Executive Council
November 27, 2009
Premier
Announces Changes to Cabinet
The Honourable Danny
Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, today
announced changes to his Cabinet. The new Cabinet
Ministers were sworn in today at a ceremony at
Government House in St. John�s.
Appointed to Cabinet
were:
- Minister of
Transportation and Works and Minister Responsible
for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing
Corporation - The Honourable Thomas J. Hedderson
- Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture � The Honourable Clyde
Jackman
- Minister of Tourism,
Culture and Recreation � The Honourable Terry
French
�I welcome these
Ministers to their new portfolios. In particular, I
welcome Minister French as our newest addition to the
Cabinet,� said Premier Williams. �I have every
confidence that the experience of these individuals will
greatly benefit the people of the province, as we
continue to deliver strong governance in Newfoundland
and Labrador. I look forward to the contributions of all
Ministers and wish these individuals well in their new
roles.�
The Premier also
announced the following appointments:
- Parliamentary
Secretary to the Minister of Health and Community
Services � Keith Hutchings
- Parliamentary
Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Trade and
Rural Development � Wallace Young
�I thank Mr. Hutchings
and Mr. Young for taking on these new responsibilities,�
said Premier Williams. �They are both extremely
effective and capable representatives in the House of
Assembly and I know they will be equally effective in
their new capacities.�
All appointments are
effective immediately. See attached backgrounder for
additional details.
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Media contacts:
BACKGROUNDER
Biographies
Hon. Thomas J.
Hedderson � Member for Harbour Main-Whitbourne
Tom Hedderson graduated with Bachelor of Arts
(Psychology) and Bachelor of Education (English) degrees
from Memorial University and a Master�s of Education
(Psychology) from Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova
Scotia. He served as principal of Bishop O�Neill
Collegiate in Brigus.
First elected to the
House of Assembly on February 9, 1999 to represent the
District of Harbour Main-Whitbourne, he has served as
Opposition Critic for Education (K-12), Parliamentary
Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition and as Critic
for Youth Services and Post Secondary Education.
Re-elected for a second term on October 21, 2003, Mr.
Hedderson was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Education and Youth Services and
Post-Secondary Education. The department's name later
changed to Education in the departmental restructuring
on February 20, 2004. Mr. Hedderson was appointed
Minister of Education October 1, 2004. He was appointed
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation on November
8, 2005.
Born on May 7, 1954, son
of Bernard and Josephine (nee Philpott), Mr. Hedderson
is the youngest of 19, a family of nine brothers and 10
sisters. He married Rosemary, daughter of the late
Richard and Nora Conway of Marysvale. As proud parents
of Christa Marie and Julia Anne, the family resides in
the community of Georgetown.
Mr. Hedderson served as
Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister
Responsible for the Volunteer and Non-Profit Sector from
October 30, 2007 until he was appointed Minister of
Fisheries and Aquaculture in October, 2008.
Hon. Clyde Jackman �
Member for Burin-Placentia West
Clyde Jackman was born in Grole, Hermitage Bay to Clyde
and Theresa (Cribb) Jackman and is the eldest of 10
children. His family resettled to Marystown in 1968. He
has resided in Baine Harbour for the past 29 years where
he and his wife Elizabeth (Kilfoy) raised their five
children Mary, Colin, Owen, Darren, and Byron. Mr.
Jackman completed his high school years at Pearce
Regional High School and went on to complete a Bachelor
of Arts and Education from Memorial University. In 1993,
he received a Master�s of Education from Mount Saint
Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He worked in
education for 27 years. His first two years of teaching
took him to Cartwright, Labrador. He then returned to
the Burin Peninsula and worked as a teaching principal
at St. Matthew's Elementary, Boat Harbour West, and as
principal at Jacques Fontaine All-Grade School, Jacques
Fontaine.
Mr. Jackman has served as
a volunteer at both the local and provincial levels. He
has been a member of the Board of Directors for the T.
J. Macdonald Youth Group Home and, for 21 years, he
worked as a volunteer firefighter. He has held several
positions within his local church community and, for a
period of time, he and his family provided foster care
support. He is an avid outdoors person. He particularly
enjoys kayaking and canoeing. He has fished alongside
trawlermen and inshore fishermen and he has a deep
interest in the future of rural Newfoundland and
Labrador. He was sworn in as the Member for
Burin-Placentia West on November 12, 2003. He was
appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for the Department
of Education in June 2005. He was sworn in as Minister
of Environment and Conservation on March 14, 2006. Mr.
Jackman most recently served as Minister of Tourism,
Culture and Recreation.
Hon. Terry French �
Member for Conception Bay South
On October 21, 2003, Mr. French was re-elected Member
for Conception Bay South. He was appointed Parliamentary
Assistant to the Premier in November 2003 and confirmed
in this role in the departmental restructuring of
February 20, 2004. On April 6, 2005, he was appointed
Caucus Whip, and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary
to the Minister of Human Resources, Labour and
Employment on January 19, 2007.
Mr. French was re-elected
to the House of Assembly on October 9, 2007, and on
October 30, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to
the Minister of Health and Community Services.
From 1997 to 2002, he
served as Executive Assistant to St. John's East MP
Norman Doyle, which afforded him the opportunity to
assist the people of Conception Bay South and Holyrood
through his constituency work in that office.
His political experience
began early. He became President of the PC Youth wing of
the local PC Association in the early eighties. He
served on the Provincial Executive of the PC Association
of Newfoundland and Labrador and was Campaign Chairman
of two successful PC campaigns in the district during
the 1996 and 1999 general elections. He has served as a
member of the Provincial PC Election Readiness
Committee. He was heavily involved in the 2001 and 2002
provincial PC by-election wins on the Northern Peninsula
and in Bonavista North.
Mr. French graduated
Queen Elizabeth High School in Foxtrap in 1984 and
subsequently attended Memorial University until joining
his father in a family business in 1986.
He has strong involvement
in the community, particularly community sports: Member
of the Board of Governors of the Conception Bay South
Sports Hall of Fame; Volunteer in the Summer Games in
Conception Bay South; Conception Bay South Minor
Softball Coach; Member of the Conception Bay South
Softball Umpire Association; Level 4 Umpire working at
the National Softball Tournament.
Mr. French resides in
Conception Bay South with his wife, two children, and
his mother.
Keith Hutchings -
Member for Ferryland
Keith Hutchings was born the youngest of six children
and grew up in the small community of Mobile on the
Southern Shore. He attended St. Bernard's Elementary
School in Witless Bay and Mobile Central High. He has
been active in the sporting community, participating in
many sports including hockey, running, ball hockey and
golf. He stills plays today and also has been involved
in coaching minor softball, soccer and hockey. He has
also been active as a volunteer, including Big/Brothers
Big Sisters of Eastern NL, as board member, serving on
various sporting executives and as well chairing various
fundraising events.
Mr. Hutchings attended
Memorial University and graduated with a Bachelor of
Arts (Major Political Science, Minor History) and later
completed a Certificate in Public Administration from
Memorial. He continued his education in later years and
completed an Occupational Health and Safety Program from
Ryerson University in Toronto.
His professional career
has included 11 years with the Workplace Health Safety
and Compensation Commission in various positions
including managing various departments within the
organization. He has also served as Chief of Staff and
Executive Assistant to then Leader of the Official
Opposition in the Provincial House of Assembly (1996
-1998).
On February 8, 2007, Mr.
Hutchings was elected as the Progressive Conservative
Party candidate in the by-election for the District of
Ferryland. In the general election of October 9, 2007,
he was re-elected as the Member for Ferryland District.
He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister
of Human Resources, Labour and Employment on October 30,
2007.
Mr. Hutchings represents
a large geographic district ranging from the Town of
Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove and the Goulds in the North
East Avalon as far as the Community of St. Shott�s in
the south.
He is married to Lynn
Croft of Aquaforte on the Southern Shore. They have two
children, Jane and Eric.
Wallace Young Jr. �
Member for St. Barbe
Wallace Young Jr. and his wife Jessie live in Plum
Point. They have two children: Jennifer and Christopher.
After attending Memorial
University, Mr. Young spent all of his adult life living
in the District of St. Barbe. He is co-owner of the
family owned business, the Plum Point Motel, and has
experienced the needs and challenges facing the local
business sector.
Mr. Young has been active in several organizations:
Past-President of the Straits St. Barbe Chamber of
Commerce; Past-President of the Big Droke Pre-Historic
Cultures Foundation; Past-Director - Viking Trail
Tourism Association; Past-Director - Red Ochre Regional
Board.
He was first elected to
the House of Assembly in a by-election in the District
of St. Barbe on January 30, 2001.
On February 2, 2001, he
became the PC Opposition critic for Tourism, Culture and
Recreation and filled this role until August 9, 2001
when he became the PC Opposition critic for Government
Services and Lands. He has also served as the PC
Opposition critic for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs
and as a Member of the Government Services Committee.
Mr. Young was re-elected
in the St. Barbe District on October 21, 2003.
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