Panelists:  | Leah Fichter
Deputy Superintendent of Pensions
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan Leah Fichter is the Executive Director of the Pensions Division with the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) and is Saskatchewan’s Deputy Superintendent of Pensions. She is responsible for overseeing the regulation of occupational pension plans and the development of the policy framework for the funding, administration, supervision and regulation of pension plans in the province. Leah has been instrumental in the development of a legislative framework to support the restructuring of distressed pension plans. She also spearheaded the development of the legislative structure for regulating pooled registered pension plans and target benefit plans in Saskatchewan. | Leah is Vice-Chair of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA). From 2019 to April 2023, she was Chair of CAPSA and a member of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS). She was the chair of CAPSA’s Defined Contribution Pension Plans Committee and recently lead the development of a harmonized multi-jurisdictional framework for the regulation of variable payment life annuities. Leah has spoken about pensions nationally and internationally. Over the course of her career Leah has worked in several regulatory roles in the public service. She has also been a pension plan administrator, an investment advisor, and has worked at an insurance company managing pension assets. Leah holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan. She also holds a Pension Plan Administration Certificate from Humber College and has completed the Canadian Securities Course and Canadian Options Course. | | 
| Haripaul Pannu, FCIA, FSA
Deputy Superintendent of Pensions
Government of Alberta Haripaul Pannu is the Deputy Superintendent of Pensions of Alberta. His office is responsible for the oversight and regulation of over 600 pension plans which have assets | in excess of $145 billion. Haripaul has been with been with Government of Alberta for the past nine years. His prior roles include Senior Manager, Risk Management; Acting Deputy Superintendent of Pensions; and Director, Pension Policy. Haripaul has been involved with many aspects of pension plan regulation and policy. He was part of a team that was involved in developing the Joint Governance of Public Sector Pension Plans Act, which transitioned three public sector plans to regulation under the Superintendent of Pensions. Prior to joining the Government of Alberta, Haripaul worked at Alberta Pensions Services Corporation and as a actuarial pension consultant with several consulting firms.
He has over 25 years of pension experience and is a Fellow, Canadian Institute of Actuaries and Fellow, Society of Actuaries. Haripaul has a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta and a M.Math from the University of Waterloo. | |  | Gillian Dabbs
Director, Pensions
BC Financial Services Authority Gillian Dabbs joined the BC Financial Services Authority in October 2024 as Director of Pensions, leading a team responsible for the supervision of over 600 registered pension plans in the province. Over the past 10 years, Gillian has held progressively responsible roles in policy, governance, and pension administration. Most recently, she was the Director of Policy and Plan Innovation at BC Pension Corporation, the province’s largest pension services administrator, where she led a team of analysts providing pension policy advice and support to external and internal clients, and a corporate strategic program that delivers compliance and board-initiated projects for the corporation. |
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| | | | Moderator: | |  | Sonya Uppal
Account Executive
Manulife Group Retirement Solutions Sonya Uppal is located in Calgary and provides Group Retirement expertise to market sources and plan sponsors in the Southern Alberta Region. Joining Manulife in 2019, Sonya brings over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Manulife, she worked at two large investment management firms servicing advisors in IROC, MFDA and Insurance channels. Sonya received a Bachelor of | Management degree (B Mgt) from the University of Lethbridge and is a Certified Investment Manager (CIM designation holder).
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