Ottawa, Ontario - 26 May 2014
The Government of Canada is committed to a robust consultation process for the identification of candidates to be recommended to serve as Her Majesty’s representatives in Canada’s Vice-Regal offices. To this end, on May 26, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the five members of the Advisory Committee on Vice Regal Appointments are now in place to begin the search for appropriate candidates to fill the position of Lieutenant Governor for New Brunswick. This is in keeping with the non-partisan process to select Lieutenant Governors announced by the Prime Minister in November 2012.
The Advisory Committee, composed of individuals from outside of government with diverse expertise, will deliberate on candidates and consult with key stakeholders. The Advisory Committee will then present a report to the Prime Minister with a shortlist of proposed candidates for the Prime Minister’s consideration. In addition to the Chair, the Advisory Committee will include two permanent members and two temporary members.
Mr. Kevin MacLeod, in his capacity as the Canadian Secretary to The Queen, will chair the Advisory Committee. Robert Watt, a Citizenship Judge and Canadian social historian who served as the first Chief Herald of Canada from 1988-2007 in the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, and Dr. Jacques Monet, the Director of the Canadian Institute of Jesuit Studies and a specialist in Canadian constitutional and social history, will serve as permanent Advisory Committee members. Newly named temporary members of the Advisory Committee Georgette Roy and Jean-Bernard Lafontaine will bring a robust regional perspective to the process with their extensive knowledge of New Brunswick.
In November 2012, Prime Minister Harper announced the creation of a new non-partisan Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments, to provide non-binding recommendations to the Prime Minister on the selection of the Governor General, Lieutenant Governors and Territorial Commissioners. The establishment of the Advisory Committee builds on the ad hoc Advisory Committee that aided the Prime Minister’s recommendation to Her Majesty on the appointment of the Right Honourable David Johnston as Governor General of Canada in 2010.
Further details on the Advisory Committee, including its membership and recommendation process, are set out in the related Terms of Reference backgrounder.
