Current directors

The current directors appointed by CHF Canada are


CMHC has decided for now not to name any directors to the Board.

Raymond Hession, President e-mail

Raymond Hession first joined the public service in 1958 as a member of the Canadian Forces. After a number of years with IBM, he joined the staff of CMHC. He was named President of CMHC in 1976 and Chairman of the Board in 1979. Mr. Hession became deputy minister of the departments of Supply and Services in 1982 and Regional Industrial Expansion in 1986. In 1987 he returned to the private sector, where he has led a number of technology and consulting companies.

In 2001 Mr. Hession worked with the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services on the transformation of Ontario’s social-assistance delivery system, followed by a further engagement with the province to review and report on Ontario’s integrated justice system. In 2003, he conducted a review of the Canadian Firearms Program.

Mr. Hession has maintained an active community involvement in Ottawa, where he lives. He is currently serving a three-year term as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Ottawa Hospital, chaired the board of the Rehabilitation Centre of Ottawa and is a past Chair of the Ottawa Arts Centre Foundation.


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Laird Hunter, Vice-President e-mail

W. Laird Hunter, Q.C., is an honorary lifetime associate of CHF Canada and a partner in the firm of Richards Hunter based in his native Edmonton, Alberta. A particular emphasis of Mr. Hunter’s practice has been community- and economic-development matters. He has undertaken a wide range of legal and policy work for the federal government and various provincial governments, as well as private-sector clients and non-profit and co-operative organizations. Mr. Hunter is retained by some of Canada’s leading charitable foundations and is listed for his expertise in Best Lawyers in Canada, a peer-reviewed reference guide.               

Mr. Hunter’s relationship with CHF Canada began in 1978 with occasional requests for legal advice while he was undertaking graduate studies at Carleton University in International Relations. He eventually assumed the formal role of corporate counsellor and legal advisor. Mr. Hunter has been retained on matters involving co-operative legislative in most provinces, as well as at the federal level. Many of the Agency’s clients know Mr. Hunter from his engagement as a member of the Resolutions Committee at the annual meeting of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.

A regular lecturer in the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta course, The Law of Non-Profit Organizations, Mr. Hunter is co-author of Take Charge! How to Make Economic Development Work for Your Band, a publication addressed to First Nations.


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Jill Kelly, Treasurer e-mail

Jill Kelly is the general manager of CCEC Credit Union in Vancouver, a position she has held since 1988. She was a founding member of the credit union, which specializes in serving non-profit community organizations and their members.

Ms. Kelly joined the co-operative housing sector since 1979, when she moved into Grandview Housing Co-operative. She worked for Roof Raisers Housing Society, a non-profit and co-operative housing resource group, from 1984 to 1989. From 1985 to 1988, Ms. Kelly was a member of the board of directors of the Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia (CHF BC), serving as treasurer and president and as a member of the board of directors of COHO Management Services Society, the federation’s property management subsidiary. COHO now provides management services to some 60 housing co-operatives.

Ms. Kelly is a director of the BC Co-operative Association and the Canadian Co-operative Association, and a former director of Credit Union Central of B.C. Ms. Kelly is a Certified General Accountant.


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Myrna Bentley e-mail

After 35 years in the co-operative financial-services industry, Myrna Bentley has moved on to a new phase in her career. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Concentra Financial Services Association and Concentra Trust, she guided the institution through challenging times and rewarding opportunities alike. Under her leadership, Concentra’s assets grew to exceed $4 billion and its assets under administration to $24 billion. Her attention to the wellbeing of the staff that produced these results led to Concentra’s being honoured as one of Canada’s Top 100 employers and one of Canada’s 50 best-managed companies. She herself has often been recognized for her achievements as a business woman and a co-operator.

Myrna is currently a director for Enterprise Saskatchewan and Affinity Credit Union, among other bodies, and has been active on many not-for-profits boards. A past president of the Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders, she served on the Senior Lender Working Committee of CMHC, representing co-operative financial institutions. Myrna is a proud resident of the prairie city of Saskatoon.


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Elain Duvall e-mail

Originally from Saskatchewan, Elain Duvall has lived in B.C. for many years and has been active in the housing field for most of that time. For more than 10 years she was the executive director of Columbia Housing Advisory Association, a well-regarded provider of development services to housing co-operatives. Elain was active at the national level as a member of the team that negotiated housing-program and operating-agreement matters with CMHC.

Beginning in 1990, Elain worked as a project officer at the City of Vancouver, with non-profit housing as her focus. After four years with the city, she moved to Progressive Homes as the Manager, Development, responsible for site acquisition, feasibility studies, contract negotiations and co-ordinating the design-approval process. For the past seven years she has worked in project development, business planning and fund raising on a consulting basis.

Elain has played a distinguished role on a variety of business, advisory and charitable boards. She spent some years on the Richmond Advisory Committee on Seniors’ Supportive Housing and was a governor of the Real Estate Foundation of B.C. Her connection with Vancity’s board and associated organizations spans the period from 1997 to 2009. During this time she served on the board of Citizen’s Bank of Canada, chaired the board of Vancity Enterprises and the credit union itself and spent several years as a director of the Vancity Capital Corporation and the Credit Union Central of B.C.


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Roger Maloney e-mail

Roger has spent much of his working life engaged with some aspect of housing, ranging from the non-profit Peel Living to the long-term care sector. Among the housing-related boards that have benefited from his expertise are those of Rooftops Canada, the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, and the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association.

Currently a municipal consultant, Roger Maloney has 30 years of experience with the Region of Peel, in Ontario. There Roger occupied positions of increasing importance until assuming the responsibilities of Chief Administrative Officer in 1997. Under his leadership, Peel embarked on an Excellence Journey, which culminated in the distinction of a Gold Award of Excellence from the National Quality Institute in 2005. No other government in Canada has been so honoured. Roger himself received the CMHC Award in 2009 for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of affordable housing solutions.

Maintaining his links with the grassroots, Roger currently serves on the board of Victoria Park Community Homes in Hamilton. He also chairs the Social Housing Services Corporation in Ontario. Roger makes his home in Oakville, on the western outskirts of Toronto.


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Updated: October 12, 2011