Janice Baker, who has more than three decades of experience in municipal government and fiscal administration, as well as being a long-time member and Past President of the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA), has been named an Honorary Life Member of the Association.  The recognition comes during CAMA’s 50th anniversary year.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the honour was presented during a virtual Awards of Excellence Ceremony held on May 11th. 
 
Baker is currently the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Region of Peel and was previously City Manager and CAO for the City of Mississauga, ON.  She joined the City of Mississauga in May 1999 as Commissioner of Corporate Services and Treasurer and served as Mississauga’s City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) from 2005 to 2020.
 
Prior to that, she was the Commissioner of Corporate Services and then Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Oshawa, Ontario from 1995-1999, as well as the Director of Finance and City Treasurer for the City of St. John's, Newfoundland from 1991-1994.
 
Baker joined CAMA in 2005.  She became a member of the CAMA Board of Directors in 2013 and served as the Association’s Treasurer in 2014 and 2015.  In 2016, she served as First-Vice President and in 2017 was elected for a one-year term as President.
 
“On behalf of the CAMA Board of Directors, it is my honour to present this year’s Honorary Life Member Award to Janice Baker,” said Jake Rudolph, outgoing President of CAMA and Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Nanaimo, BC.  “Her career in municipal government, her community involvement, and her dedication to CAMA are exemplary.  She is truly deserving of this recognition.”
 
“I want to sincerely thank the CAMA Board of Directors for this tremendous honour. My year serving as the President of CAMA was a wonderful experience for which I am very grateful,” said Baker.  “Being part of a national network of colleagues that I could learn from helped me grow as a leader, and helped fuel my passion for building and serving communities.”
 
During her time at the City of Mississauga, she was responsible for establishing the values of the corporation of Trust, Quality and Excellence. These values guide the City’s approach to governance and public service; they are the frame of reference for decision making to this day.
 
She also led the creation of the city’s vision through Mississauga’s Strategic Plan.  It was launched in 2009 and set a 40-year vision for the city.  Baker was a strong proponent of developing and retaining “high potential” staff through the City’s Talent Management Program. Under her leadership, the City was respected for its financial planning and budget preparation and its strong balance sheet. 
 
During her career, Baker has received numerous professional awards. This included the 2019 Vanier Medal from the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC); and being a three-time Women’s Executive Network (WXN) Top 100 Award winner in the Public Sector Leaders category (2005, 2007, and 2009). She was inducted into the WXN Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
 
Baker was elected to the designation of Fellow from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO) in 2011.  That same year, she received the Excellence in Municipal Finance Award from the Municipal Finance Officers Association of Ontario (MFOA). She also found the time to serve on various municipal and community boards. 
 
Under her leadership as CAMA’s President, she helped launch several initiatives of value to municipal administrators, including a CAO Performance Evaluation Toolkit, a CAO Members in Transition Toolkit, and a Political Acumen Toolkit.  She also contributed to a document entitled “Cultivating Leadership: A Guide for the Next Generation in Local Government”.
 
Baker helped with a “Making Life Happen” campaign to raise awareness of local government with a specific focus of encouraging younger Canadians to consider a career in municipal government.  She was the Chair of the successful CAMA 2018 National Conference held in Fredericton, NB.
 
Baker becomes the first woman in the Association’s 50-year history to receive CAMA’s Honorary Life Member Award.
 

Eight Canadian municipalities have won national awards of excellence from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators.  The awards were presented in the areas of innovation, environment and professional development during a virtual Awards of Excellence Ceremony held on May 11th, 2021.
 
Winning efforts included a “Report a Concern” website portal, corporate peer support program, an effort to work with business to make personal protective equipment for use during COVID-19, a natural asset inventory, an effort to target single-use plastics styrofoam packaging recycling, two succession planning programs, and an employee leadership development program.
 
“On behalf of the CAMA board of directors, I am pleased to recognize the excellence being showcased by municipal government in the areas of innovation, environment and professional development,” said Jake Rudolph, outgoing president of CAMA and Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Nanaimo, BC.  “It is exciting to see this kind of leadership taking place across Canada at the local government level.”
 
The following municipalities and projects were recognized, in three categories, based on their population size:
 
2021 CAMA Willis Award for Innovation

“There were 35 submissions from across the country entered in to this year’s CAMA Awards of Excellence program,” said Marc Melanson, Chair for the 2021 CAMA Awards Jury, CAMA representative for New Brunswick and City Manager for the City of Dieppe, NB. “The scope of projects, from municipalities both large and small, was impressive and I extend my congratulations to the winners, as well as those who took the time to enter a submission."   To find out more about each award, and to see a video about each winning project, visit the CAMA website.

Chris Fulsher
Chief Administrative Officer
Rural Municipality of Headingley, MB
 
Chris graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Certificate and an Advanced Certificate in Municipal Administration.  He started his career in 1979 as the Assistant Secretary Treasurer with the Village of Arborg.  He then became the Secretary Treasurer in 1981 (which is now called the CAO) and served in this community until 1986. 
 
In 1986 he became the Chief Administrative Officer for the Rural Municipality of Gimli, a resort municipality on the shores of Lake Winnipeg and the home of Crown Royal Whiskey.  He served in that role until 2000 when he moved to the Rural Municipality of Headingley, a rapidly growing community on the outskirts of Winnipeg.  In addition to his role as a CAO, he was appointed as a Community Magistrate in 1982 and served in that capacity until 1998.
 
He represented the Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association on the Planning Act Review Committee and the review of the Provincial Land Use Policies.  As one of the first municipalities in Manitoba to become computerized, he was a founding member and later the Chair of the Auto-Administrator User Group.
 
Chris has also served in various capacities on many community, regional and provincial organizations predominantly in the sport and recreation fields.  Curling has been his passion throughout his life and he competed on the Manitoba and World Curling Tours for many years.
 
He and his wife Brenda live in Stonewall Manitoba and share four wonderful daughters and four beautiful grandchildren.  Their love of travel has taken them to 56 different countries on six continents.  Chris is looking forward to joining Brenda in retirement which he recently announced will occur on March 31, 2022.

Garth Mitchell
Chief Administrative Officer
Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth, MB

Garth was born and raised in Elkhorn, Manitoba and was recruited by the Council of the Village of Elkhorn in 1980 to apply for the Assistant CAO position as part of the succession planning for the Village where he then took over as the CAO in 1983.  During this time he earned his Certificate for the Manitoba Municipal Administrator’s Program and Advanced Certificate in Municipal Management – both through the University of Manitoba.
 
He held the position as CAO with the Village of Elkhorn until December 31^st, 2014 when the Mandatory Municipal Amalgamations in 2015 saw the amalgamation of the Village of Elkhorn, the Rural Municipality of Wallace and the Rural Municipality of Woodworth form the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth.  Garth became the CAO of the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth on January 1^st, 2015 and still holds this position today.
 
Garth has experienced many changes in the municipal world since starting his career in 1980:  office computerization, the downloading of many services to municipalities from the Province of Manitoba, the expansion of municipal infrastructure, along with the creation and introduction of many municipal programs.
 
Garth is married to his wife Kim and they raised their three children in Elkhorn and are very involved in their community.
 
He has been very fortunate to have had excellent elected officials to work with over the years and has enjoyed the variety of interesting challenges that municipal service has provided to him over his forty year career.

 

Harry Riva Cambrin
Chief Administrative Officer
Municipal District of Foothills #31, AB

Harry was born in Blairmore, Alberta on January 7, 1956 and completed High School in Grande Cache in 1974.  In 1976 he graduated with honors from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology as a Civil Engineering Technologist.  In 1990 Harry obtained his Certificate in Local Government and in June 2000 received his Certified Local Government Manager Designation.  In 2008 Harry was the recipient of the R.W. Hay Award for municipal excellence.
 
From 1977 to 1980 Harry was employed by the County of Leduc as the Assistant Development Officer.  In 1980 he began his employment with the Municipal District of Foothills as the Assistant Development Officer and from 1980 to 1988 as Development Officer.  In May 1988 Harry was appointed by Council as the Municipal Manager and CAO where he still holds this position today.
 
Harry has been invaluable to the County in his ability to negotiate agreements with adjacent communities with respect to recreation, fire services and utility servicing.  He also assisted with the planning and negotiations for the construction of the Highway 543 extension and interchange in cooperation with the Town of High River.
 
He has worked in municipal government for 44 years and has been a Municipal Manager and CAO of Foothills for 33 years.  Harry has proven to be a strong leader and is highly versed in every aspect of municipal service.  In his role as Municipal Manager/CAO he has encouraged excellent cooperation and communication with adjacent municipalities and has championed a host of intermunicipal projects to provide recreation opportunities, fire and emergency services, bylaw enforcement and water and wastewater servicing to the residents of Foothills County and their municipal partners.
 
Harry is a community leader and active member of the High River Rotary Club and enjoys outdoors, especially hunting.