OTTAWA, October 1, 2024 – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) announces the appointment of Geoff White as Executive Director and General Counsel, effective today.
“I am honoured to take on this role, albeit at a very challenging time for consumers, and groups that represent their interests”, said White. “Across the board, Canadians are struggling to access and afford essential services and goods: housing and fair credit, energy, internet service, food, transportation, privacy and healthcare.”
John Lawford, after 21 years of dedicated service to PIAC, will be moving into the role of Special Counsel with PIAC as he transitions to the next stage in his career.
“It has been an honour and privilege to advance consumer rights and the public interest at PIAC. I am so pleased that Geoff will lead PIAC to important wins and many more honest fights that we will have to help Canadians in their everyday lives,” added Lawford.
“For over two decades John has been the heart and soul of PIAC and has created a legacy of important consumer protections for Canadians”, said Harry Gow, Chair of the PIAC Board of Directors. “On behalf of our Board, we express our sincerest gratitude to John, and we look forward to new directions with Geoff’s leadership.”
PIAC will honour Mr. Lawford at its Annual Dinner 2024 on November 28 at the National Arts Centre.
About Geoff White
Geoff White previously served as the Executive Director and General Counsel of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada, where he championed the interests of competitive telecom service providers. Other mandates include Director and Regulatory Counsel for the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services, External Counsel to PIAC, and Counsel and Senior Regulatory Analyst at MTS Allstream.
Geoff has taught Communications Law at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Common Law and served as an advisor to the Broadcasting & Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel.
Geoff holds a BA from McGill University, a JD and MBA from the University of Windsor, a BCL from Oxford, and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. He is an active member of the Board of Directors for Firefighters Without Borders and has previously contributed to the Board of Directors of the CCTS. He also works as an on-call firefighter for the Municipality of Chelsea.
About PIAC
PIAC is a national not-for-profit corporation and a federally registered charity that advocates for Canadian users of essential services in industries such as telecommunications, energy, financial services, privacy and transportation.
For more information:
@CanadaPIAC
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