February 16, 2007 (1:30 p.m. EST)
No. 26

APPOINTMENT TO THE ROOSEVELT CAMPOBELLO INTERNATIONAL PARK COMMISSION

The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, today announced the appointment of Senator Michael Meighen as a Canadian alternate member of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park Commission (RCIPC).

“Senator Meighen has had a distinguished legal and political career,” said Minister MacKay. “I am certain he will be a valuable member of this unique institution.”

The Roosevelt Campobello International Park was established in 1964 by a treaty between Canada and the United States. The park, on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, is the location of the summer home once used by former U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It symbolizes the close relations between Canada and the United States. More than 130,000 people visit the park annually, touring the historic Roosevelt residence and enjoying its interpretive exhibits and nature trails. The RCIPC, which is charged with administering the park, consists of six members, three of whom are appointed by the Government of Canada and three by the Government of the United States.

- 30 -

A biographical note on the appointee is attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Senator Michael Meighen (Certificat d’études françaises, University of Geneva, 1957; BA, McGill University, 1960; LL.L (cum laude), Université Laval, 1963) was appointed to the Senate in 1990. He has participated in various committees, including the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce; the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence (Deputy Chair); the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs (Chair); the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries; the Special Joint Committee on Canada’s Defence Policy (1994); and the Special Joint Committee on a Renewed Canada (1991–1992). In the mid-1980s, Senator Meighen was Legal Counsel to the Deschenes Commission on War Criminals. He is also Counsel to the law firm Ogilvy Renault, formerly Meighen Demers, and remains a member of the McGill University Board of Governors, and a director of the Cundill Funds, Sentry Select Capital Corp., and J.C. Clark Ltd. of Toronto. In 2004, Senator Meighen became the Canadian Chair of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, which promotes conservation efforts. He is Past Chair of the Stratford Festival, current Chair of the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation and Chancellor of the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.