No. H090/06For release August 2, 2006
OTTAWA — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced the members of a
panel that will review the National Capital Commission's (NCC) mandate. The
chair is Gilles Paquet, and the members are Barbara L. Farber and Guy Benoit.
"I am very pleased that these respected residents of the National Capital Region
have agreed to be members of the NCC mandate review panel," said Minister
Cannon. "Their work on the review will support the Government of Canada's
commitment to making government more accountable."
The purpose of the review is to assess the continuing relevance of the mandate,
mission and activities of the National Capital Commission. In doing so, the NCC
mandate review will:
assess the various functions of the NCC;
examine governance structures, that would best allow the NCC to fulfill its
mandate and public policy purpose into the future; and
conduct an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the NCC as well as funding
options.
"When the National Capital Commission was established almost 50 years ago, its
main purpose was to reflect the national significance of Ottawa as the seat of
government in Canada," said Minister Cannon. "The time has now come to review
this mandate and assess the commission based on the immediate and future
requirements of the National Capital Region. The three people appointed to this
commission have a long history in the region, and will assess the costs,
governance, purpose and policy of the NCC and make suggestions on the
commission's future."
The terms of reference of the mandate review are available upon request.
The panel will prepare a report that will be submitted to the Minister of
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in December 2006.
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Contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
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BACKGROUNDER
MEMBERS OF THE MANDATE REVIEW PANEL
FOR THE NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION
Gilles Paquet was President of the Royal Society of Canada:The
Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada for two years, from 2003 to
2005. He received honorary doctorates from Université Laval and from Thompson
Rivers University in 2005. In 2006, Mr. Paquet received the Public Service
Citation 2006 from the Association of Professional Executives of the Public
Service of Canada. Mr. Paquet is currently Professor Emeritus at the School of
Management and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre on Governance of the
University of Ottawa. For 18 years, he taught economics at Carleton University
and also was Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in the 1970s.
From 1981 to 1988, he was Dean of the Faculty of Administration at the
University of Ottawa, and in 1997 he became the founding director of the Centre
on Governance at the University of Ottawa.
Barbara L. Farber graduated from York University in 1972 with a bachelor of arts
degree. Since then she has completed courses on property management with the
Canadian Institute of Property Management and law courses and seminars with the
International Council of Shopping Centres. In 1997 she was a board director of
the Building Owners and Managers Association of Ottawa-Carleton. In that same
year, she was appointed to the Mayor's Job Council for the City of Nepean, and
in 1995-96, she was appointed by the Mayor to the Nepean Economic Sustainability
Task Force. In 1995, she was the recipient of Nepean's Businesswoman of the Year
award. She currently is president of Leikin Group Inc.
Guy Benoit graduated with a licence in philosophy from Laval University. He also
studied in Aix en Provence, in France, where he obtained a university diploma in
political sciences, and pursued postgraduate studies in philosophy. Mr. Benoit
has extensive experience in managing complex organizations at the federal and
municipal levels and in schools. He began his career with the Collège de
Sherbrooke as a teacher, then with the Public Service Commission as Director of
Linguistic Programs from 1976 to 1978 and served as Director of Official
Languages at External Affairs from 1978 to 1980. From 1981 to 1997, he was
director general of la Commission scolaire d'Aylmer, then from 1998 to 2000
director general of l'Éducation au service de la terre. Since 2004, he has
served as president of the Coopérative de solidarité de soins de santé d'Aylmer
and Commissionner at la Commission des choix stratégiques with the City of
Gatineau.
August 2006
