OTTAWA , May 17, 2007 -- The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, on the recommendation of the Information Commissioner, today announced the appointments of Suzanne Legault and Andrea J. Neill as Assistant Information Commissioners. These appointments are effective June 18, 2007.
These positions are provided for in the Access to Information Act, Canada’s freedom of information legislation, to assist the Information Commissioner in carrying out his duties and responsibilities under the Act.
The Office of the Information Commissioner was created in 1983 under the Access to Information Act. An agent of Parliament, the Information Commissioner oversees the implementation of the Act by government institutions. The Information Commissioner investigates complaints from individuals who believe they have been denied rights under the Act.
Biographical notes follow.
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Ref:
Office of the Information Commissioner
613-995-2410
Geneviève Breton
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Justice
613-992-4621
SUZANNE LEGAULT
Suzanne Legault has worked with Doctor David Zussman, Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa since 2006. Ms. Legault began her career in the Public Service in 1996 at the Competition Bureau. She then served as Legal Counsel with the Department of Justice, before returning to the Competition Bureau where she was Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Legislative Affairs, then Deputy Commissioner, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs. Prior to joining the Public Service, Ms. Legault practised law as a criminal defense lawyer from 1991 to 1996, as well as Crown prosecutor from 1994 to 1996. Ms. Legault holds a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill Law School, which she obtained in 1988.
ANDREA J. NEILL
Andrea J. Neill is currently serving as Chief Privacy Officer and General Counsel, Privacy and Legal Services at the Canadian Institute for Health Information. A lawyer with over 20 years experience, she began her career in the Public Service in 1983, working on access to information and privacy issues in the Department of Finance. She has held progressively more senior positions with the Department of Justice, including Senior Counsel and Director of the Information Law and Privacy Section, Deputy Legal Advisor and General Counsel in the Department of National Defence and General Counsel and Associate Head of the Legal Services Unit in the Department of Transport. Ms. Neill obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Bishop’s University in 1978 and a Bachelor of Laws from McGill University in 1981.
