Board of Directors
Jim Deane
A representative of Access Communications Co-operative Limited based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Jim served as Access CEO from 2000 until his retirement in 2022. Jim has served as a CPAC director for over 20 years and brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to the role of chair, which he assumed in fall 2023.
Access Communications is a not-for-profit, community-owned co-operative providing telecommunications services, including local community TV channels, to 235 Saskatchewan communities and to 200,000 sq. km. of rural Saskatchewan.
Jim is a long-time co-operative supporter, having worked in the co-operative sector for over 40 years. This involvement earned him a lifetime achievement award at the 2023 Saskatchewan Co-op Merit Awards.
Pam Dinsmore
Pam Dinsmore is a lawyer and is Vice President, Regulatory—Cable at Rogers Communications. Pam joined Rogers Cable in 1995 and was promoted to her current position in 1997. Before joining Rogers, Pam spent 8 years at the CRTC where she was Legal Counsel then Chief of Staff to the Chair. Pam holds a B.A. in Political Science and French from Middlebury College (1981) and an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School (1985). She has been a member of the Ontario bar since 1987.
Pam manages the regulatory relationship between Rogers and the CRTC as well as other federal government departments, boards, and agencies. She also provides advice on regulatory issues to Rogers divisions. Her areas of expertise include copyright, broadband policy, trade policy, broadcasting policy and regulation, and the negotiation of municipal access agreements and agreements for access to telephone and hydro poles as well as wireless tower sites. Pam has led many Rogers panels of executives before the CRTC in major policy and licensing proceedings and appeared before Parliamentary Committees on numerous occasions.
She is a member of the Legal and Regulatory Inclusion and Diversity Team and past Chair of the Rogers AccessAbility Network. In 2013, she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal as well as a CWC Leadership Award in recognition of her significant work to advance women in the communications industry.
Jad Barsoum
Jad Barsoum joined Quebecor in 2019 as Vice President, Institutional Affairs.
He leads the team responsible for relations with the federal government, provincial and municipal governments, parapublic organizations and institutions.
Prior to joining Quebecor, Mr. Barsoum held several positions with the Quebec government between 2014 and 2018. He served for two years as Senior Advisor to the Minister of Justice, in which capacity he was responsible for legislative matters, the Attorney General's legal cases, professional orders, infrastructure and technology projects, and intergovernmental and international relations.
Mr. Barsoum subsequently joined the office of the Premier of Quebec as an operational and protocol advisor. In that role, he was involved in managing all the Premier's activities, including strategic management of his agenda, event preparation and execution, domestic and international missions, tours, and announcements. He was also responsible for coordination in emergencies and unplanned events.
Mr. Barsoum holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws (Common Law) from University of Sherbrooke. He was called to the Barreau du Québec in January 2010 and began his career as a lawyer with the Quebec City-based firm Joli-Coeur Lacasse. He is a past president of the Jeune Barreau de Québec and has been a member of the board of the Barreau du Québec.
Paul Beaudry
Paul Beaudry joined Cogeco as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs in November 2020 and became responsible for Government Affairs in September 2023. In this role, Paul leads Cogeco's public policy efforts and represents the company and its subsidiaries in telecommunications and broadcasting proceedings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). He is also responsible for matters involving ISED, Canadian Heritage, the Competition Bureau, the Copyright Board and other government departments and agencies.
Prior to joining Cogeco, Paul served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at TELUS. He has also practised competition and foreign investment law at Stikeman Elliott LLP and Ogilvy Renault LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright). Paul is a former senior policy advisor to the federal Minister of Industry. He sits on the boards of directors of the Canadian Section of the International Institute of Communications and on Fondation La rue des Femmes, and he is a member of the Governors Council of Golf Canada.
Paul is a graduate of the University of Montreal Faculty of Law and is a member of the Quebec Bar.
Marielle Wilson
Marielle Wilson is the Vice President of Regulatory and Sustainability at Eastlink.
She joined the organization in 2013 as a Regulatory Analyst, and her attention to detail, ability to quickly understand the business and apply that knowledge to the regulatory environment, resulted in her promotion to Manager in 2018 and to VP Regulatory in 2020.
Marielle has a master's in economics from Dalhousie, and a BA in Economics and Business from Acadia University. She has over 12 years' experience in policy analysis and regulatory.
Marielle manages a team of five who are responsible for Eastlink's regulatory requirements as they relate to TV, internet, wireline phone, mobile and home security services.
Marielle's responsibilities include communication of federal and provincial regulatory requirements, ensuring all regulatory, licensing and reporting requirements are met, and advocating on behalf of Eastlink in CRTC and ISED proceedings impacting the industry.
Joel R Fortune
Joel Fortune has practised law in Ottawa for more than twenty-five years.
Joel's practice is focused primarily on communications, copyright and entertainment law in the broadcasting sector dealing in both regulatory and commercial matters.
Joel's clients include broadcasters from across Canada as well as Internet distributors, television production companies and sound recording companies. Joel has expertise in telecommunications contracting, both terrestrial and satellite-based, and in general corporate and commercial matters including in the not-for-profit sector.
Joel is currently a volunteer director and executive secretary of the Ottawa Festival Network. Joel has been recognized as a leading practitioner in communications law in Canada in Chambers, Lexpert, and Who's Who Legal.
