October 11, 2005
UNB Saint John News Release: 05-051
Patty O'Brien, Communication Officer (506) 648-5707

The Honourable Roy Romanow will receive an honorary degree of laws during UNB Saint John’s Fall Convocation Ceremony on October 21, 2005 at 4:30 pm at the Imperial Theatre. Dr. Romanow will receive his honorary degree along with 117 UNB Saint John graduates who represent 10 countries.

“We are happy to recognize the years of work Dr. Romanow has done on behalf of all Canadians,” said Dr. Kathryn Hamer, Vice President UNB Saint John. “With the amount of education we do in the area of health sciences, the work Dr. Romanow has done on the Royal Commission on Healthcare is of particular relevance to our students and faculty.”

Roy Romanow was born, raised, and educated in Saskatoon where he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with Arts and Law Degrees. In 1967, he was elected to the Saskatchewan Legislature and between 1971 and 1982, he served as Deputy Premier of Saskatchewan as well as Attorney General. During that time he was responsible for the introduction of a number of justice system reforms, including: the introduction of a provincial legal aid plan; the creation of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission; the introduction of a Saskatchewan Human Rights Code; and the creation of the Provincial Ombudsman's Office.

In 1979, Roy Romanow was appointed Saskatchewan's first Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and played a key role in the federal-provincial negotiations which resulted in the Constitutional Accord of November, 1981. In 1984, he co-authored a book on those negotiations entitled Canada Notwithstanding. In addition to this national work, he also served as a member on the Canadian Medical Association Task Force on the Allocation of Health Care Resources from 1983 to 1985. -more- -2-

On November 7, 1987 Dr. Romanow was acclaimed Leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic party and was elected Premier on October 21, 1991 with a 55 seat majority government. He assumed the duties of Premier on November 1, 1991. Romanow's government introduced a number of fiscal, economic and social reforms including an expansion of the Action Plan for Children, the introduction of the Building Independence strategy to help move families off social assistance, and enhancements to the provincial health care system. Dr. Romanow retired from politics in February 2001.

In April 2001, Dr. Romanow was appointed a Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Regina, and is also a visiting Fellow in the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University. On April 4 2001, Roy Romanow was also appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to head the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada to recommend policies and measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of a universally accessible, high quality, publicly-administered health care system.

The Honourable Roy Romanow will present a Convocation Colloquium entitled, “Canada’s Medicare at the Crossroads?” on Friday, Oct. 21 at 1 pm in K.C. Irving Hall, Room 107. All are invited to attend. Please RSVP Patty O’Brien at pobrien@unbsj.ca by Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005.

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