Prime Minister Announces Nomination for Inquiry in Ireland

The Prime Minister announced today that the Honourable William Hoyt, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick, has been selected by the Government of the United Kingdom to serve on the Inquiry into the events that occurred in Northern Ireland on January 30, 1972. This Inquiry is to be held under the Tribunal of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921.

The Tribunal will be chaired by Lord Saville, a British Lord of Appeal. The Right Honourable Sir Edward Somers, a retired judge of the Court of Appeal in New Zealand, will also be a member of the Tribunal.

The Honourable William Hoyt was born in 1930. He was educated at Acadia University and Emmanuel College at Cambridge. He was called to the New Brunswick Bar in 1957 and became a Queen's Counsel (New Brunswick) in 1972. He was director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice from 1979 to 1983. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick in 1983. In order to serve on the Tribunal, Mr. Hoyt will resign from his current position.

This nomination is part of Canada's ongoing contribution to the peaceful resolution of the situation in Northern Ireland.

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