Lieutenant-Governor appointments

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced the appointment of A.M. House of St. John's as Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Lise Thibault of Saint-Hippolyte as Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, and Hilary M. Weston of Toronto as Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario.

Biographical information is attached.

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Business executive and author Hilary M. Weston is a prominent supporter of charitable and arts organizations. She was born in Dublin, Ireland on January 12, 1942.

Mrs. Weston is Deputy Chairman of Holt, Renfrew & Co. Limited. She has served as Founding Chair of the Ireland Fund of Canada, Co-Founder and Chair of the Canadian Environmental Education Foundation, Founding Chair of the Mabin School, and Chair of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Council. Her outstanding contribution to community life has been recognized with awards from the Ireland Fund of Canada and the Variety Club of Ontario. Mrs. Weston also co-authored two best-selling books, In a Canadian Garden, and At Home in Canada.

Mrs. Weston lives in Toronto with her husband, W. Galen Weston. They have two children.

Dr. A. M. House, a St. John's neurologist, is a senior medical academic and a recognized world leader in telemedicine and distance education. He was born in Glovertown, Newfoundland on August 10, 1926.

After graduating from Dalhousie University medical school in 1952, Dr. House did postgraduate training in neurology at the Montreal Neurological Institute and the National Hospital in London, England.

He was very involved in the establishment of the medical school at Memorial University of Newfoundland and held many senior appointments, including Director of Continuing Medical Education, Associate Dean for Professional Affairs, and Professor of Neurology from 1973 to 1995. He was also Chief of Neurology at the General Hospital from 1966 to 1974.

Dr. House is perhaps best known for his outstanding contribution to providing health and education services to those in isolated communities in Canada and abroad through telecommunications. He founded the Telemedicine Centre at Memorial University in 1976, and is widely recognized as a world leader in the field. He has directed many international telemedicine and distance education projects, especially in Africa and the Caribbean.

Dr. House has been involved with many community organizations, including the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Agnes Pratt Home for the Aged, and the Memorial University Botanical Garden.

Dr. House was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1989. He and his wife, Mary House, have lived in St. John's since 1960. They have three children and five grandchildren.

Lise Thibault has made an outstanding contribution to public life in Quebec in many different fields. She was born in Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, on April 2, 1939.

From 1993 to 1995, Lise Thibault was Chair and Director-General of the Quebec Office for Persons with Disabilities. She was the first person to serve as Vice-President, Client Relations, at the Quebec Occupational Health and Safety Board, from 1987 to 1993.

From 1979 to 1984 she was the moderator of a television program on family life for Radio-Canada and Télé-Métropole.

Lise Thibault has been involved in many community organizations, including the United Way and the Red Cross. In recognition of her contributions to community life and the advancement of women, she was named a Woman of Merit by the Montreal YWCA in 1994.

Lise Thibault and her husband, René Thibault, live in Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec. They have two children and five grandchildren.