IQALUIT, Nunavut (November 3, 2020) - The Legislative Assembly approved a motion at its sitting of November 2, 2020, recommending that Mr. Graham Steele be appointed Nunavut’s new Information and Privacy Commissioner. The motion was unanimously adopted by the House.
Section 61 of the territorial Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act provides that the Commissioner of Nunavut, on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly, shall appoint the Information and Privacy Commissioner for a five-year term of office. The position is one of a number of independent officers who report directly to the Legislative Assembly. The Management and Services Board of the Legislative Assembly publicly invited applications for the position. The appointment of Mr. Steele is effective January 11, 2021.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner has a broad range of responsibilities under the Act, including monitoring government compliance with the legislation. The Information and Privacy Commissioner submits an annual report to the Legislative Assembly.
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Paul Quassa said, “Graham Steele’s professional background in law, academia and public service make him very well-qualified for this important position.”
Speaker Quassa added, “I would also like to take this opportunity to express the Legislative Assembly’s appreciation to Ms. Elaine Keenan Bengts for her service as Information and Privacy Commissioner over the past two decades and wish her well in her retirement.”
A biographical note is attached.
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For more information:
John Quirke, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
Tel: (867) 975-5000
Biographical Note
Graham Steele
Graham Steele holds four university degrees, including a Master of Laws from Dalhousie University. Mr. Steele was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. Mr. Steele has held a number of positions over the course of a 30-year career, including: Law Clerk at the Federal Court of Appeal; Chairperson of the National Administrative Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association; General Counsel of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia; Assistant Professor of Business Law at Dalhousie University’s Rowe School of Business; and Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and Minister of Finance. Mr. Steele is the author of a number of articles and books, and was a 2014 Finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
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