Senior Environmental Scientist, Principal

Guy Gilron, MSc, RPBio

Guy is a senior environmental scientist, registered professional biologist and a trained and experienced Board Director with extensive experience in various industry sectors, with a focus on aquatic ecology, environmental toxicology and water and sediment quality assessment in freshwater and marine systems. Prior to establishing Borealis Environmental Consulting, he served as Vice President Environmental/Regulatory Affairs at Cardero Coal; during his 2.5-year tenure, Guy oversaw and directed all pre-application Environmental Assessment activities associated with Cardero's Carbon Creek Metallurgical Coal project in northeastern BC, including: baseline studies, permitting activities, regulatory liaison, and community relations and consultations. Prior to that, Guy was Director, Environmental Science at Teck Resources; at Teck, he had primary responsibility for ecological risk and environmental impact assessments at numerous Teck sites, development of the corporate biodiversity conservation program, and dormant properties and contaminated sites assessment/management.

Guy currently focuses his efforts on the integration of science into policy and management decisions, scientific communication, and sustainability assurance for the mining sector in Canada and beyond. Guy is also an accredited independent Board Director, with experience in governance, finance and human resources.

Education

Professional Development

Directors Education Program, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 2016.
Zinc College, International Zinc Association, Townsville, Australia, 2008

Post-Secondary / University Education

M.Sc., Marine Ecology; University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, 1988
B.Sc. (Honours), Biology/Chemistry; University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, 1984
Field Marine Science, Cornell University, Shoals Marine Laboratory, Isles of Shoals, Maine, USA 1981

Professional Experience

Guy has 30 years’ experience in ecotoxicology and ecological and human health risk assessment, relating specifically to anthropogenic effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. He has expertise in the development, evaluation and application of water quality guidelines and criteria in numerous jurisdictions in North America and beyond. Guy joined the mining industry in October of 2006, after a 19-year career in environmental consulting. Prior to his work as Principal of Borealis Environmental, he was Vice President, Environmental and Regulatory Affairs for Cardero Coal Ltd., and Director, Environmental Science for Teck Resources, both based in Vancouver, BC Canada. In the latter position, Guy contributed scientific advice to the Elk Valley Selenium Task Force (EVSTF), a government/industry forum that addressed water quality issues and research in the Elk Valley; this included parameters such as selenium, nitrate, sulphate and cadmium.

Guy is a Verification Service Provider (VSP) with the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) for the Sustainability Assurance Program, Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM). He is also qualified to conduct sustainability assurance under the Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMP), administered by the World Gold Council (WGC), and The Copper Mark. Guy is also a Certified Lead Auditor for ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) (QMI), and ISO 17025 (Environmental Laboratory Accreditation) (RABSQA).

In addition to contributing to various research initiatives and several publications related to risk assessment of coal mining effluent (including the 2010 SETAC Pellston book: “Ecological Assessment of Selenium in the Aquatic Environment”), Guy has played a key role in a number of multi-stakeholder working groups related to regulation, assessment, management, and treatment of selenium, specifically:

The Elk Valley Selenium Task Force (EVSTF);
The Canadian and Alberta Industry Selenium Working Groups (CISWG, ABSWG);
The Metal Mining Effluent Regulations 10-year Review, Selenium Sub-Group (as co-chair); and, most recently,
The North American Selenium Working Group (NASWG) (as Executive Secretariat).

Professional Affiliations

Guy maintains memberships and involvement in various professional and academic societies and organizations, all of which enhance his knowledge base, awareness, participation, on-going learning, and professional networking in both the disciplines and the industry sectors in which he works. These include:

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)(Board Member, Member and Past-President of Laurentian Chapter) (Senior Editor, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management journal);
The College of Applied Biology (accredited as a Registered Professional Biologist; former Vice-President);
The Coal Association of Canada (Member); and,
The Canadian Ecotoxicity Workshop (Member and former Board Director).

Accreditations, Awards & Appointments

Guy maintains accreditations and appointments under the auspices of various professional and academic organizations, including:

The Copper Mark (Assurance Provider)
The World Gold Council (Assurance Provider for Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs));
Mining Association of Canada; Ottawa, ON Canada (Verification Service Provider, Towards Sustainable Mining); and,
2020/2021 Recipient of the Coal Association of Canada's Award of Distinction
The North American Selenium Working Group (NASWG) (as Executive Secretariat).

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