NR-HQ-00-47E

DHALIWAL ANNOUNCES ON-LINE NOMINATION PROCESS FOR ADVISORY COUNCIL ON OCEANS

July 10, 2000

OTTAWA -- The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced the creation of an on-line public nomination process to aid in the development of a comprehensive list of potential candidates to be members of the Advisory Council on Oceans.

"On World Oceans Day, June 8, I announced my intention to form a Minister’s Advisory Council on Oceans and appointed Dr. Art Hanson and Mr. Geoff Holland as my Oceans Ambassadors," said Minister Dhaliwal. "The Council will provide me with independent expert advice related to oceans, in particular, on balancing economic, environmental and social goals for sustainable development, managing the increasing complexity and diversity of oceans use, and engaging communities and stakeholders in making decisions that affect them."

The on-line public nomination process was created to assist Dr. Hanson and Mr. Holland in developing a list of potential members to sit on the Council. The nomination form and consent form will be available on-line. The Web site will be open to the public, Monday, July 10, and will close on Friday, August 18. The site is located at: http://www.OceansCanada.com.

"This Web site is an important tool in assisting the Oceans Ambassadors to find suitable candidates from across Canada for the Council," the Minister stated.

The nine members of the Council will be selected on the basis of merit and the ability to bring oceans-related knowledge, expertise and understanding of national and global oceans issues and opportunities. A member may serve on the Council for a period of up to 3 years.

Minister Dhaliwal will announce the appointment of members at the Coastal Zone Canada 2000 conference in Saint John, New Brunswick, September 17, 2000.