Canadian Statistics Advisory Council

Chairperson, Dr. Howard Ramos

Chairperson

Professor of Sociology, Western University

Dr. Howard Ramos is a Professor of Sociology at Western University. He investigates issues of social justice and social change and has published five books and over 50 articles and chapters on social movements, human rights, Indigenous issues, environmental advocacy, urban change, economic and tourism development, technology, ethnicity, race, immigration, and equity, diversity and inclusion in higher education. Dr. Ramos has worked with a wide range of advocacy and community organizations and is committed to knowledge translation and evidence-based policy.

Catherine Beaudry

CSAC Member

Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal

A graduate in electrical engineering from Polytechnique Montreal and a graduate in economics from the University of Oxford (master’s and doctorate), Catherine Beaudry is currently a full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering at Polytechnique Montreal. Professor Beaudry also holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in management and economics of innovation in addition to leading the Partnership for the Organization of Innovation and New Technologies (4POINT0). She is a member of the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (interuniversity centre for research on science and technology – CIRST), a fellow and main researcher of the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO), an associate professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and a founding member of the Global Young Academy. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada and the recipient of the Prix Acfas Jacques-Rousseau 2022, the CPSC Public Policy Trailblazer Award in 2023 and the Prix d’excellence en recherche et innovation 2024 from Polytechnique Montréal.

Professor Beaudry specialises in the economics of innovation and its impact on business performance, as well as in the evaluation of research and the science and technology system. The first mandate of the CRC (on creation, development and commercialisation of innovation) focused on the steps leading to innovation as well as those allowing it to create value on the market, i.e. the development of science and technology until their realisation in the form of innovative products and services. The second mandate of the CRC that she currently holds aims to create multiple-level (organizations-ecosystem-society) models and indicators on which governance and public policies specific to innovation ecosystems can to lean on. This multidisciplinary work aims to consider the science, technology and innovation system as a whole, and thus to breakdown the silos inherent to the innovation process.

Her main research interests are collaboration and support mechanisms for public and private organisations involved in knowledge and innovation ecosystems. In particular, her research focuses on the interaction between science and technology networks and industrial clusters, and how they influence the performance and survival of innovative organisations. 4POINT0 aims to develop new innovation indicators (derived from web mining) adapted to these ecosystems, so as to provide decision-makers with near-real time decision-making tools.

Benoit Dostie

CSAC Member

Professor at the Department of applied economics of HEC Montréal

Benoit Dostie is a full professor at the Department of applied economics of HEC Montréal, the business school affiliated with l’Université de Montréal. He is also the academic director of the Québec inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) and member of the board of the Canadian Research Data Center Network (CRDCN). He is a Fellow at the Institute for the study of labor (IZA) in Germany and Fellow at CIRANO where he is the main researcher for the theme Innovation and Digital Transformation and is in charge of the CIRANO Pole on the Socio-economic Impacts of Digital Innovation and AI.

He received his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University in 2001, and his research interests include statistical models for linked employer-employee data, duration models, returns to human capital, firm-sponsored training, productivity, turnover, and labour reallocation. His work has appeared in numerous scientific journals like the Canadian Journal of Economics, Journal of Econometrics, ILR Review, Industrial Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Journal of Human Capital, Journal of Human Resources, and the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics.

Anke Kessler

CSAC Member

Professor and the current Chair at the Department of Economics at Simon Fraser University

Anke Kessler is a full professor and the current Chair of the Department of Economics at Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, British Columbia). She is a member of the Indigenous Research Institute at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and is a member of the Canadian Economic Association executive council. She has previously served as the president of the Canadian Women Economists Committee and as member of the SFU Board of Governors.

Anke pursues an active research agenda at the intersection of political economy and development economics, with emphasis on the connections between institutions, governance, and well-being. Her work has appeared in numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Political Economy, the American Economic Review, and the Review of Economic Studies.

Originally from Germany, Anke completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Freiburg and received her Ph.D. from the University at Bonn. She held a position at the University of Bonn and visiting positions at the Universities of Oslo and Berkeley, before coming to SFU in 2003.

Vinamra Mathur

CSAC Member

Information Technology Specialist with the Canada Revenue Agency

Mr. Mathur is an experienced technology consultant with deep experience in designing and implementing modern data architectures using Microsoft technologies. He has led large-scale initiatives across the financial, public, and regulatory sectors, focusing on data governance, analytics enablement, and cloud modernization.

Mr. Mathur’s work bridges technical delivery and strategic advisory, supporting better data-driven decision-making in the Canadian public interest. He brings to the Council practical expertise in enabling secure, scalable, and privacy-conscious data ecosystems, and a strong commitment to advancing responsible data use across government.

Mr. Mathur has been featured in several technology publications and has received multiple awards for excellence in data and analytics. He holds a Master’s degree in Computing and Data Analytics from Saint Mary’s University, along with professional certifications in big data analytics, web development, and programming.

Stephen Tapp

CSAC Member

Chief Economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Stephen Tapp is the CEO and Chief Economist at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS). Established in 1995, CSLS is a national, independent, non-profit research organization focused on enhancing understanding of productivity, living standards and economic well-being.

Stephen was previously the Chief Economist and SVP of Research, Data and Analytics at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In that role, he successfully launched and managed the Business Data Lab as well as economic analysis and research, and was a key member of the executive leadership team.

Stephen is currently the President of the Canadian Association for Business Economics and a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council.

He has 25 years of diverse experience at many of Canada’s top economic organizations including at: Export Development Canada as the Deputy Chief Economist, the Bank of Canada, Parliamentary Budget Office, Finance Canada, academia as well as think tanks such as the Institute for Research on Public Policy and the C.D. Howe Institute.

Stephen’s research was awarded the Purvis prize for Canadian economic policy and has been published in academic journals, including the Canadian Journal of Economics and Canadian Public Policy.

He has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Queen’s University and an Honours B.A. in Economics with Distinction from Western University.