Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on the Four Western Provinces Announced

"Too often these days, Western Canadians are unfairly characterized in the media and by opposition parties as uniformly alienated and disenchanted," said the Prime Minister. "This does not do justice to the incredible diversity of Western opinion and experience. I want this Task Force to talk with and learn from Canadians in all four Western provinces as they move toward assuming their proper place in governing Canada at the dawn of the 21st century."

The Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on the Four Western Provinces will be Chaired by John Harvard (MP for Charleswood St. James -- Assiniboia in Manitoba). As its name suggests, the Task Force will consult with Western Canadians in an effort to identify and bring together the elements of a new political awareness that is emerging in Western Canada - due in large part to the rapidly diversifying western economy; the social and cultural richness of Western cities; and, the explosion of new information technologies that are quickly bridging distances between east and west.

The Task Force will travel and consult widely and report back to the Prime Minister by October 1999. Funding and staff support will be provided by the Liberal Party of Canada and the Liberal Caucus Research Bureau.

The full membership list is as follows:

John Harvard, Chair
Sophia Leung, (MP for Vancouver Kingsway, B.C.)
George Proud, (MP for Hillsborough, PEI)
Lou Sekora, (MP for Port Moody -- Coquitlam, B.C.)
Jerry Pickard, (MP for Kent -- Essex, Ontario)
Aileen Carroll, (MP for Barrie -- Simcoe -- Bradford, Ontario)
Nick Discepola (MP for Vaudreuil -- Soulanges, Quebec)
Senator Ross Fitzpatrick (B.C.)
Senator Dan Hays (Alberta)
Senator Joyce Fairbairn (Alberta)

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