Prime Minister Announces Appointment to the Security Intelligence Review Committee

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced the appointment of Bob Rae as a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC).

Mr. Rae, former Premier of Ontario, is currently a partner with the law firm Goodman, Phillips & Vineberg in Toronto, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto. Mr. Rae has served both as a Member of Parliament for Broadview- Greenwood in the House of Commons and as a Member of the Ontario Legislature for York South. He was leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 1987 to 1990 and was elected Premier in 1990.

In accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, Mr. Rae was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council of Canada.

Established in 1984, SIRC provides an external review of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's performance of its duties and functions. It also examines complaints by individuals or reports by Ministers relating to security clearances and the national security of Canada. The Committee is required to report annually to Parliament through the Solicitor General.

This appointment is effective immediately.

A biography of Mr. Rae is attached, as is a complete listing of SIRC members.

PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555

Robert Keith Rae is currently a partner with the law firm Goodman, Phillips & Vineberg in Toronto, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto and an Associate Fellow of Massey College. He has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Philosophy (Rhodes Scholar) from Oxford University in England.

Mr. Rae began his political career in 1978 when he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Broadview-Greenwood. He was re-elected in 1979 and 1980 and held the position of Finance Critic for the New Democratic Party in the House of Commons from 1979 to 1982. He resigned his federal seat in March 1982 to enter Ontario provincial politics, where he was elected as the Member of the Provincial Parliament for York South in November 1982. He was re-elected in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1995. From 1987 to 1990, he was Leader of the Official Opposition, and, from 1990 to 1995, he was Premier of Ontario and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Prior to his political career, Mr. Rae became involved in community work in London, England in 1973 and returned to Toronto in 1974 where he continued to do extensive legal aid and community work. From 1975 to 1977, he was assistant to Canadian General Counsel for the United Steelworkers of America and, in 1976 was a Special Lecturer in Industrial Relations at the University of Toronto. He is the author of From Protest to Power, published by Viking Penguin in 1996.

Mr. Rae is a member of the Board of Directors of Tesma Inc., Tembec Inc., Canadian Airlines Corporation, Credit Lyonnais (Canada), SAMMI Atlas Steels Inc., and the Canadian Ditchley Foundation, as well as National Spokesperson for the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada.

Members of the Security Intelligence Review Committee

Paule Gauthier of Quebec City (Chair)
Rosemary Brown of Vancouver
Bob Rae of Toronto
James Andrew Grant of Westmount, Quebec.