Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Committee (MEAC)
The Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Committee (MEAC) was formed in 2006 at the direction of Mayor Sam Katz. The goal of MEAC is to provide independent advice that will assist the City of Winnipeg in providing leadership in conserving and protecting the environment.
In addition, MEAC provides the Mayor with a public perspective on how particular environmental issues impact the community and civic operations, recognizing that many of these issues are part of a larger regional, national or global concern.
Councillor Russ Wyatt and Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Hartry were appointed as Co-Chairs of the Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Committee on Thursday, February 12, 2009. The Mayor’s Environmental Advisory Committee reports directly to the Mayor. Members of MEAC are appointed by the Mayor and include representatives of various organizations and citizen-at-large members.
MEAC Biographies
Councillor Russ Wyatt – Co-Chair
Born and educated in Winnipeg, Russ Wyatt was elected to Winnipeg’s City Council in October of 2002. Councillor Wyatt currently serves as the Secretary of Strategic Infrastructure Renewal and serves on the Mayor’s Executive Policy Committee. He is also a member of the Standing Policy Committee of Property and Development, the Winnipeg Housing Steering Committee, the Winnipeg – Genstar Joint Venture Corporation Board of Directors, the Riverbank Management Committee, and the City of Winnipeg representative on the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
As the City Councillor for Transcona, Councillor Wyatt also serves on the board of directors for the Transcona Historical Museum, the Transcona Business Improvement Zone, the Transcona Playground Renewal Association and the East Winnipeg Sports Association, the organization which governs the new Buhler Recreation Park. He is also a member of the East Kildonan – Transcona Community Committee.
In November, 2004, Mayor Sam Katz appointed Councillor Wyatt to chair the Rapid Transit Task Force and Advisory Council, which delivered its landmark report to Council in October of 2005 called ‘A Made in Winnipeg’ Rapid Transit Solution. He is a past member of the Winnipeg Convention Centre Board, the past representative for the city at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the past Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Downtown Development.
Russ is an active member of the Transcona Trails Association, the Transcona Hi Neighbour Festival Committee, the Transcona Gardeners Club, the Latin American Arts Council of Manitoba, and the Transcona Anti-Graffiti Campaign. In another major community project, Russ organized a campaign with local residents and convinced City Council to preserve a 20 acre parcel of pristine prairie tall grass, now known as the Rotary Prairie Nature Park. He was also active with Transcona residents who successfully lobbied for a clean up of the contaminated Transcona Domtar site, now known as the Transcona Bioreserve and managed by the Fort Whyte Nature Centre.
Jeffrey Hartry – Co-Chair (The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce)
Currently Mr. Hartry is Chairman of the Board of Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Hartry is the Director of Quality Systems and Information at Cangene in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Cangene Corporation is a diversified biopharmaceutical company involved in the research, development, manufacturing and distribution of biologically derived parenteral therapeutics. It is a leading Canadian biopharmaceutical company in the business of developing, manufacturing and commercializing products and technologies for global markets.
Prior to joining Cangene, Mr. Hartry held a series of positions with, Winnipeg based, Apotex Fermentation, included roles in Analytical Chemist, Quality Assurance and the Management roles in Quality Control, Environment, Health and Safety, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs.
Mr. Hartry began his career path conducting research in the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University at Kingston where he received his BA and B.Sc.(Hons) in Chemistry. Later Mr. Hartry moved on to work with Toronto Research Chemicals before eventually moving west to Manitoba.
Mr. Hartry has previously been intimately involved with the Life Science Association of Manitoba (LSAM), previously Healthcare Products Association of Manitoba (HCPAM). He served on the board of directors from 1998 to 2007 and as President from 1999 through 2005.
Arne Elias (Citizen Member)
Arne Elias is the Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainable Transportation. Through reasoned research and projects the Centre engages government, industry, academia and publics to facilitate the movement of people and goods efficiently and economically in ways that conserve our environment and enhance our quality of life over the long-term.
Arne has worked in most transportation sectors from maritime, cycling, highway, freight and rail to consulting for the Port of Vancouver. Arne held the BC Hydro Desk during his Ph.D., taught at the University of British Columbia and consulted widely in BC. He also holds an MBA.
Anders Swanson (Citizen Member)
Anders Swanson is the project coordinator for One Green City.
One Green City was created to open lines of communication and provoke serious dialogue to catalyze and accelerate action on one simple idea: the creation of a comprehensive network of safe & efficient bikeways, useful for every type of user, spanning all of Winnipeg, A.S.A.P.
One Green City, an entirely volunteer project, liaises with cycling-related groups throughout the city (and spawns new ones) by encouraging them all to connect, to share information, and to contribute to the planning of an integrated network.
This is being accomplished by:
- promoting a visually arresting vision of a new Winnipeg cycling route network (promoted via the www.onegreencity.com website, large-scale printed maps, documents);
- offering graphic design services to help advance new initiatives developed locally through community consultation and consensus;
- helping local organizations understand the municipal administrative process,
- keeping a database of potentially supportive partner organizations and pointing people in the right places;
- offering advice on the best ways to make their initiatives become reality.
Anders works as a bicycle mechanic, painter and artist. He rides a hand-built, single-speed commuter bike year-round and has not owned a car since 2002.
