Canada’s consul general in Denver to discuss NAFTA at KU

LAWRENCE — The consul general of Canada in Denver, Stéphane Lessard, will deliver a presentation about the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, in Capitol Federal Hall.

The talk, “NAFTA for a New Age: Growing the Canada-Kansas Partnership,” is presented by the KU Center for Global Business Studies at the School of Business. It is free and open to the public and will be held in the Tim Barton Colloquium, Room 1010.

Lessard joined Global Affairs Canada, the country’s lead agency for foreign affairs, trade and development, at the Consulate General of Canada in August 2016. In his role, he oversees a team of 17 people who work in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Utah and Wyoming to strengthen trade and economic ties; improve political, academic and cultural links; and assist Canadians who visit or live in the five-state region.

He spent 2006 to 2016 with Health Canada, serving in various executive positions across the Offices of the Chief Scientist, the Strategic Policy Branch, the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Lessard also worked with Global Affairs Canada’s Global Partnership Program from 2004 to 2006 and with the Canadian Space Agency from 1993 to 2004, including serving as its head of international affairs.

The presentation follows the business school’s “Mexico, the Heartland and NAFTA” April 2017 discussion, which featured Kenneth Smith Ramos, an expert on U.S.-Mexico trade and the current head of the Trade and NAFTA Office of the Ministry of the Economy of Mexico based in Washington, D.C.