Alumni Feature: Bob Brak

President 1977-78

Memorable Events from your year:

Up to 1977 students were allowed to bring alcohol to football games in wineskins but due to some injuries the previous year, alcohol was banned. It was expected that there would be much resistance at the first football game but in fact there was almost none.

The second issue was decriminalization of marijuana, which arose when I was interviewed about the booze ban after the first football game. The Gazette asked why it went so well and I answered that it was probably because students were stoned instead of drunk, and so were passive rather than aggressive. A couple of students wrote to the Gazette accusing me of promoting the use of marijuana, then several more wrote in to defend me. Which was interesting because I don't think I ever stated a view pro or con, I just answered the question. A rather vigorous debate followed over the rest of the year, not just in the Gazette but in other local media as well.

What you planned to doing as a career after you left the USC:

I wanted to be a lawyer and/or work in politics when I started at Western but ended up having too good a time in extra-curricular activities - the Student Police and USC - to get the marks to get into law school. I did end up working in politics a few years later, no doubt the student politics experience helped me get that job.

Where you live and what you do:

I live in Ottawa. After 30 years in the Foreign Service as a visa officer, two years ago I accepted an offer to be the President and CEO of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC). We are the regulatory body for the Canadian immigration consulting profession, which includes over 3000 Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCIC). Under Canadian law, it is illegal for someone to provide immigration advice unless they are a RCIC, a lawyer, a notary in Quebec, or a paralegal in Ontario.