the community and to Canada, Mr. Lo received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Toni Silberman
Vice Chair
(Toronto, Ontario)

At the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Ms. Silberman was co-ordinator of special programs, from 1990 to 1997, and executive assistant to the chief commissioner and director of public affairs from 1982 to 1990. Previously, she worked as a private management and research consultant, as well as a consulting associate with McKay Trost Associates. She has also served as director of Seneca College's part-time learning and TeleCollege programs.

Ms. Silberman has been involved in many community and professional organizations throughout her career. She has been on the Beth Torah Congregation's board of trustees since 2004 and on the board of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies since 2005. From 1983 to 2000, she was an officer and member of the executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress-Ontario Region and served on numerous committees. A member of B'nai Brith since 1984, she has served as chair of the League for Human Rights and in various other capacities.

Ashraf Ghanem
(Fredericton, New Brunswick)

Ashraf Ghanem of New Brunswick holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick. Currently, he is employed as Director of Settlement and Multiculturalism Branch with the Population Growth Secretariat, for the government of New Brunswick. Mr. Ghanem is the past President of the New Brunswick Multicultural Council Inc.; a provincial umbrella organization for multicultural associations from across New Brunswick. He is the past Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Multiculturalism. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Atlantic Metropolis Centre on behalf of the Population Growth Secretariat.

Mr. Ghanem currently serves on the board of directors for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Over the past 23 years, Mr. Ghanem has been extremely involved in immigration, settlement and multiculturalism issues at the community level and at all three levels of government as well as internationally. In February 2005, he was appointed to the Cross Cultural Roundtable on Security, which was created to engage in a long-term dialogue on matters related to national security as they impact a diverse and pluralistic society.

Mr. Ghanem is a passionate advocate for public education on diversity and race relations issues, and has worked with various agencies to create public awareness on issues relating to anti-racism and human rights. In April 2005 he was awarded the Thérèse Casgrain National Volunteer Award, which annually recognizes one man and one woman who have contributed significantly to the advancement of a social cause and to the well-being of their fellow citizens.

Paul Attia 
(Ottawa, Ontario)

Mr. Attia is an Ottawa based lawyer with the Ministry of the Attorney General. He began his legal career as a Bay Street litigator for one of Canada's largest law firms. He has spent the majority of his career, however, as a Criminal Prosecutor with the Crown Attorney's Office. Mr. Attia has prosecuted a large number of cases including those involving charges of murder, fraud, assault, elder abuse and child exploitation.

Prior to commencing his career as a lawyer, Mr. Attia was a two-sport varsity athlete while pursuing his law degree from the University of Western Ontario. While in law school, he was also involved as a competitive debater. Prior to graduating, Mr. Attia received the Edna Yuet-Lui Chan Memorial Award for his ingenuity, enthusiasm and camaraderie.

During the course of his career, Mr. Attia has been passionate about issues involving justice. He has been a guest lecturer at The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and The Canadian Police College. He has been interviewed on CBC television and radio, as well as other media outlets across the country. Mr. Attia has also been the spokesperson for national advocacy group representing immigrants in Canada.

Christine Williams
(Toronto, Ontario)

Christine Williams is a Journalist who has produced and hosted the national Canadian talk show "On the Line" on CTS TV. She conducted over 1,600 interviews in this live, open line, one hour, daily show which captured six prestigious international awards. Christine also hosted and produced the political prime time program:  "On the Front Line with Christine Williams". A past political and crime broadcast news reporter and news room editor Christine debuted in television in 1999 on CTS-TV as an anchor, news editor and field producer for the multi-faith program "Faith Journal," which won three international awards during her tenure.  She is currently Producer and T.V. Host of: a Christian World Report news brief (a joint venture between Crossroads Christian Communications, The World Evangelical Alliance and Christian Post in Washington); and also of a weekly offshoot talk show "Inside World Report".

Christine is currently working on a book project exploring Moderate Muslim Reform in the West, and is a Senior Advisor with the Hudson Institute in New York. Christine is also on the Anti-semitism Task Force with Friends of Simon Wiesenthal and will serve on the founding committee of the newly created "Tour for Humanity," a mobile education center to educate students, community leaders, community participants and professionals on such topics as diversity, tolerance, democracy, civic rights and responsibilities.

Christine also hosts prominent events, does public speaking and moderating, edits private speeches and articles and has done media consulting.

Christine has been a regular blogger for David Horowitz's NewsReal Blog with articles frequently republished online at USA Today.  Many have appeared in FrontPage Magazine of which Christine has been a contributing columnist. Christine also guested on a Front Page Magazine symposium exploring Homegrown Jihadists which appeared in Wall Street Journal online. Christine has served as a regular national columnist with Toronto's Metro News (Co-owned with the Toronto Star), where she also provided news analysis that included the First Nations Elections, gang violence in Toronto and the Progressive Conservative Leadership Convention in Ontario.

Christine graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelors degree in Psychology and also attended Mohawk College where she studied Broadcast Journalism.

Rubin FriedmanM.A., D.S.P.
(Ottawa, Ontario)

Rubin Friedman has an extensive experience in dealing with issues of community, integration, prejudice and discrimination.

Most recently, he was responsible for the Against Prejudice training program to address the biases and prejudices that can create difficulties for some newcomers in adapting to Canadian society both in terms of homeland attitudes of newcomers and of behaviours of those who serve them. He developed the training, materials, videos, exercises power point presentations and booklets supporting these efforts as well as directing teams in Ottawa and Toronto in the delivery of sessions across Ontario. He has previously developed delivered anti-hate workshops to over 3,000 people across Canada including police, teachers, students, union members, Canadian Human Rights Commission staff, public servants, and specific groups from the Muslim, Jewish, Aboriginal and Somali communities and was consulted as an expert by both police and communities.

He has held senior positions in National Jewish community organizations where he was a representative at the UNCHR annual meeting in Geneva as well as a member of the Canadian delegation to ODHIR, the official Human Rights NGO for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He was also Senior Director of Planning for the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. In his 23 year career in the federal government he was Executive Director of Japanese Canadian Redress, Director of Community Support and Participation and Head of French and English test development for the Public Service; he dealt with Human Rights, multiculturalism, Official Languages, community development and integration of minorities.

He has also had a long career as a writer, communicator and educator starting as a Speech Pathologist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, teaching at all levels from elementary school to university and most recently teaching adults History and Yiddish at the Jewish Community Centre. He has written a number of documents as a consultant for various organizations on topics ranging from lobbying on justice issues to the quality of Jewish education in Ottawa. His articles have appeared in magazines, newspapers such as the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen and the Montreal Gazette as well as in the Jewish community press.

In his spare time, Rubin Friedman has been President of the National Capital Alliance on Race Relations, a member of the Community Police Action Committee and the Interfaith Committee for Restorative Justice, a director on the Board of the Multifaith Housing Committee and is a member of the Jewish-Christian dialogue of Ottawa. He has served as occasional host of the community television show, "Shalom Ottawa" and is a writer and performer in annual Yiddish productions.

A. Raoul Nembhard
(Ottawa, Ontario)

An Ottawa-based Canadian business consultant, Mr. Nembhard has served a wide variety of clients throughout Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean and Africa in the private, public and voluntary sectors. He has provided strategic guidance and advice, turning around non-performing companies and worked with industry leaders to continue to be leaders in their respective industries. Mr. Nembhard has also worked with foreign governments to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), through his industry knowledge and expertise.

Mr. Nembhard oversaw special mediation programs designed to reduce ethnic tension among the student population in the Greater Toronto Area. The program resulted in a reduced number of student suspensions, reduced inner-school conflict, and improved race relations between staff and students.

Widely recognized for his ability to deliver results, Mr. Nembhard sits on the Board of Several Organizations, has worked directly with consular commissions, and serves in an advisory capacity to many Corporations.

Mr. Nembhard holds a Bachelor of Arts from York University and is currently completing a Master of Business Administration at Liverpool University in England.

NAJC Representative to the
Canadian Race Relations Foundation

Mr. Arthur K. Miki, CM
(Winnipeg, Manitoba)

Arthur Miki has had a distinguished career as an educator and community activist. He began his career as an elementary school teacher and later served as principal for 18 years. Throughout his career, Mr. Miki dedicated a considerable amount of time in promoting positive race relations and a greater understanding between peoples, as well as to increase awareness of human rights issues in Canada. He was formerly the vice-chairperson of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and now advisor, vice president of the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, and president of the Asian Heritage Society of Manitoba.

Mr. Miki is an active leader in the Japanese Canadian community having served as president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians from 1984-1992. He led the negotiations to achieve a just redress settlement for Japanese Canadians interned during the Second World War. In 1991 he received this country's highest recognition, the Order of Canada. In October 1999 he received an Honourary Doctorate degree from the University of Winnipeg.

He is the author of The Japanese Canadian Redress Legacy: A Community Revitalized (2003) and co-author of Shaku of Wondrous Grace: Through the Garden of YoshimaruAbe (2007).

Mr. Miki was Citizenship Judge for Manitoba and Saskatchewan from 1998 to 2008.

He is currently a part time lecturer at the University of Winnipeg, Faculty of Education.