May 05, 2005
Ottawa, Ontario

NEWS RELEASE

Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that the Government is recommending the appointment of Mr. André McArdle to the position of Secretary of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS).

This proposed appointment will be referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates for review. The Government looks forward to receiving the results of this Standing Committee’s review as soon as possible.

“Mr. McArdle has extensive experience in the intergovernmental relations field”, said Prime Minister Martin. “He brings strong leadership and a commitment to teamwork that will be an asset to the Secretariat.” Mr. McArdle’s work in intergovernmental relations began in 1969 at the Privy Council Office where he participated in the constitutional review processes held in 1968-1971 and 1978-1980. In 1989, he was appointed Assistant Secretary, and as of November 2004 has been acting as Secretary of CICS. Mr. McArdle is being nominated following a process that included a public call for candidates.

CICS is an agency that provides administrative services for the planning and conduct of senior level intergovernmental meetings in Canada. The Secretariat was created by the First Ministers of Canada in 1973. The meetings organized by the Secretariat provide a forum for federal, provincial, and territorial governments to discuss common issues and coordinate their various policies and programs.

The Prime Minister took the opportunity to thank Stuart MacKinnon, the former Secretary of CICS who has retired, for his dedication and excellent service as Secretary, a position he held for twenty years.


ANDRÉ M. MCARDLE

André McArdle, of Gatineau, Québec, has enjoyed a long and distinguished career with the Government of Canada, predominantly in the intergovernmental relations field. Mr. McArdle has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from l’École nationale d’administration publique (ÉNAP), Université du Québec.

In 1969, Mr McArdle began his work in intergovernmental relations when he joined the Privy Council Office where he participated in the constitutional review processes held in 1968-1971 and 1978-1980. In 1980 he was named Chief, Administrative Services at the Ministry of State for Social Development and in 1983, he became Executive Assistant to the Assistant Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental and International Affairs at the Department of Health and Welfare Canada. From September 1983 to February 1989, Mr. McArdle occupied several positions in the Department of Communications, including that of Director of Federal-Provincial Relations and Senior Policy Analyst in the Strategic and Planning Directorate. In March 1989, he was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat, a position he has held up until he was appointed Acting Secretary to the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat in November 2004. During this time he was involved in the 1992 constitutional exercise which led to the Charlottetown Accord.

Mr. McArdle is also Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for the Processes of Government in Canada, a member of the Council of the Network of Departmental Official Languages Champions and a member of the Small Agencies Administrators Network (SAAN).