Ready Conference 2026
Date: January 29, 2026
Location: Lord Elgin Hotel, 100 Elgin Street, Pearson Room, Ottawa
Breakfast: 7:30 am - 8:30 am
Conference: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
View the agenda as a PDF
| 8:30-8:45 | Opening remarks Kenza El Bied, Director General, Policy and Programs, Public Safety Canada |
| 8:45-9:45 | Forecasting Canadian Weather Hazards Chris Scott, Chief Meteorologist, Pelmorex/ Weather Network |
| 9:45-10:15 | Catastrophic Bonds for Emergencies Case Study on Jamaica and Hurricane Melissa, Florian Steiger, CEO of ICOSA Investments |
| 10:15-10:30 | Networking break |
| 10:30-12:00 | Break out round tables and working group sessions (topline) 1. Ready for Intelligence: Harnessing AI for Canada’s Emergency Response, hosted by Mila 2. Reimagining Northern Readiness: Safe Space and Shelter in Place Solutions for Northern & Indigenous Community Responses 3. Emergency Volunteers: Building our collective capacity to respond to crisis through the National Volunteer Action Strategy, hosted by Volunteer Canada 4. Recovery and Resilience by Design: Co-Creating Meaningful Metrics |
| 12:00-1:00 | Networking lunch |
| 1:00-2:45 | Increasing collaboration of humanitarian actors in response |
| 2:45-3:00 | Break |
| 3:00 -4:00 | Leading for Agility: Unleashing Innovation, Collaboration, and Performance in Dynamic Environments Marissa Shandell, Organizational Behavior PhD Candidate at The Wharton School In the face of relentless disruption, rapid technological advancements, and unpredictable market dynamics, creativity and collaboration are more important than ever. In this keynote, Marissa Shandell, an expert in workplace engagement and the future of work, explores critical strategies that enable leaders to cultivate learning cultures and foster psychological safety, ultimately paving the way for increased innovation, optimal decisionmaking, and enhanced creativity in their teams and organizations. Community and long-term impacts and barriers to resilience. |
| 4:00-4:30 | Close and next steps |