Program 2026

See 2025 Conference Program​​​​

Wednesday, November 18, 2026 -  Laurier Room   

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17:30   Scaling Up Welcome Reception
Host: ECOSTRAT

Thursday, November 19, 2026 - Adam Room ​

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07:30   Breakfast – The Chateau Continental
​Hosts: Iogen Corporation & Advanced Biofuels Canada

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08:15     Welcome / Opening remarks  Jeff Passmore, Founder, Scaling Up, CEO, Passmore Group
   
08:25    Opening Morning Keynotes One 
Session Chair: Andrew Bevan, CEO Catalyze4; former Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance

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08:30    Finland’s Bioeconomy Strategy 
Hanna-Leena Korteniemi, Ambassador of Finland to Canada

08:40    Corey Hogan
Member of Parliament, Calgary Confederation
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources 

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08:50    Carlos Leitão (invited)
Member of Parliament, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry

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09:00    TBD

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09:15    Jason Krips 
President & CEO, Alberta Forest Products Association

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09:25    Keynote Panel One Discussion

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09:45    Tariff-Proofing Canada's forest sector: Four ways to build the market diversification infrastructure    

Jordan Solomon, President and CEO, ECOSTART Inc.

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10:15    Opening Morning Keynotes Two
Session Chair: Andrew Bevan, CEO Catalyze4; former Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance

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10:20    The ‘how’ of bio-commercialization: Carbon removal credits as a financial trigger 
AJ Bird, Co-Founder and Chief Partnerships Officer, AVNGRDE, Verified Carbon Markets + Collaborative 2026 Fellow

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10:30    Kelly Drennan, Founding Executive Director, Fashion Takes Action

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10:40    From farm fields to the US Army: Turning agricultural residues into performance fibres, advanced materials and defence applications
Ken Barker, Founder & CEO, Zylotex

10:50    Want higher margins? Stop exporting value

Cynthia Ene, CEO COROL, Crown Governance Leader

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11:00    Keynote Panel Two Discussion
 

11:15     Refreshment Break

Host:    TBD

11:40    Budget 2026: Dave Watters, President, The Institute for Collaborative Innovation Canada; former Assistant Deputy Minister Economic Development and Corporate Finance, Finance Canada 

Dave will be interviewed by: 
Andrew Bevan, CEO Catalyze4, former Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance

12:10    Sustainable Aviation Fuels for Canada 
Joachim Stroink, Co-Founder, Chief Government Relations Officer, Sustaero (invited)

12:25    Feature Country: The Netherlands

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12:55     Lunch

Hosts:    Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Group & Canadian Fuels Association

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13:50    Scaling Up annual award presentation

13:55    Turning bio-based technologies into $1 billion market-ready products 
Shelley King, CEO, Natural Products Canada 

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14:10    Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Group’s bioeconomy standards development 

Michael Leering, Director Environment & Business Excellence Standards, Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group).

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14:40    Sovereignty, Energy security, Clean fuels, & Supply chain disruptions: No longer a background issue

Chair Bob Larocque, President & CEO, Canadian Fuels Association 
   
Fred Ghatala, President Advanced Biofuels Canada

Scott Jackson, CEO Centre for Research & Innovation in the bioeconomy (CRIBE)
 

15:35   Refreshment Break

Host:    Centre for Research & Innovation in the bioeconomy (CRIBE)

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16:00    Scaling Up 2026 Feature Province: Saskatchewan

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16:30    Getting to net zero: Addressing hard to abate sectors
Brian Foody, President and CEO, Iogen Corporation

Chris Hessler, Founding Partner, AJW Inc.

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17:00    Moe Kabbara, CEO, The Transition Accelerator

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17:15    J. Royden Trainor, Executive Director, Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub

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17:35    Accessing capital for bioeconomy commercialization
   
Chair: Peter McArthur, Senior Advisor, Fort Capital Partners; Chair, Canada Cleantech Alliance (CCTA)
 
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Founder & CEO, FrontFundr

Wayne Maddever, Portfolio Manager, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada

J-C Amado, CFO, Vyterra Renewables Inc.

Omid McDonald, Founder, DD Biofuel

18:05   Networking

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18:15   Hospitality Suite

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Scotch Tasting with Beer Chasers – Suite 558 

Hosts: Passmore Group Inc. & AJW Inc.  

Dinner at your leisure - Byward Market Restaurants

Recommendation: Luxe Bistro, 47 York Street

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​Friday, November 20, 2026  - Adam Room 

07:30   Breakfast – The Chateau Continental

Hosts: Greenspring Bioinnovation Hub & TorchLight Bioresources

08:15   Welcome Back: Jeff Passmore, Founder, Scaling Up, CEO, Passmore Group Inc. 

08:20    Technology in Action  
Session Chair: Heather Crochetiere, Interim CEO Foresight Canada; Vice President of Technology Adoption

Foresight Ag

Foresight Forest

Pratish Gawand, CEO, Ardra Inc.

Groundwork for Sovereignty: How Soil Health Enables Canada’s Bioeconomy to Scale

Patricia Hill, CEO, Morganics
       
08:55    Special keynote presentation
Konstantinos (Costas) Kapsouropoulos
Science Counsellor, European Union (EU) Delegation to Canada

09:15    Sitting on a Gold Mine: How biomass and carbon removal can create transformative business opportunities for forestry

Daniel Kelter, Senior Director Public Affairs, Carbon Removal Canada

09:30    Government of Canada vision for the bioeconomy

Joyce Henry, Director General, Canadian Forest Service, NRCan
   
Treasury Board Secretariat, Greening of government

Canadian Coast Guard

Department of National Defence

In conversation with Meaghan Seagrave, Executive Director, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC)
 
10:05    Asset Owners, Market Maker: Federal Offtakes to Rebuild the Forest Sector

Tom Antle, Chief Engineer and Project Manager, TorchLight Bioresources

10:20    Canada’s Golden Opportunity: An American’s Perspective on Sustainable Timber, Value Creation, Green Electrons, Billions in Rural Economic Development, and more”
 Ken Hill, Managing Director, BioCarbon Strategies

10:35    Canadian forest sector: Transformation in a time of hardship
Don Roberts, CEO Nawitka Capital Advisors Ltd., Member, Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force 

10:55    Andrea Kent Vice President Industry and Government Affairs, Greenfield Global

11:25    Session Chair: Sandy Ferguson, Principal SF Consulting Inc., Sr. Advisor Bioeconomy Initiatives, Foresight Canada

Maryam Arefmanesh Director, Innovation, Energy & Manufacturing, Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA)

    FPAC
 

Kim Haakstad, President & CEO, BC Council of Forest Industries

​11:50     Refreshment Break

Hosts:    BioTalent Canada & The Transition Accelerator

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​12:15   Pamela Grey, Vice-President Project Development, BioTalent Canada

12:35   Biodegradable Packaging in Canada: Solution and System Challenge

Chair: Manjusri Misra, Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Biocomposites, College of Engineering, Department of Interdisciplinary Engineering; joint appointment, Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph

Ashish Pujari, Professor, Marketing DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University

Hongbo Li, Senior Research Officer and Technology Leader BioMaterials and Sustainable Manufacturing, National Research Council

Amar Mohanty, Full Professor & Distinguished Research Excellence Chair in Sustainable Materials; Director, Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre, University of Guelph

Alexis Wagner, Manager Economic Affairs, Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Jordan Hatton, Director, Economic Development, Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA)

13:05   The Wrap​

University of Toronto PhD students

13:20   Door Prizes / Closing Remarks / Adjourn 

Jeff Passmore

Founder, Scaling Up

CEO, Passmore Group Inc.

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