Stephen McGrath, K.C.
Mr. McGrath was appointed as a full-time Board Member on April 25, 2018 and as Chair on March 1, 2022.
Before joining the Board, Mr. McGrath was a Director of Legal Services with the Nova Scotia Department of Justice, with shared responsibility for the management of legal services for departments and agencies throughout the provincial government. Mr. McGrath was with the Department of Justice for 16 years, and before assuming his role as director, held various positions in the Legal Services Division. His work included advice to the Nova Scotia Department of Energy and appearances before courts and administrative bodies on behalf of numerous departments and agencies of the Government of Nova Scotia. Mr. McGrath was awarded the Premier’s Award of Excellence in 2009 for his work to determine the methodology for Crown Share Adjustment Payments to the Province of Nova Scotia under the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord. Before joining the Province, Mr. McGrath was a partner with the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia law firm, Boyne Clarke. During his 10 years there, his practice focused on commercial litigation and environmental law. He received his King's Counsel designation in 2023.
Mr. McGrath was a member and past chair of the Board of Directors of the Regional Residential Services Society and was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Help Line Society. He has also been a volunteer coach with minor hockey.
Mr. McGrath is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. He was formerly a Council Member of the Society, is a past chair of the Society’s Code of Professional Conduct Committee and a member of the Ethics Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and was previously a Member of the Executive and Council Member with the Association, and past chair of the Young Lawyers and Civil Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the Association. He is also a member of CAMPUT: Canada’s Energy and Utility Regulators and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (US).
Julia E. Clark, LL.B
Ms. Clark was appointed as a full-time Board Member on March 1, 2022 and became Vice Chair on April 1, 2025.
Prior to that, she served as a Managing Lawyer with the Legal Services Division of the Department of Justice. While with the Department she was a member of the Government and Social Services Team, providing legal advice to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, and formerly to the Alcohol, Fuel, Tobacco and Gaming Division of Service Nova Scotia and the Department of Economic Development. Prior to joining the Province she spent 12 years with Global Affairs Canada, working as a diplomat and legal specialist in Ottawa and at the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC as a Representative of Canada to the Organization of American States. Her legal work with the federal government focused on International Human Rights and Economic Law and Canada’s Economic Sanctions regime.
Ms. Clark was called to the Nova Scotia Barristers Society in 2005. She is a graduate of Mount Allison University and the University of New Brunswick Law School. She serves as an executive member of the Board of Directors of the Lung Association of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and volunteers with a number of community-level organizations.
Bruce Fisher, MPA, CPA
Mr. Fisher was appointed as a full-time member of the Board on March 1, 2022.
Prior to his appointment Mr. Fisher served in various positions at the Halifax Regional Municipality, most recently as Director of Financial Policy and Planning. During that time he was involved in policymaking on a broad range of topics including budgets, taxation, debt, reserves and low income assistance. He served as a volunteer with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, advising municipal governments in Sri Lanka and the Ukraine. He was previously employed with the Federal Department of Industry in Ottawa and the Nova Scotia Department of Finance.
Mr. Fisher has previously appeared as an expert witness before the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board and has lectured at Dalhousie’s School of Public Administration. He is a graduate of the University of Kings College (Political Science), Dalhousie University (Masters of Public Administration (MPA)) and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA).
M. Kathleen McManus, K.C., Ph. D.
Ms. McManus was appointed to the Board on November 30, 2022
M. Kathleen McManus, K.C., born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, received her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and her Bachelor of Arts (Honours First Class) degree in history from Dalhousie University. As a Commonwealth Scholar, she received her Doctorate of Philosophy in Constitutional History from the London School of Economics, London, U.K. in 1992. In 1995, she received her Bachelor of Law degree from Dalhousie University. Upon completion of her clerkship with Justice Arthur J. Stone at the Federal Court of Appeal, she was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1997 and to the Nova Scotia Bar in 2006. She joined the Department of Justice (Canada) in Ottawa in 1997 where she practiced as a civil litigator. She continued this practice upon her move to the Department of Justice (Canada) in Halifax. Her primary areas of practice included: administrative law, employment law, constitutional law and Crown law. She appeared before the superior courts and courts of appeal in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and the Federal Courts, as well as the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. She was appointed King’s Counsel in 2022
Throughout her career, Ms. McManus has been engaged with her profession and community. She was a founding member of Chisholm Services for Children and was actively involved with various committees at the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, The Advocates’ Society and the Canadian Bar Association. She was a part-time member of the faculty at Dalhousie Schulich School of Law for over 20 years, where she taught Crown law. She is past President of the CBA - Nova Scotia Branch and is currently serving as a member on the CBA National Board of Directors. As a co-founder of the Crown Law Symposium in 2018, she continues to serve as a co-chair of this annual event in partnership with the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University.
Marc Dunning, P. Eng., LL.B.
Mr. Dunning was appointed a full-time Board Member on April 1, 2025. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from McGill University (1997) and a Bachelor of Laws with a specialization in environmental law from Dalhousie University (2007). Has been a registered Professional Engineer with Engineers Nova Scotia since 2001.
Prior to joining the Board, Mr. Dunning was a partner with the Halifax law firm Burchell Wickwire Bryson LLP where he practiced in the areas of municipal law, environmental law, bankruptcy and insolvency and civil litigation. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Dunning worked as an engineer with consulting firm Jacques Whitford Environment Limited on contaminated sites projects throughout Atlantic Canada.
Mr. Dunning is a former chair of the municipal and environmental law sections of the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a past chair of the Clean Foundation. He was a part-time faculty member at Dalhousie University for many years teaching environmental law courses and also taught the law component of the Engineers Canada National Professional Practice Exam Workshop. Mr. Dunning is a co-author of the leading text on climate change law in Canada, The Law of Climate Change in Canada. He also volunteers as a mentor with Engineers Nova Scotia.
Mr. Dunning is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, Canadian Bar Association, Engineers Nova Scotia, CAMPUT: Canada’s Energy and Utility Regulators, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (US).