• Campaigns
• Getting Off the Bottle
• Pesticides
• Right-to-Know

• Resources

Major Donor
Leonard Schein
President,
Festival Cinemas

"I'm very impressed with the difficult work that Toxic Free Canada does. I support Toxic Free Canada because I know their knowledge and hard work will result in great strides in protecting the health and environment of the people of BC and Canada."

Toxic Free Canada Director Bios

Jackie Larkin, President

Jackie has been active in social justice work for 40 years — in women's, labour and political action movements. In recent years, she has integrated a deep environmental perspective to her work. As Board President of Toxic Free Canada, she is committed to the struggle to build a toxin-free world and to grow the work of grass roots organizations like TFC.

David Lane, Vice-President

David has worked for the T Buck Suzuki Foundation since 1992 and has been an active campaigner and policy analyst. He is now very active with the Foundation's salmon farm campaign in cooperation with the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform.

Karen Cooling, Secretary/Treasurer

Karen is currently a National Staff Representative with the Western Region of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. She was the Secretary-Treasurer of the Confederation of Canadian Unions from 1992 to 1999. Karen has more than 30 years of labour and community activism. She is a past councillor of the Village of Gold River, Community Health Clinic Board member and Nootka Sound Resource Board member. She and her life partner Wally have 2 adult daughters and divide their time between Vancouver and Saltair, BC.

Mitch Anderson

Mitch is a Vancouver based researcher and writer. He worked for eight years as a staff scientist at Sierra Legal Defence Fund and has written extensively on environmental and social policy issues for a variety of national and international publications.

Joe Foy

Joe Foy began volunteering with the Wilderness Committee in 1984, becoming their first paid campaigner in 1987 when he initiated the Lower Mainland Pocket Wilderness Campaign. Since then, Joe has been the driving force behind many campaigns, and has led the Wilderness Committee to successfully protect spectacular areas such as the Elaho Valley, Boise/Pinecone/Burke, and the Stein, Carmanah and Lower Walbran Valley. Joe's passion for the wild shines through in his speeches at rallies, to media, and to the public.

Gordon Hartman

Born in Fraser Lake, Dr. Gordon Hartman is known the world over as one of the most knowledgeable scientists on any fishery. He has a Ph.D. in zoology, was the scientist in charge of a major fish-forestry research project, held senior positions in the provincial government and the Yukon government; He has taught at the university level for about six years (University of Guelph and Addis Ababa University) and spent three years in Africa with CIDA for two, and FAO for one.

Carolynne Fardy

Carolynne is an instructor at Thompson Rivers University. She came to British Columbia and TRU in 1985 and taught in the Medical laboratory Technology program. Carolynne has been honoured with a Master Teaching award and Outstanding Service award during her career at TRU.

Scott Lunny

Scott Lunny is Assistant to the Director for the United Steelworkers, District 3. In addition to being a key member of the union's bargaining committee in the B.C. Forest Industry, Lunny has worked to spearhead the union's political action and organizing programs while managing several administrative duties. Scott is a Commerce graduate from the University of British Columbia and has more than 13 years experience in organized labour. He attended Harvard University's trade union program last year.

Teresa Marshall

Teresa is a social justice communicator and award-winning filmmaker. She currently works with the BC Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) on child care, environmental, anti-poverty and equity + human rights campaigns. One of Teresa's recent documentaries "Pocket Desert — confessions of a snakekiller", commissioned by the National Film Board of Canada, is based on her experiences growing up as an eco-geek in the South Okanagan.

Stuart Rush, QC

Stuart Rush obtained his law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1970. He has practiced continuously in BC since 1971, representing trade unions and tribal organizations in labour and aboriginal litigation. He has appeared before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of BC, the Canada Industrial Relations Board, the BC Labour Relations Board and arbitration boards in BC and throughout Canada. He was appointed Queen's Council in 1992.

Janet Routledge

Janet Routledge is currently the Director of Political Action for the BC Federation of Labour. Previously, Janet held a number of positions in the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Most recently she was Regional Coordinator for the BC Region. During her many years as a union educator, Janet facilitated a growing awareness among union members about issues of equity and social justice. Over the years, Janet has served on the boards of a number of community organizations.

Larry Stoffman

Larry is an Occupational Health & Safety consultant and educator, and has worked closely with Canadian and International labour organizations, the UFCW , Health Canada, Canadian Partnership against Cancer, and Worksafe BC, to name a few. He has developed and implemented joint Occupational Health & Safety programs in a number of industries including retail food, healthcare, industrial processing, and forestry.

Cathy Walker

Cathy is the former National Health and Safety Director of the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers Union), which is the largest private sector union in Canada with 260,000 members. She was appointed to the position in 1992 and retired in 2006. Cathy has been a national union representative responsible for health, safety and environment since 1975, originally with CAIMAW in Vancouver. Cathy was the recipient of the International Award from the Occupational Health Section of the American Public Health Association and the Rachel Carson Award from the Environment Section of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. Since her retirement and moving to the west coast, Cathy has been a member of the Board of Directors of Toxic Free Canada.

Jim Brophy and Margaret Keith

Jim has worked together with his wife, Margaret Keith, in the field of occupational health for 30 years. For 17 years Jim was the Executive Director of the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) in Windsor and then later in Sarnia, Ontario. Margaret and Jim are currently conducting a study regarding possible links between breast cancer and workplace exposures. Jim and Margaret have four adult children and eight grandchildren. They are also partners in a wide range of public health promotion and research undertakings, primarily in the areas of occupational and environmental health.

Ruth Herman

Ruth is a retired lawyer who specialized in workers' compensation law and health and safety for union members. She is a former Vancouver school trustee and long-time education activist, as well as a board member of CoDevelopment Canada, president of its subsidiary company, Cafe Etico, and president of the board of REACH Community Health Clinic in Vancouver.