Executive Council
October 30, 2007

Premier Announces Appointments

The Honourable Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, today announced appointments within the PC Caucus and nominations for positions within the House of Assembly.

"We have a great depth of experience and talent in our caucus and I am pleased to announce these appointments to key positions within our caucus and the House of Assembly," said Premier Williams.

Premier Williams announced that when the House of Assembly reconvenes he will nominate the following:

Deputy Speaker of the House Assembly � Jack Byrne, Member for Cape St. Francis

Deputy Chair of Committees � Tom Osborne, Member for St. John�s South

Vice Chair of Public Accounts Committee � Felix Collins, Member for Placentia � St. Mary�s

The Premier also announced that he will be nominating Clayton Forsey, Member for Exploits as the Caucus Chair; and he has appointed Tony Cornect, Member for Port au Port as the Caucus Whip.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly is voted upon by all Members of the House of Assembly.

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Media contact:

Elizabeth Matthews

Office of the Premier

709-729.3960, 351-1227

elizabethmatthews@gov.nl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Biographies

Jack Byrne, Member for Cape St. Francis

Jack Byrne, born on June 2, 1951, lives at Outer Cove along with his wife, Bridget, and their son, Matthew. A certified Member of the Association of Newfoundland Land Surveyors who obtained his Commission as a Canada Land Surveyor in 1982, Mr. Byrne received his education in basic drafting, architectural drafting and surveying technology at the College of Trades and Technology, winning the Association of Newfoundland Land Surveyors Scholarship in Surveying Technology in 1973-74. He has also obtained his Certificate of Administration from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Mr. Byrne has worked with Gorman Butler Associates Limited, the Crown Lands Division of the provincial Department of Forest Resources and Lands and served as Vice-President of Geodata Limited. He later became President of J.J. Byrne and Associates Limited and J.J. Byrne Surveys Limited. He also served as Vice-President Administration of Hawco, King, Byrne Surveys Limited.

He holds professional memberships in the Association of Newfoundland Land Surveyors, the Association of Canada Land Surveyors, and the Canadian Institute of Surveying and Mapping. He was a Member of the Council of Management of the Association of Newfoundland Land Surveyors, Vice-president of the Association in 1983-84, and President in 1984-85.

For seven years from 1986 to 1993, Jack served as Mayor for the Town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove and served as Chairman of the Northeast Avalon Joint Councils and as a member of the Northeast Avalon Business Development Board.

On May 3, 1993, Mr. Byrne was elected the Member of the House of Assembly for the District of St. John's East Extern and has been re-elected since 1996 in the District of Cape St. Francis. He has served as Opposition critic for the Departments of Environment and Lands; Works, Services and Transportation; Government Services and Lands; Municipal and Provincial Affairs; Intergovernmental Affairs; Finance; Health; and, Labour.

Mr. Byrne was re-elected as MHA for Cape St. Francis on October 21, 2003. In November 2003 he was appointed Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs and the Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing. The Department's name was changed to Municipal Affairs in November 2005.

 

Tom Osborne, Member for St. John�s South

Born in St. John's in 1964, Tom Osborne graduated from Cabot College in St. John's and continued his studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He worked with Statistics Canada from 1986 to 1990, with Small Business Enterprise from 1990 to 1995, and with the Penney Group of Companies from 1990 until the general election in 1996 when he was first elected to the House of Assembly in the district of St. John's South. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1999 and 2003.

Mr. Osborne served in Opposition as Caucus Vice-Chair, Parliamentary Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition, and served as Opposition critic for Industry, Trade and Technology; Government Services and Lands; and, Environment and Labour. He has also served as a Member of the Public Accounts Committee.

On November 6, 2003 Mr. Osborne was sworn in as Minister responsible for Environment and Labour. On February 20, 2004 Government announced a restructuring of departments, which saw the creation of the new Department of Environment and Conservation.

On March 14, 2006, Mr. Osborne became Minister of Health and Community Services. On January 19, 2007, Mr. Osborne became Minister of Justice.

Mr. Osborne is married to Yvonne (McGrath) of Placentia.

Felix Collins, Member for Placentia � St. Mary�s

Born in St. Anne's, Placentia Bay, Felix Collins graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in 1964 and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1968. He completed a Masters of Education degree from the University of Boston in 1972 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Ottawa in 1995. He worked as a principal, teacher, coordinator and superintendent of education until his retirement in 1992, at which time he entered law school. He was called to the Bar in April 1996 and is a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland, practising law in St. John's since that time.

Mr. Collins was Mayor of the Town of Placentia for 16 years and a member of the town council there for 19 years. He was chairperson of the first joint councils of the Placentia area and chairperson of the Placentia Area Recreation Commission. He has served on numerous boards and committees and has conducted a number of public hearings for municipalities under the Rural and Urban Planning Act. He was one of the founding directors of the Placentia Health Care Board, and served eight years as its Vice-President He served six years on the Board of Directors of Marine Atlantic. In 1990 he was named first winner of the Johnson Foundation Award, granted annually by the NLTA to a provincial educator who has made a major contribution to community life. That same year he was named Placentia Citizen of the Year.

In February, 2006 Mr. Collins was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for the District of Placentia - St. Mary's in a by-election.

He is married to the former Janet Head of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. They have three children, Lisa, Paul and Johnathan and one grand-daughter, Alanna.

Clayton Forsey, Member for Exploits

Clayton was born in Leading Tickles, August 21, 1953 to Chesley and Lavina Forsey. He has one brother (Pleaman), one sister (Marie) and married Rosemary Morgan of Bishop's Falls. He graduated from St. Nicholas School and then went on to further his education in studying Architectural Drafting at Lewisporte in 1969 and Grand Falls-Windsor in 1970.

Mr. Forsey had the opportunity to apply his drafting skills in the Engineering Department with Iron Ore Company of Canada Limited, Labrador City. He then relocated to Bishop's Falls in 1976 and started working for Morgan Printing in the Sales, Accounting, and Production Departments. In 1984, he changed careers and became the Divisional Supervisor for Brookfield Dairy which is now called Scotsburn.

He has been actively involved and served in various capacities with the following committees and organizations over the past 30 years: Bishop's Falls Recreation Commission, Minor Hockey Association Director and Referee, Kinsmen Association (President-Vice President-Director), Bishop's Falls Men's Broomball Association (Executive Member), Provincial Broomball Association Central Vice-President, Member of Rural Development Association, Member of Exploits Regional Services Board, Lewisporte Chamber of Commerce (Company Representative), Exploits Regional Chamber of Commerce (Company Representative), Town of Bishop's Falls (Councillor, Chairperson of Department of Recreation, Chairperson of Fire Department Liaison Committee, Member of Public Works Committee and Finance Committee), Bishop's Falls Lions Club (President, Vice-President, Director, Chairperson of Sponsoring committee for 512 Air Cadet Squadron, Chairperson of Winter Carnival Committee, Member of Citizen of the Year Committee, Chairperson of Zone 6 Lions District Association 41-S1, Chairperson of Lions Max Simms Telethon).

Mr. Forsey was elected to represent the people of Exploits District in a by-election on June 23, 2005. On March 21, 2007, Clayton was appointed Caucus Whip.

 

Tony Cornect, Member for Port au Port

Tony Cornect is a bilingual native of Port au Port and is passionate about his home, heritage and culture. For many years, he has been an active force in the volunteer community, serving on a variety of associations and community organizations.

He has accumulated a vast amount of experience, having served as both Deputy Mayor and Mayor for the Town of Cape St. George, political assistant to MHA Joan Burke and most recently as the newly elected member for the District of Port au Port. This, along with work experience in the fields of media, economic development and sales, has afforded Mr. Cornect a well-rounded skill set.

Mr. Cornect is one of 11 children born to the late Wallace and late Mildred Cornect of Cape St. George. He resides in Kippens with his wife, Stacey and son, Marcus.

2007 10 30                                                 12:45 p.m.


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