Director Esnard is the first black woman elected to the PIPSC Board of Directors. She is passionate about equality, representation and the power of PIPSC. It is this commitment to improved representation in our union that motivated her to run and win in the 2018 PIPSC election.

The inclusion of underrepresented groups in the PIPSC leadership structure ensures that decisions, strategies, projects and member engagement reflect the needs of all members.

Better representation makes our union stronger.

Director Esnard’s charitable contributions, education and work as an actor in film and Broadway are certain to benefit our collective goals. She has demonstrated her commitment to standing up for members as a steward and NUREG Vice President.

We celebrate her election as a part of Black History month to draw attention specifically to the contributions black people continue to make to the Institute as well as to signal clearly that this union values the contributions of all members and will continue to work toward improved representation in leadership roles. Because, we’re Better Together!

Vice-President Full-Time Domey is the first Black woman elected to the PIPSC Executive in its almost 100 year history. We celebrate her valuable contributions as an individual as well as the important, and long overdue, advancement that this marks for our union.

All leaders have an important role to play in the leadership of this Institute.

VP Domey’s work experience as not only a woman, but a Black woman can only be an asset to PIPSC and our members. She is well-known for her commitment to create improvements in the public service but moreover to be of service to others. Over her 31 years with the public service, VP Domey has provided leadership to the SP group as a steward, executive, national executive as well as on the PIPSC Board Science Advisory Committee. All the while taking on significant contributions to her larger community through United Way initiatives, as a Board of Director of Hunt Club Park Community Association and keynote speaking on Black Canadian History, always leading with emotional intelligence.

VP Domey earned an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and a Master of Science degree in Toxicology from the University of Western Ontario and is a Distinguished Toastmaster. She is the mother of three university graduates and a mentor to many.

Decades of the Public Service Employee Surveys confirm what we know to be true — racism, discrimination and harassment are serious issues within the Canadian public service. As PIPSC continues to take on these issues, VP Domey’s leadership will be essential in moving our union forward.

Let us each commit to removing all barriers that exist to the active involvement of Black women and underrepresented people in our union.

As a Research Scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dr. Cathryn Abbott is actively creating sustainable solutions in the face of climate change. Originally from Kingston, Ontario, Cathryn’s love for biology started back in high school. She went on to specialize in genetics through her undergrad and PhD. Eventually, her passion and skills took her to B.C.’s coast, where she and her team are using ground-breaking testing to monitor changes in our aquatic resources and ecosystems.

“The most interesting part of my work is the forensic element,” says Cathryn. “I take samples from the field into the lab and learn things that you can’t just see in the field. There’s a real puzzle that I get to solve in the lab about things that are happening in the natural environment that you can’t do using normal visualization techniques.”

Cathryn’s testing methods allow her and her team to assess the impacts human activity are having on Canada’s water and marine life. 

“The reality is that humans are relying on our aquatic resources for a lot of things, whether we’re aware of it or not, and we put pressure on those resources. It’s important to monitor how the environment is responding to those pressures to make sure what we’re doing is sustainable over the long term.”

Aquaculture or fish farming is a controversial method of dealing with the increasing demand for fish in Canadians’ diet. But how does that impact our wild fish and delicate aquatic ecosystem, and are the processes we are using sustainable? Cathryn’s team is finding the answers.

“A project I’m working on now uses environmental DNA to test the impacts of fish farming on the seafloor. I really love applying these genetic tools to answer real-world questions on the ground about resource sustainability.” Dr. Abbott's team is bridging the gap, between a fast-changing environment and a fast-paced biotech sector that is trying to keep up. “There are problems and there are powerful biotechnology tools, but there’s a lot of work to get those tools to address the problems. My challenge is to try and bring those two together as quickly and effectively as possible.”

“The environmental needs are real, and are becoming urgent with climate change,” Cathryn says. And while more resources and funding would be an improvement, Cathryn is adamant that this research needs to stay in the public sector.

“Federal research happens over decades, and we really do need to answer questions over long timeframes. They’re not secure if they’re happening in a chop-and-change environment.”

In addition to providing stability, keeping this work public ensures that the raison d'être of this research remains firmly rooted in protecting Canada’s resources.

“All of the work we do in the federal lab is directly tied to our mandate, which is to be of service to Canadians,” says Cathryn. “Really important applied work happens in the labs. And we’re accountable to Canadians. There’s no other agenda.”