Who we are

Tim E. Koepke was appointed Yukon's third Ombudsman/Information and Privacy Commissioner effective May 1, 2012 for a term of five years.

Tim has been a resident of Whitehorse since 1970. He graduated in Civil Engineering from University of BC, is a registered professional engineer in Yukon and BC and is a Canada Lands Surveyor and BC and Surveyor. Until   1987, Tim was a senior partner in the Underhill group of companies which provides consulting engineering and land surveying services in BC and northern Canada.

Since 1987 Tim has been involved in the settlement of land claims in Yukon and BC. He was involved in the negotiation of the Umbrella Final Agreement and was Chief Federal Negotiator for a number of the Yukon First Nation settlements that followed as well as for the Tsawwassen First Nation treaty settlement in the Vancouver area. He was also appointed to represent Canada in negotiations between Athabasca region First Nations, governments and oil sands producers in an attempt to reach agreement on long-term benefits. He has recently been negotiating the 'Namgis First Nation treaty file in the Alert Bay area of coastal BC.

Tim has served on a number of community and national professional and technical organizations. He has been a member and chair of the Yukon Electrical Public Utilities Board, a member of the boards of Yukon Energy Corporation, Yukon Development Corporation and The Advisory Committee on Judicial Appointments for the Yukon Territory. In 1986 he chaired a Task Force on Placer Mining named by the federal government to resolve conflicts between fisheries enforcement, environmental concerns and the placer industry. Tim is a founding member and director of the Yukon Science Institute.

Tim has been named a Life Member of his professional organizations and continues to act as a Special Examiner for Canada Lands Surveyor candidates. He has been involved in the development and accreditation of university programs for the surveying profession and is a member of two professional Discipline Committees.

Tim's community involvement has included the Rotary Club of Whitehorse, various non-profit organizations and organizing committees for Arctic Winter Games. His work has taken him throughout Yukon, northern BC and the western NWT and has given him a good knowledge of life in rural and First Nation communities.

 

Staff

In addition to the Ombudsman, our team is comprised of:

Catherine Buckler Lyon: Senior Investigator/Mediator

Catherine has been with the office of the Ombudsman and IPC since its inception in 1996. As Senior Investigator/Mediator she deals with a majority of the ATIPP files, reviews and investigations.

Susan Dennehy: Investigator/Mediator/Legal Counsel

Susan is legal counsel to the Ombudsman and deals with the majority of the Ombudsman complaints that we receive. Susan has worked with the Ombudsman since 1999 and joined our office in 2001.

Colleen Gillis: Executive Assistant

Colleen is the newest member of our team, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office. She came on board in August 2011.