The Principal

The principal of Arctic Security Consultants is Colonel (Retired) Pierre Leblanc. Colonel Leblanc spent over 9 years in the Canadian Arctic where he commanded Canadian Forces Northern Area for an extended five years period. During that time he had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the Arctic, including formal visits to Alaska and Greenland. He is the founder of the Canadian Government Arctic Security Interdepartmental Working Group, an advisory body which comprises11 federal departments.

His long command tenure of what is now Joint Task Force North allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the many facets of security and sovereignty in the Arctic. This tenure also allowed him to develop lasting relationships with political, business and aboriginal leaders.

Colonel Leblanc is familiar with the infrastructure of the Arctic and has visited most of its communities. He has experienced temperatures of minus 75 °Celsius and is familiar with the challenges the Arctic environment presents for equipment, personnel and programs.

Following his retirement he has participated in many discussions on Arctic matters. He has made formal presentations at the Université du Québec à Montreal, the Université Laval in Québec, the University of Calgary and the Université de Montréal. He participated in the Model negotiation on Northern Waters between two teams of experts which was held in Ottawa in 2008. He has also done a number of studies for the Canadian Government. He has appeared as an expert witness for the Senate Standing Committee on National Defence and Security and the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence.

He assisted Raytheon Company to win the contract for the operation and maintenance of the North Warning System consisting of 47 air defence radar sites in the Arctic from the Alaska border to the south tip of Labrador spanning some 4,400 kilometers. He set up a new Raytheon Canada Limited business unit and managed the North Warning System contract for two years from April 1st 2014.

Colonel Leblanc is on the Editorial Board of the Vanguard Magazine. He has published a number of articles in it. Colonel Leblanc is an ambassador for the Arctic Inspiration Prize. He is presently supporting White Glacier with the introduction of cold weather immersion suits.

The Principal

Associates

Pierre has six associates. Please review their biographies.

Gregg Kennedy has thirty-five years experience within the personnel and physical security field. He spent most of his career with Canada’s Public Safety Department working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service as an investigator, operational trainer and specialized sensitive operations manager. He has travelled the Canadian Arctic extensively.

Ron Kroeker brings forty plus years of experience with the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence in a variety of roles that included strategic and business planning. He recently retired from the National Search and Rescue Secretariat where he had the lead for the coordination of Northern search and rescue within the National SAR Program.

John Hampson brings thirty eight years of experience in the Canadian Forces as a combat engineer plus seven years of operations in the Canadian Arctic in Canadian Forces Station Alert and on the North Warning System, that line of 47 arctic air defence radars. During his military career he held increasing levels of responsibility culminating with the command of 31 Combat Engineer Regiment, the Windsor Regiment and Battle Group Dragon that consisted of 1200 soldiers from across Ontario. He has been deployed overseas on several assignments.

Colonel (Ret'd) David Barr brings 38 years of experience in the Canadian Forces/DND, and the United Nations. He has three operational command tours abroad and was the Founding Commander of Canadian Special Forces Command, which included a Combat tour in Afghanistan. He has unique interagency and multinational strategic planning experience as the Chief of Staff for the military security for both the first "post-9/11" G8 Summit and the 2010 Winter Olympics; and finally as the Chief of Military Plans in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in UN HQ, New York.

Crystal Martin, an Inuk originally from Sanirajak (Hall Beach), brings 7 years of experience developing and implementing Inuit-specific programs and services. She has worked extensively across the Canadian Arctic while with Raytheon Canada Limited: North Warning System, the Government of Nunavut, the Government of Canada and her business, Okpik Consulting. Crystal is currently the President of the National Inuit Youth Council.

Pauline Baudu has eight years of experience working on human rights including the rights of migrants and Indigenous Peoples, the climate-security nexus, Arctic security, risk-analysis and advice to decision-making. In particular, she has been researching on the security threats from climate and environmental change to the European and North American Arctic, with a special focus on the implications for NATO and transatlantic defense cooperation. She is a Senior Fellow with Arctic360, a Nonresident Research Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security, a Collaborator with the DND Network for Strategic Analysis and a public official with the French Government administration.