Trudeau Foundation Taps Diverse Leaders to Mentor Star Scholars

Former Cabinet Ministers, Naval Commander, Reform Party House Leader, Filmmaker and Humanitarian among those selected as 2008 Trudeau Mentors

New Mentors and Scholars to Congregate in Toronto, Feb 4-5, 2008

Montreal, QC, January 29, 2008 - The Trudeau Foundation's track record of engaging remarkable, highly accomplished Canadians from diverse backgrounds continues today with the addition of nine distinguished Trudeau Mentors, including Janice MacKinnon, former Saskatchewan cabinet minister; Larry Murray, former Commander of the First Canadian Destroyer Squadron; former Reform Party House Leader Ray Speaker; and Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, among others.

Each Trudeau Mentor is linked with an outstanding university student who has been awarded a prestigious Trudeau Scholarship. The new 2008 Mentor-Scholar relationships kick off February 4-5, when the pairs all meet for the first time in Toronto, along with current and previous Mentors and Scholars. Over the course of an 18-month Mentorship program (and often beyond that) the pairs collaborate on ideas, research and initiatives in the areas of citizenship, Canada's role internationally, human rights and social justice, and the environment.

"The Trudeau Foundation Mentorship program takes place outside the comfort of academia and is like a reality check for new ideas aimed at resolving concrete social issues," said P.G. Forest, President of the Trudeau Foundation. "By pairing some of the best and brightest young Canadian scholars with well-known, highly experienced leaders, an intensely productive environment is created."

Unlike other mentorship programs, Trudeau Scholars and Mentors are not necessarily engaged in the same fields of activity or research. Instead, the central factor in the pairing is the reciprocal commitment to openly discuss matters of shared interest.

Previous Trudeau Mentors include former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Frank Iacobucci; United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour; former British Columbia Premier Michael Harcourt; award-winning journalist Stephanie Nolen; and Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Former Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and reportedly among the nominees for the 2007 Nobel Prize won by Al Gore.

THE 2008 TRUDEAU MENTORS:

Dyane Adam, former Commissioner of Official Languages.

Robert Fowler, Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Ministers Trudeau, Turner and Mulroney; Canada's longest serving Ambassador to the United Nations.

Sylvia D. Hamilton, award-winning filmmaker, writer and educator known for her documentaries exploring the history, contributions and experiences of African Canadians.

Janice MacKinnon, former Minister of Finance, Minister of Social Services, Minister of Economic Development and Government House leader at the Government of Saskatchewan.

Louise Mailhot, first woman appointed judge to the Court of Appeal of Quebec.

Larry Murray, former Commander of the First Canadian Destroyer Squadron and Acting Chief of Defence Staff; former Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada and Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada.

Monica Patten, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Foundations of Canada.

Raymond A. Speaker, former Reform Party of Canada Finance Critic and House Leader; former Government of Alberta Cabinet Minister.

(Additional biographical information is available upon request.)