Robert Slater (Chair), C.M.

Robert Slater is Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University and former Executive Director of the Regulatory Governance Initiative. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Carleton University in 2019.

Dr. Slater occupied several senior positions during a 32-year career at Environment Canada, including the role of Senior Assistant Deputy Minister for 8 years. He was instrumental in establishing the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and the UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health. He played a lead role in the renegotiation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the Acid Rain Agreements with provincial governments, the Canada-US Accord on Air Quality, and the Green Plan. He led preparations for Canada’s role in the UN Conference on the Environment (“Earth Summit”) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. He was responsible for legislative initiatives leading to the Canadian Environmental Protect Act (CEPA) and the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and led the development of regulations limiting lead in gasoline and bringing auto emissions standards in line with those in US. He chaired the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board from 1976 to 1982.

After he left the public service, he founded a consulting company in the field of sustainable development which operated internationally and was a member of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy for six years. Before joining the public service, he was co-founder of Pollutech, an environmental consulting company.

He was awarded degrees from Imperial College of Science and Technology and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2009.

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