December 9, 2003 OTTAWA – Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, wishes to announce the following events involved in the constitutional transfer of power on Friday, December 12, 2003:Friday, December 129:00 a.m. The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien will meet with the Governor General at Rideau Hall to officially tender his resignation as Prime Minister of Canada, which the Governor General will accept.10:00 a.m. The Governor General will preside at the swearing-in ceremony of the Honourable Paul Martin and the members of his Ministry.4:30 p.m. The Governor General will preside at the swearing-in of Parliamentary Secretaries as members of the Privy Council.Access to the swearing-in ceremonies will be limited to a pool of media representatives arranged by the Parliamentary Press Gallery. The morning ceremony will be covered live.Annex A contains more detailed information for the media. Complete summary of the ceremony and other background documents will be available on Thursday.- 30 -Media information: Stewart Wheeler Press Secretary to the Governor General Tel.: (613) 993-8167 Pager: (613) 751-7978Marilyne Guèvremont Rideau Hall Press Office (613) 998-7280 www.gg.caANNEX A CEREMONY FOR THE SWEARING-IN OF THE 27TH CANADIAN MINISTRY RIDEAU HALL, DECEMBER 12, 2003 MEDIA INFORMATION 9:00 a.m. The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, arrives at the Front Entrance. In a private meeting, the Prime Minister tenders his resignation and that of his Cabinet.NOTE: Pool coverage of the arrival and departure of the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien in the front foyer; open coverage outside.9:30 a.m. The Ministers-designate and invited guests arrive at the Front Entrance.NOTE: Pool coverage and photographers only for the swearing-in ceremony in the Ballroom. All other media are invited to watch the swearing-in on television monitors set up in the cafeteria until the photo opportunity in the Tent Room immediately following the ceremony.10:00 a.m. The Swearing-in ceremony in the Ballroom begins. The text of the ceremony will be provided separately. The swearing-in ceremony will last approximately ninety minutes.NOTES: At the conclusion of the ceremony the media are escorted into the Tent Room media area for the photo session.Upon completion of the photograph, the media will be escorted outside to the scrum area. In the case of inclement weather, media availability may be conducted in the Tent Room.For further information, contact Stewart Wheeler, Government House, at (613) 993-8167 or Marilyne Guèvremont at (613) 998-7280.
