Wednesday, March 13 at 2:00 pm
Speaking in Maine takes us next to Portland and the World Affairs Council of Maine for a talk by Canada’s Deputy Ambassador to the United States and former Senior International Trade Negotiator for Canada, Kirsten Hillman. Hillman led Canada’s recent trade negotiations with the US and Mexico. She talks about those negotiations and the importance of maintaining strong economic relations between Maine and Canada.
Previously, she served as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Trade Agreements and Negotiations Branch at Global Affairs Canada, where she was responsible for leading the Government of Canada team in conducting exploratory trade discussions with China in addition to overseeing Canada’s trade negotiations agenda.
Prior to this position, she held the position of Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of the Trade Agreements and Negotiations and Canada’s Chief Negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Director General of the Trade Negotiations Bureau.
Ms. Hillman served as the Senior Legal Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Director of the Technical Barriers and Regulations Division. Ms. Hillman worked for a number of years in the Legal Branch at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, first in the Oceans and Environmental Law Division and then in the Trade Law Bureau. During her years in trade law, Ms. Hillman represented Canada as lead counsel before panels and the Appellate Body of the WTO and managed Canada’s international investor-state arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Ms. Hillman has significant experience in international dispute resolution and was appointed by the Director General of the WTO to serve as arbitrator in a dispute between New Zealand and Australia.
Prior to becoming a public servant, Ms. Hillman practiced law in Montreal in the area of commercial litigation. Ms. Hillman holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba and a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University.
Source: www.wacmaine.org
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