Review Officer - Louis LaPierre, Ph.D.

Louis LaPierre holds the K.C. Irving Chair in Sustainable Development at the Université de Moncton since September 1993. He was professor of Wildlife and Environmental Ecology at this same university from 1970 to 1999, and Director of the Master in Environmental Studies Program from 1994 to 1999. Between 1990 and 1994, he was also Director of the Environmental Science Research Centre.

As a concerned citizen and active member of several environmental groups, he has dedicated the past 30 years to the protection of the environment at the provincial, national and international levels. He was Chairman of the Environmental Council of New Brunswick between 1981 and 1990 and, in 1989, was named Chairman of the Sustainable Development Task Force for the Premier's Round Table on Environment and Economy. Since 1997, Dr. LaPierre co-chairs the Round Table with the New Brunswick Minister of Economic Development. In April 1997, he was invited by the Minister of Natural Resources and Energy to develop an integrated strategy for the protection of natural areas in New Brunswick.

Dr. LaPierre received the Governor General's 125th Anniversary Medal in 1993, as well as Environment Canada's Ecocitizenship Award in 1992 and the Lifetime Achievement award in 1991. Rotary International/Dieppe Club presented him in 1994 with the Paul Harris Fellow Award. He was also recognized as the Alumnus of the Year for 1994 by the Université de Moncton. In December 1992, he became a member of National Defence's Environmental Protection Task Force. He is presently Chairman of the Fundy Model Forest and a member of the Steering Committee of the Nova Forest Alliance of Nova Scotia. He is also a member of the scientific team reviewing PEI's fixed link impact on the environment.

In 1996, he was awarded the Tree of Life Award from the Canadian Association of Forestry for his work on forest ecosystems. He served as a member of the National Round Table on Environment and the Economy Private Woodlot Task Force. In May 1996, Dr. LaPierre was appointed by the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable David Collenette, as Chair of the Institute for Environmental Monitoring and Research associated with the low-level flying program in Labrador and Northeastern Québec. He was the recipient of the 1997 Greater Moncton Excellence Award in Environment, and the Town of Dieppe honoured him with the New Brunswick Heritage Day Outstanding Citizen Award in August 1997.

In 1998, Dr. LaPierre was awarded the British Airways Eco-tourism Award for his work in the development of the Bouctouche Dune Eco-tourism project. He was the recipient of two Professional Service Awards, one from Jacques Whitford Environmental Limited for his contributions on the Fixed Link Environmental Review Committee and the other from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for his work on the Nuclear Waste Disposal panel. Dr. LaPierre was also awarded the Environmental Professional Award from the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce.