Jérémie Emond is a Director General of the Real Estate Services at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). He is responsible for developing and leading a new real estate disposal program that will accelerate the current process. The purpose of this program is to fast-track the transfer of surplus properties to Canada Lands Company or to sell to the private market providing redevelopment opportunities to assist in the current affordable housing crisis.

After 23 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a military engineer, Jérémie joined the public service in 2016 at National Defence as Director of Portfolio Planning. In 2019, he moved to Correctional Service Canada as Senior Director, Facilities. In 2021, he joined Natural Resources Canada as Director General, Real Property and Environment. In 2024, he moved to PSPC to his current position.

Jérémie holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Université Laval. He holds a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the École nationale d’administration publique.

Jean-François Robert is a Director General within Public Services and Procurement Canada’s (PSPC) Science and Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch. He currently leads multi-skilled teams in the management and delivery of major capital projects, supporting the Long Term Vision and Plan strategy that guides the restoration and modernization of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct. He holds both a bachelor’s degree (Université Laval) and Master’s degree (Université de Sherbrooke) in civil engineering. He has more than 20 years of project management experience, beginning his career as a professional engineer in the private sector, and later with the City of Gatineau. In 2009, Jean-François joined the Federal Public Service in PSPC’s Real Property Branch, moving to the Parliamentary Precinct Branch in 2013. He has a proven track record of providing sound strategic advice based on his strong project management principles, practices and techniques, as well as his in-depth knowledge and experience.

Mr. Clayton Truax is currently the Senior Director, Environment, Health and Safety within PSPC. In this role, he is responsible for national functional direction as well as operational support within the National Capital Area related to environmental compliance and custodial health and safety.

Clayton joined the department in October 2001 and has subsequently occupied a number of progressive positions related to expanding the Department’s leadership role in contaminated sites within the federal government including Manager, National Centre of Expertise for Contaminated Sites until assuming his current role in December 2019. He has been a long-time contributor to the organization of the RPIC Federal Contaminated Sites Workshops including acting as the Chair. Prior to joining PSPC, he spent 14 years in the private sector as an environmental consultant managing contaminated sites and other environmentally related projects in Canada and the United States.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master’s Degree from the University of Waterloo in Civil Engineering and is a licenced Professional Engineer in Ontario.

As part of the RCMP’s Real Property Management Branch, Lezlie Locke is responsible for the provision of real property policy advice, and for maintaining and updating the Property Management Manual (PMM), which is the RCMP’s substantive repository of policies, guidelines and technical bulletins that govern how the RCMP manages its real property assets and projects. Lezlie has 25 years of experience within the federal real property domain working with the RCMP and the Department of National Defence. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Biology) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Chris Vandyk is the Director, Real Estate – Acquisitions for Canada Lands Company (CLC), and has been with CLC since June 2018. Prior to joining CLC, he worked in the Real Property Policy Division of the Treasury Board of Canada’s Secretariat (TBS), and has also held several real property positions within the Correctional Service Canada (CSC).

Within Canada Lands Company, Chris, working closely with the CLC’s regional offices, is responsible for the organization’s acquisition of surplus strategic properties from the federal government with the objective of optimizing the financial and community value of these surplus assets. With over 10 years experience in the federal real property field, he has worked on a number of major federal realty projects focusing mainly on the disposal of strategic properties.

He has a Master’s degree in Urban & Regional Planning from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Kerry is currently the Executive Director, Real Property & Asset Portfolio Management at Parks Canada where she is responsible for portfolio management of Parks Canada’s diverse real property and materiel portfolios.  Kerry has more than 25 years experience in Real Property roles in both the private and public sector.  Kerry began her career as a consultant in the private sector working on land development projects in Indianapolis and Ottawa.  She started her public service career in 2003 with Transport Canada working on the management of large federally funded infrastructure projects and progressed into various management roles over her 12 years with the department.  In 2015, Kerry joined Parks Canada as the Chief Engineer, Highway Engineering Services to lead the development of a new national team to oversee its program of work for highways across national parks until being named to her current position in 2021. 

Kerry is a civil engineering graduate of the University of New Brunswick and a registered professional engineer in Ontario. 

Mark Featherstone was appointed as the Director General Real Property and Security for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada in January 2020. 

Previously Mark was the Director, National Real Property Stewardship at the Canada Revenue Agency from January 2015 to December 2019 and before that, he worked at both the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada.  Mark is a former university of Waterloo co-op student and since joining the public service he has hired over 40 co-op students and has already bridged 13 student graduates into the federal family. 

Mark’s lived work experience spans the private sector, not-for-profit sector, and local government to go along with his 20 years with the federal government.  Through his own experiences and his keen interest in helping young professionals find pathways forward, yes Mark enjoys talking about careers. 

Thomas Ford is an innovative leader who strives to shaping the future of federal Real Property and takes immense pride in delivering exceptional service to Canadians each day. 

With over two decades of experience as a Public Servant, Thomas has spent the last five years serving as an executive with Public Services and Procurement Canada, Real Property Services, currently holding the position of Director, Interjurisdictional Engagement.  

He is a proud holder of a Master’s degree in Public Administration from l’École nationale d’administration publique. 

His areas of interest encompass Reconciliation, engagement, portfolio planning, and implementation.  

In 2022, Thomas received the Real Property Institute of Canada award for Excellence in Strategic Planning and Policy, showcasing his commitment to achieving outstanding results.  

His passion and expertise have recently led to his appointment to the Real Property Institute of Canada Board of Directors, where he serves as the Chair of this year’s RPIC National Annual Workshop. 

As the Director General for Real Property Planning and Management (RPPM), Peter leads the NRC’s management of its real property assets.   

Prior to joining the NRC Peter managed his Project Management Consulting firm which focused on the construction industry.  Peter joined the NRC as a Project Manager with the Aerospace Research Centre in 2007.  After implementing a project management and quality management system for the wind tunnel testing programs he became the Project Management Office Team Lead for Aerospace.   

In 2014 Peter accepted the Director of Operations position with the Information and Communications Technology Research Centre.  In 2018 Peter got back to his roots in the construction industry in becoming the Director of Engineering and Construction for RPPM.  

Peter holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Science, a Master’s of Business Administration and is a Project Management Professional. 

Sandra Rezansoff has over 25 years of experience in managing all aspects of real property within the Government of Canada, in both national and international settings. Over the course of her career, she has worked with numerous departments and agencies including Public Services and Procurement Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Department of National Defence and Global Affairs Canada. In her nine years with Global Affairs Canada, Sandra served as a Management and Consular Affairs officer in Canada’s Missions in Chandigarh, India and Rome, Italy.

In her present role, as the Acting Director General of Strategic Portfolio Initiatives in the Infrastructure and Environment Branch with National Defence, Sandra is responsible for leading the Implementation of the Defence Real Property Portfolio Strategy to ensure an affordable and sustainable portfolio in support of the Defence Team.

Prior to joining the federal government Sandra received a Master of Public Administration degree from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies and Economics from the University of Saskatchewan.

Heather Tesselaar is the National Director of Real Property Management Services at Defence Construction Canada (DCC).  DCC is a Crown corporation that provides infrastructure and environmental services and full lifecycle support for Canada’s defence requirements. In her current role, Heather is accountable for the development of national strategy and providing direction for business development related to real property management. This consists of services associated with portfolio management, development planning, energy management and facility maintenance as well as technical services including GIS, computer-assisted design (CAD) and building information modeling (BIM).

After 11 years as an engineering officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, Heather joined DCC in 2009. Prior to being appointed to the National Director role she has worked across the country—from Gagetown, New Brunswick, to Wainwright, Alberta, in a variety of roles. Heather holds a Bachelor of Science (Chemical and Materials Engineering) degree from the Royal Military College, a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from Heriot-Watt University, as well as the Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional designations.

Bill Varvaris is the Director General for Real Property and Environmental Management at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Bill is accountable for overseeing the management of a diverse and complex real property portfolio valued at over $5.7B, and accountable for the delivery of an annual budget of over $200M. Bill started his professional employment as a policy advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources Canada and reached the post of Chief of Staff to the Minister of Industry. In 2006, Bill commenced his career in the federal civil service at Public Works and Government Services Canada in the Real Property Branch (RPB) where he held several positions in both the Strategic Planning, Administration and Renewal (SPAR), and Portfolio Management sectors. Bill’s experience extends to the international forum where he held the position of Executive Director at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan prior to joining the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development as a real property project director while posted in New Delhi, India. Bill has been a Member of the Board for the National Executive Forum for Public Property since 2017.

Debbie Baxter, CMC, FCPA, ICD.D, has more than 25 years of experience working with businesses to implement change – from changes in real estate utilization, to changes in culture or technology. She is a client advocate who can uniquely combine the ability to recommend the strategies that drive the desired business outcome as well as have the leadership insight to oversee adoption of the change.

Debbie is a Senior Advisor in Transaction Real Estate for Ernst & Young Canada, responsible for working with clients to ideate, design and implement their Real Estate strategies and projects.

She is most passionate about the “Future of Work” – working with clients to adapt their business to the trends evident in our economy and society that will challenge our existing infrastructure and drive the need for a new way of thinking about real property.

Debbie’s efforts have been recognized on a national level. In 2013, Debbie was named to the Top 100 WXN list of the Most Powerful Women in Canada in the Trailblazer Category.

With a background in operations and technology, Debbie is a Certified Management Consultant, Certified Public Accountant and holds a Corporate Directors ICD.D designation.

As the Vice President, Federal Government Business Unit, Colliers Project Leaders Mike Ketcheson is an expert in providing strategic advice to Federal Government department clients for projects and programs of work involving real property infrastructure. This includes advice on governance, project delivery, indigenous engagement/participation and procurement methodologies.

Throughout the course of his career, Mike has led large teams supporting Federal clients with project management support services on iconic projects, such as the redevelopment of the parliamentary precinct, the restoration of heritage assets, large accommodation programs and key Federal real property initiatives. Mike currently serves as a board member with the Real Property Institute of Canada and manages the joint venture relationship with Tiree Facility Solutions.

Mathieu Primeau is Senior Success Manager – Federal Government for Esri Canada. He is also guild member of the non-profit Archipelago of Design. He previously served for 25 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, to include the role of Commanding Officer of the Mapping and Charting Establishment and Military Advisor to the Deputy Minister of National Defense. He is three times Master’s Graduate and a Civil Engineer. Mathieu is on a mission to empower all leaders to use design thinking and help the Federal Government succeed with Geospatial Information.

Responsible for leading Regional’s new Asset Management, Investor & Government Relations division, Tal oversees growth of value, serves as liaison and relationship manager with investors and creates strategic partnerships with all levels of Government and Crown Corporations. Additionally, Tal oversees Regional’s Tax and Valuation department that provides services across Canada.

Having joined Regional Group in 2015, Tal championed the full restructure of the Property Management division — new process development and implementation, adopting technological initiatives all while providing consistent and outstanding levels of customer service, ensuring the maximum return on investment for clients. Under Tal’s leadership as Vice President, Asset and Property Management, Regional’s client base and number of assets under management grew exponentially. Tal oversaw significant staffing growth and was monumental in supporting the development of the firm’s portfolio and revenue goals.

As a member of the Company’s Executive Committee, Tal is instrumental in providing strategic and organizational direction for both Regional and eQ Homes. Tal is involved in several organizations including being the Founder of BOMA Ottawa’s Emerging Leader Network, serving on the Board of Directors of BOMA Ottawa, being Chairman of the Board at the Torah Day School of Ottawa and continues to regularly support many more community initiatives and efforts.