Friday, June 01, 2007

News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)



PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER LAYS OUT NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN FOR MUNICIPALITIES

June 1, 2007
CALGARY

In a speech to the 70th annual conference to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told 2,000 civic politicians and public servants that Canada's New Government has begun an historic effort to revitalize national infrastructure and improve quality of life in communities from coast to coast.

"In collaboration with the private sector and other levels of government, our government is embarking on the largest infrastructure development program in half a century," said Prime Minister Harper. "Not since the great national transportation megaprojects of the post-war era has the federal government launched such a massive undertaking."

Included among the projects funded by the government's $33-billion infrastructure plan are:

  • The clean-up of Saint John Harbour

  • The Autoroute 30 bypass around the Island of Montreal

  • The FLOW project to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in the Greater Toronto Area

  • The expansion of the Red River Floodway to protect Winnipeg

  • The Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative to tie Canada into the booming Far East through our West Coast ports

    The Prime Minister also spoke of making Canadian communities healthier and safer by taking action to protect the environment and cracking down on crime. The Prime Minister noted the Government has introduced mandatory limits for industrial emissions, a policy that will cut industrial air pollution in half by 2015 and reduce Canada's total greenhouse gas output 20% by 2020. He added that government is also moving to make Canadian streets safer with 11 anti-crime bills, including laws that take aim at street racers, introduce mandatory prison sentences for gun crimes and keep violent, dangerous offenders behind bars.

    "Our government's agenda is ambitious, but it's also practical and focused. Working together, I know we can build a country that will be recognized as the best place in the world to find work and raise a family," Prime Minister Harper said.
    The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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  • News Release

    From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)



    APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF ONTARIO ANNOUNCED

    June 1, 2007
    CALGARY

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the appointment of The Honourable Mr. Justice Warren K. Winkler, Regional Senior Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in and for the Province of Ontario for the Toronto Region, is appointed Chief Justice of Ontario. He replaces the Honourable Chief Justice R. McMurtry who retired May 31, 2007.

    Chief Justice Winkler is a nationally recognized legal scholar and author, an expert in labour law and class action law and practical jurist who has been a member of the Ontario court system for the past 14 years, the last three as the Regional Senior Judge for the Toronto Region. Chief Justice Winkler received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Manitoba (Brandon College). Chief Justice Winkler's impressive legal career spans more than four decades. As a lawyer he practiced with Winkler Filion and Wakely and its predecessor firms in Toronto. He was also very active in the legal community acting in numerous capacities with the Canadian Bar Association, including as member of its national executive committee, as chair of provincial and national labour law sections, and as founding chair of the environmental law section.

    Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) in 1993 and then appointed Regional Senior Judge for Toronto Region in March 2004, Chief Justice Winkler has acted as member of the Court's Commercial List, as a member of the Divisional Court, as Team Leader of the Court's Long Trial List, and as Team Leader for Class Actions Toronto Region. He has also acted as a judicial mediator for large multi-party disputes including the Walkerton water disaster, Ontario Hydro and Power Workers, Windsor-Michigan Tunnel dispute and the Air Canada restructuring. Chief Justice Winkler is a distinguished legal author and editor in the area of labour law, acting as a founding editor of the Labour Law Journal, editor of law reports 'Labour Arbitration Cases' (Canada Law Book), and co-author of O'Brien's Encyclopedia of Forms, 11th Ed., Labour Relations and Employment, Vols. 1 and 2 and Labour Arbitration: The Year in Review (Canada Law Book, 2006). He has been awarded two honourary doctorates and numerous other academic distinctions including, most recently, the Bora Laskin Award from the University of Toronto for outstanding achievements in Canadian labour law. Besides being a frequent speaker at legal and judicial conferences, Chief Justice Winkler is a global thinker and local actor for environmental responsibility, chairing the Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Fund and acting as a member of the Board of Directors of Bird Studies Canada.

    This appointment is effective immediately.

    The Prime Minister's Office - Communications
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