Hon. Bob Rae Rae served as Ontario's 21st Premier. He has a B.A. and an LL.B. from the University of Toronto and was a Rhodes Scholar from Ontario in 1969. He obtained a B.Phil. post-graduate degree from Oxford University in 1971 and was named a Queen's Counsel in 1984. Mr. Rae has received honorary doctorates from the Law Society of Upper Canada, the University of Toronto, Assumption University and Huntington University. Mr. Rae’s contribution to Sri Lanka in the capacity of President, Forum of Federations is commendable and has earned him accolades from the governments of Canada and Sri Lanka. He believes that the world has much to learn from Canada and other federal countries about how to diffuse the conflicts, which arise along the fault lines of ethnicity, language and religion.

Hon. Maria Minna is Federal Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York, since 1993. Over the last 14-years in parliament, she has played a significant role in shaping the ethnic divide in the country and was appointed Minister for International Cooperation in 1999, a post she served with distinction until 2002. She is currently Chair, Canada-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group in Ottawa, friends of Sri Lanka in the House of Commons and former diplomats. Ms. Minna’s contribution to the Sri Lankan community in Canada is legendary. To this end, she has worked tirelessly in the last decade supporting the peace initiatives in Sri Lanka. She has visited Sri Lanka twice and recently led a strong all-party Peace & Business Mission to Sri Lanka comprising of 22-delegates in 2005.

Dr. Indira Vasanti Samarasekera is President of the University of Alberta. Dr. Samarasekera is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIMM). Other honours include the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, the British Columbia Science Council New Frontiers in Research Award, the Dofasco Award, the Golden Jubilee Medal, the UBC Killam Research Prize and an Honorary Degree from UBC. Prior to going to Alberta, Dr. Samarasekera served five years as Vice-President Research at the University of British Columbia. A distinguished researcher, Dr. Samarasekera earned a B.Sc. Honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ceylon in 1974, a M.Sc., as a Hayes Fulbright Scholar, in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California in 1976, and a Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1980. She immigrated to Canada in 1977. Dr. Samarasekera was officially installed as the twelfth President of the University of Alberta on September 26, 2005. Needless to say, this was a red letter day in the life of this high achiever who was recently named as one of the 100 most powerful women in Canada.

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