As Director of Government Relations at the Railway Association of Canada, Chris played a key role in the case to convince the Federal government to make infrastructure investments in the port-rail-road complex in Vancouver in order to accommodate the growing volume of trans-Pacific trade. The result was an investment by Ottawa in 2006 of $591 million in the Asia Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative, of which a substantial portion was devoted to rail improvements in the Lower Mainland.
As Vice President, Public and Government Affairs at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), he played a central advocacy role in the allocation by the Federal government within Budget 2009 of more than $800 million in investments to support Canada’s tourism and travel sector.
Also, while at TIAC, he devised an entirely new accreditation scheme – the Canada-China Inbound Tour Operator Registration Program – for Canadian tour operators bringing Chinese group visitors to Canada under the Approved Destination Status (ADS) agreement with China. This was the first time (2010) that the Peoples Republic of China authorized group visitation of its citizens to Canada. Between the signing of the ADS agreement in 2010 and 2015, Chinese tourism to Canada grew at the rate of 24% per year, generating $3B in revenue for Canadian businesses in the retail, travel, transportation, and tourism sectors. This new business became the fastest growing segment of in-bound leisure travel to Canada.
At the Sport Matters Group, as Senior Leader he worked with two aboriginal sport-for-development consultants to create and fund the Six Nations Youth Running Club, an after school initiative to help youth in the Six Nations Reserve on the Grand River in southwestern Ontario improve their health and fitness. We provided running gear, food, and social activities to help motivate aboriginal youth to overcome sedentary behaviors affecting their well-being.
Also at the Sport Matters Group, Chris developed and held an inaugural Sport for Development Conference (2012), one of the first of its kind in Canada. The premise was to show how the non-athletic benefits of sport could be harnessed intentionally to deal with pressing social problems such as the integration of youth to the labor market or coping with the psycho-social roots of adolescent health dysfunction e.g. loneliness, isolation, apathy etc. Case studies presented at the conference showcased how community sport initiatives could help to sow social capital, a sense of belonging and greater optimism on the part of participants.
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