New Clerk in Manitoba

In December, William Henry "Binx" Rernnant was named to succeed the late Jack Reeves as Clerk of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. Mr. Remnant was the unanimous choice of the all-Party Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections chaired by Andy Anstett. The Committee considered 26 applications from across Canada.

A native of British Columbia, Mr. Remnant worked for the federal Department of Northern Affairs in Manitoba, Quebec and Ottawa before joining the government of the Northwest Territories in the early 1960s. He had been Clerk of the NWT Legislative Assembly since 1966.

Mr. Remnant's resignation was announced at the end of the fall session of the NWT Legislative Assembly. The Speaker of the Assembly, Don Stewart, said: "When we say goodbye to Binx we are saying goodbye in part to what has really become an institution as far as the Legislature of the Northwest Territories is concerned." The Speaker noted that when Mr. Remnant first went to work for the NWT Council in 1963, it was composed of five appointed and four elected members and was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources, who also served as Commissioner of the NWT. The Council met in Ottawa and travelled to the NWT once a year. The Assembly now is made up of 22 elected members. Seven of the nine members of its Executive Committee are elected members who hold ministerial responsibilities and report to the House for their ministries.

Mr Remnant took up his new position in Manitoba on January 1, 1983. Mr. David M. Hamilton, Clerk Assistant, has been appointed Acting Clerk in the Northwest Territories.

Attachments

Each year more and more exchanges take place among legislative staff of Commonwealth countries. Some are part of organized exchange programmes. Others are done informally, on a bi!ateral basis. An example of the latter is the attachment of a Sri Lankan table officer, Mr. B.S.B. Tittawella to the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. Mr. Tittawella will spend approximately six weeks in Saskatchewan during the Spring of 1983.

From May 30 to June 25, 1983 an official with the parliamentary library of New South Wales, Australia, Mr. Greig Tillotson, will be attached to the Library of Parliament in Ottawa. Mr. Tillotson is presently doing graduate studies and research on the subject of parliamentary libraries.