Interview — Gerald Butts, Member of McGill’s BOG & President of World Wildlife Fund Canada

A former two-time Canadian National Debating Champion while pursuing his Honours BA and MA at McGill in the 1990s, Gerald Butts knows a thing or two about the power of words. But he also knows how to put words into action – especially when it comes to issues of sustainability. Prior to his becoming President and CEO of World Wildlife Fund of Canada, one of the country’s largest conservation organizations, Butts served as Principal Secretary to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. During that time he was intimately involved in all of his government’s significant environmental initiatives, from the Greenbelt and Boreal Forest Conservation Plan to the coal replacement strategy and green economy initiatives.