Prime Minister to Move House of Commons Appointments

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today intends to move the following appointments in the House of Commons:

Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole House:
Peter Milliken (Kingston and the Islands)

Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House:
Ian McClelland, M.P. (Edmonton Southwest)

Assistant Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House:
Yolande Thibeault, M.P. (Saint-Lambert)

Biographies are attached.

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Peter Milliken

Peter Milliken was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988.

From December 1993 to February 1996, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House. As Parliamentary Secretary, he Chaired the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. And in October 1996, he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House. He also Co-Chaired the Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct for Parliamentarians. From 1989 to 1993, he served as Assistant House Leader for the Official Opposition.

A native of Kingston, Mr. Milliken was born in 1946. He has earned a Bachelor of Arts from Queens University, a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from Oxford University, and a Bachelor of Law from Dalhousie University.

Ian McClelland is in his second term as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton Southwest.

After graduating from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1965, he went on to establish a successful photo finishing business and in 1994 won the NAIT award as distinguished graduate for community, business and volunteer service. He is a former member of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Disabled Persons, and has been active in youth programs in Edmonton.

He and his wife Diane reside in Edmonton with their five children.

Yolande Thibeault was first elected to the House of Commons on June 2, 1997.

Before her election, Ms. Thibeault had served since 1996 as the Director of the Census in Saint-Lambert. She has also worked as a freelance journalist with Canadian Press, and is a past-president of the women's section of the Saint- Lambert Golf Club. She has been responsible for the coordination of major professional tour events women's golf in North America. She also organized tournaments for the Québec Golf Association, from 1980 to 1988, and has helped mayors of municipalities across the country organize Canada Day celebrations.

A dedicated volunteer, she was also assistant to the chief organizer for the "No Committee in Saint-Lambert during the Québec referendum of 1995.