Day 1 : March 3, 2026
Rogers Centre
Canada's GovTech Summit
Activity Schedule
Opening Ceremony
Breakout Session One 209
Breakout Session Two 210
Breakout Session Three 211
Breakout Session Four 212
Opening Ceremony
6:50 am - 7:50 am:
Arrival and Registration
7:50 am - 9:20 am:
Greetings from uOttawa and Nation Builders from Government, Industry and Academia
Moderated by Canadian Author and Thought Leader, David Mitchell
Featuring:
- Jacques Beauvais, Provost and Vice-President, Academic Affairs of the University of Ottawa
- Dave Buchanan, President, Canada Public Sector, DXC Technology
- Arianne Reza, Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
- Dominic Rochon, Chief Information Officer of Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
- Samir Chhabra, Director General, Marketplace Framework Policy, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
- Lyndon Slewidge
- Governor General's Foot Guards
Breakout Session One 209
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Buying Canadian in Federal Procurement: Policy, Process, and Q&A
- Ron Cormier, Director General, Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Patrick Comtois, Director General, Shared Services Canada
- Patrick Leblond, uOttawa
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Networking Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Digital Sovereignty: Fact and Fiction
- Patrice Collin, Vice President, Edelman, Government and Public Affairs Ottawa
- Joanna Murphy, Director General, Canadian Sovereign Technology Strategy, Shared Services Canada
- John Dathan, Chief Strategy Officer, ThinkOn
- Roy Chartier, uOttawa
- Christopher Oates, Partner, Gowling WLG
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Skills and Recruitment for the Canadian Armed Forces
- Kelly Stewart-Belisle, Defence & Cyber Executive , Regional VP AFCEA Canada
- BGEn (ret’d) Rob Mazzolin, Chief Defence, Security and Technology Strategist for RHEA Group
- Vice Admiral (ret’d) Darren Hawco, Executive Advisor Deloitte Canada
- Pascal Belhumeur, Commander Military Personnel Generation Group, Canadian Armed Forces
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Networking Break
2:20 pm - 3:20 pm
AI Powered Observability: The Fastest Path to Citizen Centric Government Services
- Mike Taylor, Regional Vice President, Solutions Engineering, Dynatrac
- Jenny Liu, Solutions Architect, Bank of Canada
- Mark Hearn, uOttawa
3:20 pm - 3:30 pm
Break
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Stronger Together: Industry, Academia, and Government in Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy
- Laura Wood (CA), Global Defence Partner, PWC
- Jean-Francois Juneau, Executive Director, Department of National Defence
- Lindsay Smith, Director, ISED
- Muralee Murugesu, Associate Vice-President, Innovation, Partnership & Entrepreneurship, uOttawa
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Networking Reception
Breakout Session Two 210
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Technology Outlook: A Fireside with Canada Post
- Franco Chirichella, Chief Information Officer
- Daniel Wong Instructor, uOttawa Professional Development Institute
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Networking Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Living Blueprint: Mastering Workflow Optimization via Digital Twins
- Jonathan Mulder, Global Lead, Digital Twins, DXC Technology Canada
- Andrew Trossman, Chief Technologist, DXC Technology Canada
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
From Hype to High-Value: Picking the Right GenAI Use Case and Building It Faster
- Aashish Sharma, Specialist AI & High-Performance Data Platforms, Hitachi Vantara
- Ross DiStefano, CEO, AI & HPC Practice Leader, Cylix Solutions
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Networking Break
2:20 pm - 3:20 pm
Fact, Fiction, and Trust: Navigating Mis- and Disinformation Today
- Hassan (Hash) Qureshi, Partner, MNP
- Alan McCafferty, Director, Cyber Security Practice, uOttawa Professional Development Institute
- Andrew Heffernan, Associate, uOttawa Centre for Information Integrity
- Shanthini Thanabalasuriar, Chief Audit Executive, Saskatchewan Workers Compensation Board
3:20 pm - 3:30 pm
Break
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
From Questions to Decisions: AI Agents in Everyday Government Operations
- Emile Wandji, CPA, MBA, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Director General, Public Service Commission of Canada
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Networking Reception
Breakout Session Three 211
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Artificial Intelligence within the Department of National Defence
- Chris Allison, Director General, Data Analytics (AI) and Information Management, Department of National Defence
- Greg Richards, Interim Director, EMBA Program, Vice-Dean Graduate Professional Programs, Telfer, uOttawa
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Networking Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Enabling AI Across Government: Inside Shared Services Canada’s Approach to Modern Tools and Emerging Tech
- Scott Taylor, Director General, Shared Services Canada
- Stephen Karam, Partner, Canadian Public Sector, Levio
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Reinvention at Scale: Building Canada’s Next-Generation Government with Agentic AI
- Michelle Gronning, Partner, Global Chief Transformation Officer, PWC
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Networking Break
2:20 pm - 3:20 pm
The Human Side of Change and Digital Adoption
- Stacey Ileleji, Change Management Specialist, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer
- Amanda Bernardo, Director, Change Management and Service Design, Shared Services Canada
- Mélanie Copeland, Director, Digital Transformation, RCAANC-CIRNAC
- Trevor Banks, Manager, Digital Organizational Design, Office of the Chief Information Officer for Canada
3:20 pm - 3:30 pm
Break
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Evolving Skills with AI Adoption: Moving Beyond the “Average User”
- Noha Rahal, PhD, Acting Director, Digital Transformation Service Sector, Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
- Liz McKeown, Executive Director ,Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
- Erica Vezeau, Director General, Canada School of Public Service, Digital Academy
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Networking Reception
Breakout Session Four 212
9:30 am - 10:30 am
Focusing in a Time of Turbulence
- Marc Brouillard, Chief Digital Officer, Public Services and Procurement Canada
10:30 am - 11:00 am
Networking Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Exposure Management in the Realm of AI
- Alan McCafferty, Director, Cyber Security Practice, uOttawa Professional Development Institute
- Philippe Thibault, Lead Cloud Architect, Department of National Defence
- Bill Olson, VP, Product, Tenable
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Lunch Break
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
The Weaponization of Supply Chains
- Lisa Ducharme, uOttawa, Professional Development Institute
- Ryan Ernst, Partner, Deloitte
- Ian Fraser Hirchfield, Senior Advisor-National Security, Deloitte
2:00 pm - 2:20 pm
Networking Break
2:20 pm - 3:20 pm
Threats on the Horizon: Emerging Technologies
- Richard St-Pierre, Senior Sovereignty Advisor, Levio
- Sami Khoury, Senior Official for Cyber Security Communications Security Establishment
3:20 pm - 3:30 pm
Break
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Cyber Security Outlook for 2026
- Ruben Eduardo, Director, CrowdStrike
- Jacob Morrow, Associate-Supervisor, Business Operations, Telfer Executive Programs
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Networking Reception
Featured Speakers
Franco Chirichella
Chief Information Officer
Canada Post
Chris Allison
Director General Data Analytics,
(AI) and Information Management
Department of National Defence
Marc Brouillard
Chief Information Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Services
Public Services and Procurement Canada
Scott Taylor
Director General, Digital Enablement
Shared Services Canada
Ron Cormier
Director General of Business, Technology and Innovation Procurement Solutions
Public Services and Procurement Canada
Patrick Comtois
Director General, Enterprise IT Procurement
Shared Services Canada
Noha Rahal, PhD
Acting Director,
Digital Transformation Service Sector
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Dave Buchanan
President
Public Sector Canada
DXC Technologies
Jacques Beauvais
Provost and Vice-President
Academic Affairs, University of Ottawa
Dave Mitchell
Senior Advisor
uOttawa Professional Development Institute
Kevin Tetreault
Associate Executive Director Professional Development Institute
University of Ottawa
Stacey Ileleji
Change Management Specialist
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Office of the Chief Human Resources
Kelly
Stewart-Belisle
Regional Vice President Canada
AFCEA International
Hassan (Hash) Qureshi
Partner
MNP
Alan
McCafferty
Director, Cyber Security Practice
uOttawa Professional Development Institute
Sean
Geddes
Director, Innovation and Partnerships uOttawa Kanata North Campus Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation
uOttawa Kanata North Campus
Patrice Collin
Vice President
Government and Public Affairs Ottawa
Andrew Heffernan
Associate
uOttawa Centre for Information Integrity
Bill Olsen
VP
Product, Tenable
Tenable Cloud Security
Arianne Reza
Deputy Minister
Public Services and Procurement
Dominic
Rochon
Deputy Minister
Chief Information Officer of Canada
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS)
Samir
Chhabra
Director General
Marketplace Framework Policy
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)
Greg
Richards
Interim Director, EMBA Program
Vice-Dean
Graduate Professional Programs,
Telfer, uOttawa
Joanna
Murphy
Director General
Canadian Sovereign Technology
Strategy
Shared Services Canada
John Dathan
Chief Strategy Officer
ThinkOn
Stephen Karam
Partner
Canadian Public Sector
Levio
Ross DiStefano
CEO, AI & HPC Practice Leader
Cylix Solutions
Aashish Sharma
Specialist, AI & High-Performance
Data Platforms
Hitachi Vantara
Richard St-Pierre
Senior Sovereignty Advisor
Levio
Ryan Ernst
Partner
Deloitte
Liz McKeown
Executive Director
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Erica Vezeau
Director General
Canada School of Public Service
Digital Academy
Mike Taylor
Solutions Engineering
Dynatrace
Jenny Liu
Solutions Architect
Bank of Canada
Michelle Gronning
Partner
Global Chief Transformation Officer
Global Chief Transformation Officer
PWC
Emile Wandji, CPA, MBA
Finance and Administration
Public Service Commission of Canada
Amanda Bernardo
Shared Services Canada
Patrick Leblond
Associate Professor
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Faculty of Social Sciences
uOttawa
Mélanie Copeland
Director for Digital Transformation
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Trevor Banks
Organizational Design
Digital Talent and Leadership sector
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Office of the Chief Information Officer
Daniel Wong
Professional Development Institute
uOttawa
Ian Fraser Hirchfield
Senior Advisor- National Security
Deloitte
Sami Khoury
Senior Official
Cyber Security Communications Security Establishment
Laura Wood (CA)
Global Defence Partner
PWC
Lindsay Smith
Director
Innovation Science Economic Development Canada
Serge Blais
Executive Director
Professional Development Institute
uOttawa
Ruben Eduardo
Horizon Practice Lead
CrowdStrike
Lisa Ducharme
Professional Development Institute
uOttawa
Lyndon Slewidge
Governor General's Foot Guards
Andrew Trossman
Chief Technologist
DXC Technology
Jonathan Mulder
Global Lead
Digital Twins
Digital Twins
DXC Technology
Mark Hearn
uOttawa
Bill Olson
Product
Tenable
Roy Chartier
uOttawa
Christopher Oates
Partner
Gowling
WLG
Rob
Mazzolin
Chief Defence
Security and Technology Strategist
RHEA Group
Darren
Hawco
Executive Advisor
Deloitte Canada
Jean-Francois Juneau
Executive Director
Department of National Defence
Shanthini Thanabalasuriar
Chief Audit Executive
Saskatchewan Workers Compensation Board
Philippe Thibault
Lead Cloud Architect
Department of National Defence
Muralee Murugesu
Associate Vice-President
Innovation, Partnership & Entrepreneurship
uOttawa
Jacob Morrow
Associate-Supervisor
Business Operations
Telfer Executive Programs
Pascal Belhumeur
Commander Military Personnel Generation Group
Canadian Armed Forces
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