July 25, 2005
Immediate
Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that the Honourable Gérard Vincent La Forest, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada will conduct an arm's length review of the merits of combining the responsibilities of the Information Commissioner and the Privacy Commissioner into a single office. Mr. La Forest will be appointed as Special Advisor to the Minister of Justice and will report to the Minister in November 2005.
"Mr. La Forest is eminently qualified to conduct this review and I am pleased that he has agreed to take it on," said the Prime Minister.
The mandate of the review will be to assess the successes and challenges of the current model, review models used in other jurisdictions, and develop options for the Government's consideration.
The Prime Minister also announced the extension of the appointment of Mr. John Reid as Information Commissioner for a further six months from October 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, to provide adequate time for Mr. La Forest's review as well as the implementation of recommendations.
A short biographical note follows.
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PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
The Honourable Gérard Vincent La Forest has had a long and distinguished legal career which culminated in serving 12 years on the Supreme Court of Canada. A Rhodes Scholar, Mr. La Forest holds degrees from the University of New Brunswick, Oxford University and Yale University. Over the course of his legal career, Mr. La Forest's has worked in private practice, in the federal Department of Justice where he served as Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Canada, as a legal advisor for a private corporation and as a University Law Professor. In 1981, he was appointed to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal. On January 16, 1985, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. La Forest served on the Supreme Court for 12 years and retired on September 30, 1997. Since 1998, Mr. La Forest has served as counsel with Stewart, McKelvey, Stirling and Scales.
