Ra McGuire

Ra McGuire was born in 1950 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He began singing professionally at the age of 12 and has never had a real job.

His band, Trooper, is both legendary and notorious and has performed in every city, town and village in Canada. He has written or co-written at least two hundred songs, a dozen of which (including "The Boys in the Bright White Sportscar", "Raise A Little Hell", "We're Here For A Good Time (Not a Long Time)") have topped the charts. Ra is the author of "Here for a Good Time - On the Road With Trooper - Canada's Legendary Rock Band" Part travelogue, part confessional and part real-time chronicle, "Here For a Good Time" was written in airports and rented vans, on ferries and planes - in billet-rooms in remote high-north villages and luxury hotel suites in the heart of the Big Smoke. He lives with his wife and son in White Rock, BC.

Roy MacGregor

Roy MacGregor is an acclaimed author and columnist for The Globe and Mail newspaper. His "beat" is the country itself, from politics to wilderness, the meaning of hockey to the foibles of family life. His non-fiction books include Home Team: Fathers, Sons, and Hockey (shortlisted for the Governor-General's Award) and A life in the Bush (winner of the U.S. Rutstrum Award for Best Wilderness Book). He has also written fiction including Canoe Lake and the popular Screech Owls mystery series for young readers.

He has been a columnist for The Globe since 2002. He has also written for The National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, Maclean's magazine and the Toronto Star. His journalism has garnered four National Magazine Awards and eight National Newspaper Awards nominations.

His new book Canadian, sets out to explain Canada to Canadians.

Roberta L. Jamieson

Roberta L. Jamieson, a Mohawk woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River, is the  Chief Executive Officer of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. She accepted the post after serving three years as Chief of the Six Nations - the first woman ever to head Canada's most populous reserve.

For 10 years Jamieson served as Ombudsman for the Province of Ontario, the first woman to hold that position. During this period she became the founding President of the Canadian Ombudsman Institute, and a founding Board Member of the Centre for Research in Women's Health, a partnership between the University of Toronto and Women's College Hospital.

Prior to her appointment as Ombudsman, Jamieson served as the Commissioner of the Indian Commission of Ontario.

In 1982 Jamieson became the first non-parliamentarian to be appointed an ex-officio member of a Special House of Commons Committee on Indian Self-Government, which in 1983 produced a final report that was supported by all political parties.

Jamieson is a vocal advocate for the preservation and enhancement of human rights - indigenous rights in particular - as a vital part of realizing Canada's potential.

Roberta Jamieson was the first Canadian aboriginal woman to earn a law degree. She has also received numerous Honorary LL.D. degrees, and is a graduate of the Harvard University Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives. She is a Member of the Order of Canada, recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. Most recently, Roberta received the Indigenous Peoples' Council Award from the Indigenous Bar Association.