Biography – Mario Dion

A Montréal native, Mr. Dion, now a retired lawyer, obtained a law degree from the University of Ottawa in 1979.  Mr. Dion began his legal career in 1980 as a legal advisor at the then-Ministry of the Solicitor General.  In 1988, he became the Assistant Deputy Minister of Communications, Evaluation and Research at Corrections Canada.

From Corrections Canada, Mr. Dion moved to the Department of Justice where he became the Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services in 1992.  In 1995 he was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Justice.  From 1996 to 1997 he served as Deputy Clerk and Counsel at the Privy Council Office, responsible for Legislative House Planning and Machinery of Government and then returned to the Department of Justice as Associate Deputy Minister.

In 2003, Mr. Dion was appointed Deputy Minister of Indian Residential Schools Resolution of Canada, where he led efforts to bring closure to 16,000 pending litigation files and, ultimately, the historic 2006 agreement with former residential school students.

Mr. Dion also served as Chairperson of the National Parole Board from 2006-2009 and most recently as Commissioner of Public Sector Integrity from 2011-2014.

In 2015, Mr. Dion was appointed as Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.