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Ottawa, July 21, 1997
1997-059

Government Names New Task Force Chair from Western Canada

Related document: 

• Biographical notes.

Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions) Jim Peterson today announced the appointment of Regina lawyer Harold Hugh MacKay as Chair of the Task Force on the Future of the Canadian Financial Services Sector.

Mr. MacKay's career has concentrated on corporate and commercial law, in particular on resource and industrial project development, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance for many clients in western Canada.

Mr. MacKay has held a number of positions that provide him with insight into the broad policy issues facing the financial sector. He was a Director of the Federal Business Development Bank from 1975 to 1985, and Chairman of its board from 1981 to 1985. In his capacity as Chairman, he was an active participant in public policy initiatives relating to the development of the small- and medium-size business sector in Canada. Mr. MacKay was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada in May 1995, a position which has enabled him to become familiar with the broad policy issues facing the financial sector.

Mr. MacKay also has experience in other public policy areas. In 1996 he was appointed by the Saskatchewan government as Special Representative of the Minister of Post-Secondary Education to recommend ways to ensure continued excellence and cost-efficient university level education in the province.

"I am very pleased that Mr. MacKay has accepted to become Chair of the Task Force. I am confident that the important work of the Task Force will move ahead full-speed," Mr. Peterson said. The Task Force is to submit its recommendations to the Minister of Finance by September 1998.

Mr. Peterson also announced that, in order to ensure continuity in the Task Force's work, Pierre Ducros, who has been with the Task Force since it was set up on December 19, 1996, and who has been acting as interim Chair, will assume the position of Vice-Chair.

"I want to thank Mr. Ducros for his effective work as interim Chair and for accepting this new challenge," said Mr. Peterson.

Mr. Peterson also named Donald J.M. Brown, a specialist in civil litigation from Toronto, as a new member of the Task Force. Mr. Brown has been in private practice with Blake, Cassels, & Graydon since 1969. He has been a very active member of the Canadian Bar Association, serving as Chairman of the Administrative Law Section in 1982 and in 1987-88 and in various other capacities for the association.

Mr. Brown has broad experience providing legal and policy advice for a number of commissions dealing with issues such as trade and securities regulation. He has also served on trade dispute panels established under Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"With these appointments, the Task Force is well equipped to build on the excellent work it has already done in addressing the broad range of issues affecting the future of the financial services sector," Mr. Peterson added.

Brief biographies of Mr. MacKay and Mr. Brown are attached.

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For further information:

Biographical note: Harold Hugh MacKay

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Mr. MacKay received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1960 and an LLB from Dalhousie University in 1963. Upon graduation, he was awarded the University Medal in Law as the outstanding graduate of the Dalhousie Law School. He entered into articles of clerkship with MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman that same year and was admitted to the Bar of Saskatchewan in 1964. Since that time, Mr. MacKay has been associated with the firm in the public practice of law, except for a period during 1976 and 1977, when he served as Vice-President of IPSCO Inc.

During his legal career, Mr. MacKay has concentrated on corporate and commercial law, in particular on resource and industrial project development, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. He has appeared as counsel before the courts and administrative tribunals and commissions, and has served as an arbitrator in commercial disputes. Mr. MacKay was named Queen's Counsel in Saskatchewan in 1980.

Currently, he is counsel to both widely held and private companies that are active in the forest products, oil and gas, mining, steel and financial sectors, and he represents their interests both in Canada and abroad.

From 1975 to 1985, Mr. MacKay was a director of the Federal Business Development Bank, a federal Crown corporation, and served as the Board's Chairman from 1981 to 1985. In his capacity as Chairman, he was an active participant in public policy initiatives relating to the development of the small- and medium-size business sector in Canada.

Mr. MacKay was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada in May 1995, a position which has enabled him to become familiar with the broad policy issues facing the financial sector.

Mr. MacKay also has experience in other public policy areas. In 1996 he was appointed by the Saskatchewan government as Special Representative of the Minister of Post-Secondary Education to recommend ways to ensure continued excellence and cost-efficient university level education in the province.

Among other activities, Mr. MacKay currently serves as director of IPSCO Inc. of Regina, IMC Global Inc., a Chicago-based company, and Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd of Vancouver. He is also an officer or director of a number of privately-held companies.

Biographical Note: Donald J.M. Brown

Born in Hamiota (Manitoba) in 1938, Mr. Brown received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba in 1960 and an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1963. He also received a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1964. Mr. Brown was named Queen's Counsel in Ontario in 1983.

Mr. Brown is a specialist in civil litigation. He was an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Singapore and an Assistant Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto before entering private practice with Blake, Cassels, & Graydon in 1969.

Mr. Brown has been a very active member of the Canadian Bar Association. He was Chairman of the Administrative Law Section in 1982 and in 1987-88 and served in various other capacities for the association. In 1996 he was made a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

He is a Director of the Tokai Bank of Canada, as well as an officer or director of a number of other private companies.

Mr. Brown has broad experience providing legal and policy advice for a number of commissions dealing with issues such as trade and securities regulation. He has also served on trade dispute panels established under Chapter 19 of the North American Free Trade Agreement.