Keynote Speaker
Mr. John O’Fee
QC, Faculty Member, Thompson Rivers University, Canada
John received his Commerce degree and Law degree from the University of British Columbia and commenced private legal practice in Kamloops immediately upon graduation. His work centered around real estate development, corporate transactions, wills and estates. John pursued community service while establishing and growing his practice. He was first elected to the Kamloops School Board in 1988 and served for eight years including three years as School Board Chair. In 1999 John was elected to Kamloops City Council where he served for eleven years in various capacities including Audit Committee Chair, President of the Kamloops Airport Authority Society, Hospital Board Chair, Municipal Finance Authority Member and Regional District Director. In addition, John served in various volunteer roles with the Thompson Rivers University (“TRU”) Foundation including six years as its board chair. In 2011 John left the private practice of law to become Chief Executive Officer of the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc (Kamloops Indian Band). In this multi-faceted role John led a team of over 200 employees responsible for a wide variety of enterprises ranging from a working cattle ranch and retail gas station as well as providing band social programs and operating an elementary school. John joined the School of Business and Economics at TRU first as a sessional instructor 2010 and as full time faculty commencing January, 2014. His courses include Commercial, Employment and Real Estate Law but John has also instructed Business Ethics for TRU at the Tianjin University of Technology in China. In addition, John instructs Real Estate Transactions at TRU’s Law School. John recently received the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence from the School of Business and Economics. Besides his work at TRU, John serves as a board member and panel chair for the Health Professions Review Board of British Columbia. This organization acts as an appellate body for decisions rendered by professional medical colleges in the province. He has also served is also a board member of the Provincial Health Services Authority and board chair of the Interior Health Authority. These organizations are tasked with the operation large scale health facilities including the BC Children’s Hospital, the BC Ambulance Service, the BC Cancer Agency, the BC Centre for Disease Control and many others. Each organization operates on an annual budget well in excess of $2 billion. John has been recognized as a distinguished Alumnus of Thompson Rivers University in 1995, selected for a BC Community Achievement Award in 2011 and was designated as Queen’s Counsel in December 2015.