OTTAWA, November 21, 2002 – The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Mark L. Stevenson of Victoria is appointed a part-time Commissioner of the Law Commission of Canada.

Mr. Stevenson is a Métis lawyer practicing primarily in aboriginal law and treaty negotiations for First Nations and aboriginal organizations.

Throughout his career, Mr. Stevenson has been involved in aboriginal law working on various issues at both the federal and provincial level.  From 1983 to 87, he served as an advisor to the Privy Council in Ottawa on the aboriginal constitutional process.  In 1988, he became Legal Counsel with the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat, a position he held until returning to British Columbia in 1991 to work as a chief treaty negotiator with the British Columbia Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.

Mr. Stevenson holds a Bachelor of Laws from McGill University as well as a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.  He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and of the Law Society of British Columbia.  He is currently serving as the President of the Indigenous Bar Association.

This appointment is effective immediately.

- 30 -

Ref:     

Mike Murphy
Special Assistant - Communications
Minister’s Office
(613) 992-4621