NEWS RELEASES

March 24, 2005 (10:30 a.m. EST)

No. 49

MINISTER PETERSON ANNOUNCES NEW MEMBERS OF CANADA’S

SOFTWOOD LUMBER NEGOTIATION TEAM

International Trade Minister Jim Peterson today announced that Paul M. Tellier and Gordon Ritchie have joined Canada’s softwood lumber negotiating team as senior advisers to the Minister.

“Mr. Tellier and Mr. Ritchie bring a wealth of experience to what is already a very strong negotiation team,” said Minister Peterson. “I am confident that they will serve Canadians well as we continue in our efforts to find an acceptable solution to the softwood lumber dispute.”

The Minister reiterated that resolving the dispute remains a high priority, and that the Government is committed to finding a solution that is in the best interest of all Canadians.

Discussions with the United States took place in Toronto yesterday, and will continue today. The current Team Canada approach is continuing, with senior provincial and industry participation in Toronto. Early indications are that both sides are engaging in a frank and constructive dialogue, including discussion of the appropriate timing of the next steps.

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Biographies of Mr. Tellier and Mr. Ritchie are attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Jacqueline LaRocque
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of International Trade
(613) 992-7332

Media Relations Office
International Trade Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Paul M. Tellier has had a distinguished career in the public service, having served as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet of the Government of Canada from 1985 to 1992. He also held several senior government positions, including Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in 1979 and Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources in 1982.

In the private sector, Mr. Tellier served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Bombardier Inc. from 2003 to 2004. Between 1992 and 2003, he held a variety of positions at the Canadian National Railway Company, including President, Chief Executive Officer and a director.

He is a director of Alcan Aluminum Ltd., BCE Inc./Bell Canada, and McCain Foods Ltd., as well as Co-Chairman of the Canada-Japan Business Council and a former Chairman of the Conference Board of Canada.

Mr. Tellier is a graduate of the universities of Ottawa and Oxford, England, and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1963. He was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in 1993.

Gordon Ritchie has also had a distinguished career in the public service. As Ambassador for trade negotiations from 1984 to 1988, he was one of the principal architects of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. This capped off 22 years in the public service in trade, and industrial and economic development. Other senior posts included Associate Deputy Minister of the Department of Regional Industrial Expansion and Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of State for Economic Development.

In the private sector, Mr. Ritchie has been serving as Chairman of Hill & Knowlton Canada since 1999. He also founded Strategico Inc. in 1998, and serves as director on a number of major Canadian corporations, including Laurentian Bank of Canada and Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Mr. Ritchie was trained in economics and administration at Carleton University, l'École nationale d’administration publique and the Harvard Business School.