NC-CIPSeR | R for Resilience
Perry Steckly | Executive Director | September 28, 2026
Resilience is part of our name. So are protection and security. Together, they reflect the breadth of the work required to help safeguard Canada’s essential services.
Members of the NC-CIPSeR team attended the NATO Association of Canada summit in Toronto. Executive Director Perry Steckly participated in the Physical Infrastructure and Environmental Resilience panel, along with Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Safety, Sebastien Aubertin-Giguere, Dr. Blair Feltmate, Head of the Intact Centre on Cimate Adaptation, University of Waterloo and Transport Canada’s Executive Director Mathieu Grenier. The panel was moderated by NC-CIPSeR Senior Research Fellow Dylan Odd. This group needs to spend more together!
The day featured the launch of the Association’s National Resilience Policy Paper – leveraging NATO’s Seven Baseline Requirements for Resilience. Our team was able to dive into the policy paper and share feedback and insights. Its all-of-society approach recognizes that Canada’s ability to prepare for, withstand and recover from crises depends on contributions across government, industry and civil society.
That perspective connects closely with our work. Critical infrastructure supports the services communities depend on – from electricity and water to communications, transportation and health care. Protecting these systems, securing them against threats and strengthening their resilience involves overlapping responsibilities across sectors and jurisdictions. These connections reveal both the complexity of the challenge and the importance of working together. During our panel, I tried to highlight the size and complexity of the ecosystem. Strong individual organizations are essential; so is understanding what happens between them.
NC-CIPSeR is one organization within this vast ecosystem. Our role is to connect government, industry and academia, identify shared priorities and advance focused projects that turn research into practical capability. We are one of the engines within this ecosystem.
Thank you to President and CEO of the NATO Association of Canada, Robert Baines, for convening this important discussion and for including our team – and to everyone working toward a more protected, secure and resilient Canada. Daria Synelnykova, Bogdana Torbina and the rest of Robert’s team did an incredible job.
Our work is made possible by the dedication of our volunteers and mentors. They bring expertise, curiosity and generosity with their time, helping us build relationships and move shared priorities forward. Seeing members of our team including John Mania, Graham Peddie and Taylor Gunn, participate in these discussions and spending time with them was a reminder of how much I value their contributions and friendships – and those of everyone supporting our work behind the scenes.
Further Reading:
National Resilience Policy Paper
National Resilience Policy Paper: Executive Summaries with Policy Recommendations