Board
Graeme Clinton (Chair)
Graeme is an economist with more than 25 years of experience. His first look at Canada’s northern economies came in the early 2000s while working as a senior economist with the Conference Board of Canada when he studied the economic future of Nunavut and the NWT after the territories separated. Graeme has studied economies in Canada, South America, and Eastern Europe, but after moving to Yellowknife in 2002, has focused primarily on the growth and development of the NWT and Nunavut. Graeme views economics as the study of choices, specifically, how our individual and collective wellbeing is determined by our ability to understand, assess, and make the most of the choices available to us.
Ken Hall
Ken was born in Yellowknife and grew up out at the Giant campsite. His family has a long history of working and living at Giant. Ken holds diplomas in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and was the first environmental technician at Giant in the 1970’s. His career included time with Fisheries and Oceans when he travelled and worked throughout the Central Arctic spending time in many small communities. He went on to become a hazardous substance/contaminated site specialist with the GNWT then managed the environmental protection services until he retired in 2011. Working in both industry and public service with people from across the North has helped him develop a balanced perspective. Ken has been on the Giant Mine Oversight Board since 2015.
Kevin O’Reilly
Kevin O’Reilly was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and has resided in Yellowknife since 1985, where he has worked for Indigenous, federal and territorial governments and agencies on land use planning, environmental assessment and resource management. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Master of Arts in Planning from the University of Waterloo. Kevin O’Reilly served in the NWT Legislative Assembly representing Frame Lake 2015-2023. Mr. O’Reilly also served as a Yellowknife City Councilor from 1997 to 2006. Kevin’s involvement in Giant Mine goes back to the 1980s when the first request for an investigation was filed under the new NWT Environmental Right Act for aerial emissions. Kevin coordinated Alternatives North’s participation in the Review Board environmental assessment of the Giant Mine Remediation Project and helped negotiate the Giant Mine Environmental Agreement. Kevin is married with two adult children. He is an avid gardener, hockey player, photographer and postal historian.
Adrian D’Hont
Adrian brings to the Board experience as a wildlife biologist using GIS to evaluate data, develop analytical and modelling procedures to assist in the planning and management of wildlife, environmental assessments, non renewable resource developments and protected areas. He has worked as a contaminants specialist on behalf of the NWT Environmental Contaminants Committee, on matters regarding contamination and human health in the NWT. Adrian was active in the field of Traditional Knowledge and Harvest studies, representing the GNWT Wildlife Management Division on the Departmental Traditional Knowledge Committee. His experience also includes research for the Dene-Metis Negotiations Secretariat, assessment and communications work with the Slave River Basin Coalition, hydrometric work with the Water Survey of Canada and a radiation technologist running the Eldorado Nuclear Limited Radiation Reduction Program in Uranium City and Eldorado.
Marc Lange
Marc has resided in northern Canada for the past twenty years. An ecologist by training, he is currently the Principle of NorthbyNorth Corp, an environmental and business services consultancy supporting community-based, private, and government initiatives. He has experience with analysis of monitoring results, cumulative effects monitoring, and regulatory decision-making with specific areas of expertise in policy development (e.g., recreational land use framework), strategic planning (e.g., accountability framework for CIMP and Lands Sustainability), program development & implementation related to environment and natural resource stewardship; land use planning; conservation planning; environmental assessment and regulatory processes in the Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut; and Indigenous engagement in program planning and research and monitoring initiatives including community-based research and monitoring.
Mark Palmer
Mark Palmer has over 39 years of experience working primarily in the Federal Government. He started his career in Yellowknife in 1985, focussing on water quality issues with government and at Con Mine. Since then, he has worked for different federal departments in various locations on a wide range of national and international environmental issues. The last 34 years has focused on the remediation of contaminated sites across Canada’s North. In his numerous different roles, he has a wide variety of experience in areas such as site assessments, risk assessments, development of remediation options, regulatory processes, contracting and socio economic strategies. He has served as a director on the
Giant Mine Oversight Board member since 2019.
Staff
Executive Director – Branda Le
Branda was born and raised in Yellowknife. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Sociology from the University of Victoria and has been involved with the Giant Mine Oversight Board for five plus years as both a summer student and contractor. Branda has also worked with northern and international non-profits in environmental education and cross-cultural communications. She is dedicated to enhancing community engagement supporting the mandate of the Giant Mine Oversight Board.