TAX COURT OF CANADA JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT ANNOUNCED

OTTAWA, January 28, 2002 -- The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment:

Leslie M. Little, Q.C., of Vancouver, British Columbia, is appointed a Judge of the Tax Court of Canada. He replaces Judge M.J. Bonner who elected to become a supernumerary judge.

Judge Little obtained a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie Law School in 1961. He was admitted to the Bar of British Columbia in 1962, and in 1973 he became a member of the Bar of Alberta. He began practice with the Legal Branch of the Department of National Revenue in Ottawa in 1962 and remained there until co-founding the tax specialty firm of Thorsteinsson, Mitchell, Little in 1967 in Vancouver. Now known as Thorsteinssons, the firm has offices in Vancouver and Toronto. Prior to his appointment, Judge Little practiced exclusively in the field of tax litigation appearing regularly before the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Canada as well as the trial and appellate courts of British Columbia.

Judge Little served as the Chair of the National Tax Section of the Canadian Bar Association and is a former president of the British Columbia Branch of that organization. In 1984, Judge Little was appointed Queen's Counsel.

This appointment is effective immediately.

- 30 -

Ref.:

Suzanne Thébarge
Director of Communications
Minister's Office
(613) 992-4621