News Release Archive

PREMIER--DEPUTIES APPOINTED
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Changes are happening at the top of the Nova Scotia civil
service. Six deputy ministers are changing jobs and four new
deputy ministers have been appointed.

The realignment of senior officials, announced today by Premier
John Savage and effective April 1, fills vacancies created by the
retirement of two deputies and advances the premier's goal of 
"breaking down the walls between government departments, so all
departments can work together for the maximum benefit of Nova
Scotians."

The premier believes that senior officials in government should
have the broad perspective that comes from working in more than
one department.

"To fully appreciate the objectives and challenges of government,
public servants at all levels, including the most senior, should
bring to the job a perspective that is broader than any one
department or agency."

Effective April 1, the following deputy ministers will be
reassigned. From Finance, Bert Loveless will move to the new
Department of Transportation and Public Works. From Education and
Culture, Bob Moody will move to Finance. From Municipal Affairs,
Ed Cramm will move to Health. From Labour, Gordon Gillis will
move to Community Services. From Community Services, Patricia
Ripley will move to the new Department of Housing and Municipal
Affairs. From Agriculture and Marketing, Arnold Rovers will move
to the new Department of Business and Consumer Services.

Two new deputies have been appointed from outside the ranks of
the traditional civil service. Rollie MacInnis, current chief
executive officer of the provincial Crown corporation InNOVAcorp,
has been named deputy minister for the new Technology and Science
Secretariat. Les Haley, principal of the Nova Scotia Agricultural
College, will be the new deputy minister of Agriculture and
Marketing.

Two senior civil servants have been elevated to deputy minister.
Marilyn Gaudet, named deputy minister of Education and Culture,
has been the executive director of fiscal and economic policy in
the Department of Finance. George Fox has been appointed deputy
minister of Labour. Mr. Fox is moving from his current position
as director of corporate services in the Department of Human
Resources.

In addition, current Deputy Minister of Housing and Consumer
Affairs, Gordon Earle will remain in government to coordinate the
integration of his former department into two of the new
departments, Housing and Municipal Affairs, and Business and
Consumer Services.

"Every Nova Scotian should be impressed by the range of
expertise, experience and talent we have assembled at the most
senior level of Nova Scotia's public service. I want to
personally thank each of these individuals for agreeing to take
on new and challenging duties on behalf of their fellow Nova
Scotians," the premier said.

Premier Savage also paid tribute to two retiring deputy
ministers, Armand Pinard and Lee Rankin.

Armand Pinard, retiring deputy minister of Health, has also held
the senior post in Education, Priorities and Planning, Housing,
Tourism, Environment, Development and the former Management Board
and Civil Service Commission.

"Armand is the living proof that the government and Nova Scotians
benefit when senior public servants have a range of experience.
He's been deputy minister of everything, and he just kept getting
better. Everyone in government will miss Armand's candour, wit,
insight and unfailingly good advice."

Lee Rankin is retiring as deputy minister of Transportation and
Communications, where he was also chief engineer for many years.

" Lead by example' is Lee Rankin's guiding principle. He quietly
and effectively led the department through a period of dramatic
change. Every time he was called upon, Lee rose to the occasion
and accomplished the job he was given," the premier said.

The new deputies bring impressive credentials.

Technology and Science deputy minister Rollie MacInnis has held
senior executive positions in the private and public sector,
including vice president of Lumonics, a multinational laser
company and director general of Business Development with the
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. He will continue his
leadership of and association with InNOVAcorp, the province's
technology commercialization corporation, as chairman of the
board. Dr. MacInnis holds a PhD. in engineering from the
Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) and is a graduate of
the executive education program, Harvard Business School.

The new deputy minister of Agriculture and Marketing, Les Haley,
has been principal of the Agricultural College since 1989. Three
decades earlier he graduated from the same institution, before
going on to earn a Masters and PhD. Dr. Haley taught at Dalhousie
University, the University of Saskatchewan, and was vice
president, finance and administration, at Dalhousie before
becoming principal at the NSAC.

The new deputy minister of Education and Culture, Marilyn Gaudet
has been a senior government advisor on social, economic and
fiscal policy since 1981. A graduate of Mount Saint Vincent
University, she has held responsibility for federal-provincial
fiscal relations. Ms. Gaudet has been a member of the Nova Scotia
Council on Higher Education for five years.

George Fox, the new deputy minister of Labour, has most recently
been responsible for labour relations as well as civil service
employee training and development, occupational health and safety
and the employee assistance program. A graduate of Dalhousie
University, Mr. Fox has worked in the provincial government for
25 years.

As the first deputy minister of the new Department of Business
and Consumer Affairs, Arnold Rovers brings a client-service focus
honed by years with the province's Agriculture Department. A
graduate of the NSAC, with a masters degree from the University
of Connecticut, Mr. Rovers was director and CEO of the Nova
Scotia Farm Loan Board for 12 years before becoming deputy
minister of Agriculture and Marketing last year.

Patricia Ripley will be the first deputy minister of the new
Department of Housing and Municipal Affairs. Since 1991, she has
been deputy minister of Community Services. Dr. Ripley holds both
a masters and PhD. and has been a senior policy advisor to
government since 1984. Before joining the provincial government,
Dr. Ripley taught at Acadia University and the University of New
Brunswick.

Bert Loveless, deputy minister of Finance since 1993, will become
the province's first deputy minister of Transportation and Public
Works, a department with responsibility for virtually 100 per
cent of the province's capital budget. He will also assume
responsibility for the government's public-private partnering
initiatives. Mr. Loveless obtained his chartered accountant's
designation in 1972 and joined the Finance Department in 1976.
Before becoming deputy, he was director of internal audit,
director of management information services and controller.

The new deputy minister of Finance, Bob Moody, has almost 25
years public service experience, most recently as deputy minister
of Education and Culture. He worked in the former Treasury and
Management boards, and served two years with the federal
government as advisor on federal-provincial relations and
regional development. Mr. Moody is a graduate of Saint Mary's
University and holds a masters degree in Public Administration
from Dalhousie.

Gordon Gillis becomes the new deputy minister of Community
Services after two years as deputy minister of Labour. A graduate
of St. Francis Xavier University and Dalhousie University Law
School, Mr. Gillis has previously served Nova Scotia as deputy
minister of Municipal Affairs, Justice, Intergovernmental Affairs
and deputy minister to the Premier's Office.

The new deputy minister of Health, Ed Cramm, has been deputy
minister at Municipal Affairs since 1993. Prior to that
appointment he was director of finance and advisory services with
Municipal Affairs. Mr. Cramm holds a masters degree in Public
Administration from Dalhousie University, and serves on a number
of provincial and national public sector boards and committees.

Deputy ministers and departments unaffected by today's
announcement are: Bill MacDonald in Justice; Darrell Hiltz in the
Economic Renewal Agency; Bill Hogg in Natural Resources; Wayne
Grady in Environment; Peter Underwood in Fisheries; Mildred Royer
in Human Resources; Alan Steel in Intergovernmental Affairs; and
Bob MacKay who remains deputy minister of Priorities and
Planning, the Premier's Office and secretary to the Executive
Council.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Please note the correct name of two of the new
departments/agencies are:

- The Department of Business and Consumer Services

- The Technology and Science Secretariat

Contact: David Harrigan  902-424-6600

         Jim Vibert      902-424-4886

trp                   Mar. 25, 1996 - 1:15 p.m.