Speaker Bios

Richard Butts

Ruth Goldbloom

Richard Butts, HRM Chief Administrative Officer

Bringing to HRM his lengthy experience with the City of Toronto, Richard Butts assumed the role of the municipality's Chief Administrative Officer on March 28, 2011.

Mr. Butts has over 25 years of experience in municipal government and the private sector, primarily with the City of Toronto, most recently as Deputy City Manager. In that role, he was responsible for a capital and operating budget of $2.2 billion and over 10,000 employees.

He held management oversight responsibility for water, solid waste management, fire services, city planning, emergency management, waterfront development, engineering, major capital infrastructure projects and the city’s development application process.

Prior to that, he served in increasingly senior roles for Solid Waste Management and Licensing and Standards.

Mr. Butts is known for promoting collaboration and innovation across municipal government, with an emphasis on sound, fiscal and organizational management practices and citizen-focussed municipal services.

Dr. Ruth M. Goldbloom, O.C., O.N.S.

Born in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, Ruth (Schwartz) Goldbloom attended Mount Allison and graduated from McGill University.  While living in Montreal, she served as board member to a number of education and community organizations.

Since moving to Halifax in 1967, she has held leadership positions in many community and education institutions, and was the first woman to Chair the Metro United Way Campaign.  She has had a long association with the Izaak Walton Killam Children’s Hospital, serving as first Chair of the Gift Shop.

Her university appointments have included Chair of the Board of Mount Saint Vincent University; Regent of Mount Allison University; and Chair of Dalhousie University’s Annual Fund.

She is a Board Trustee of Canada’s National Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 and a member of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Deputy Ministers Advisory Council. She is Past Chair of Pier 21 Society and the Pier 21 Foundation. She is a past Public Director of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. She is a past member of the Halifax Waterfront Development Corporation, a past Chancellor Emeritus of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now DalTech), a past member of the National Advisory Council for Mount Allison University and a past Board member of the Foundation for Heritage and the Arts. She most recently completed a term of office on the Chairperson’s Advisory Group of the Canadian Judicial Council and the Advisory Committee for the Order of Canada.

Ruth Goldbloom’s many honours and awards have included honourary degrees from Dalhousie University and Mount Saint Vincent University (Doctor of Humane Letters), Nova Scotia Community College, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (Doctor of Fine Arts), Mount Allison University, Acadia University, McGill University (Doctor of Law) and University of Kings College.

She received the Human Relations Award of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews; the Volunteer of the Year Award of the Centre for the Advancement and Support of Education, Washington, D.C.; and Canada’s 125th Anniversary Commemorative Medal. 

In 1992, her community and national service was recognized by her appointment as a Member of the Order of Canada.  In 1997, she received the National Harmony Award.  In 1999, she was named to the Honour Roll of MacLean’s magazine.  In January 2000, she was promoted to Officer within the Order of Canada.  In 2001, she received the Tourism Industry of Nova Scotia (TIANS) Ambassador Award. In 2002 she received the Heritage Canada Foundation Achievement Award and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. In 2003, she was awarded the Association of Canadian Jewish Studies Award, and in 2004, Flare Magazine awarded her a Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement.  In 2006 Ruth was selected as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100.   She received in 2007 the Canadian Red Cross Humanitarian Award and in 2008 Ruth was the recipient of the Order of Nova Scotia.  In 2009 she was recognized as a Mentor by the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization of Greater Halifax and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Progress Clubs Women of Excellence.

Ruth’s personal fulfillment and perhaps most significant contribution to date is the preservation of Pier 21. Pier 21 immigration shed was a gateway to Canada for 1.5 million people from 1928-1971.  In 1993, Ruth spearheaded a movement and through her steel will and tenacious fund-raising efforts, led a successful campaign to raise $9-million for the restoration of Pier 21, to recognize the former immigration building as Canada’s Immigration Museum.

Although this designated National Historic Site houses artifacts and exhibits, it is not a shed full of objects but a place of living history.  The most accomplished storyteller among us cannot rival Ruth’s enormous energy and enthusiasm when she recounts the stories of those immigrants, evacuee, World War II veterans, British evacuee home children, war brides and the refugees who have passed through Pier 21 and how much they have meant to Canada.  She will make you laugh and cry, leaving you with a better understanding of the significant role played by the last standing immigration shed in Canada.

As Chair of the Pier 21 Foundation, Ruth, through an innovative and unique campaign called “Nation Builders”, raised $7 million for an Endowment Fund to bring Canada’s immigration story to the world and secure Pier 21 in perpetuity. 

Ruth’s impact on Canadian society through her leadership, inspiration and passion in Pier 21 strengthens our understanding of who we are and celebrates our belief and pride in the diversity of our wonderful country.  Ruth’s efforts in the restoration and expansion of Pier 21 will preserve its legacy for Nova Scotians and for all Canadians.  On November 2, 2009 Ruth was recognized as a Nation Builder and honored with six other deserving men and women at Pier 21.