The Honourable Joe Fontana, P.C.
Chairman
A former Canadian government MP and cabinet minister, Mr. Fontana has 30 years of experience in inter-governmental affairs and technology development. Mr. Fontana was an insurance executive and business owner prior to being elected as a Councillor for the city of London in 1978. He was first elected as a member of Parliament for the federal government in 1988 and retired in 2006 as Minister of Labour and Housing. As an MP Mr. Fontana served as Chair of the National Liberal Party Caucus, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transportation, Chair of the National Liberal Task Force on Housing and Via Rail Task Force, and chaired a number of Parliamentary associations including the Canada/Arab, Canada/China, Canada/Europe, Canada/India, Canada/Israel, and Canada/US associations. Mr. Fontana also served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with Special Emphasis on Science and Small Business.