Demers, Jean-Marc
[Français]
Most of the professional activities of lawyer Jean-Marc Demers were invested in the public administration of Canada and Québec, as an administrator, as an expert in telecommunications, in administrative tribunals and in adjudicative decision making on individual rights. During the last few years, he has been working as a Consultant in Canada, Europe and Asia.
He has been a Commissioner (1998-2005) of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). In this capacity, he was vigorously involved in the CRTC Report to the Privy Council on broadcasting services to French language minorities. Further, he has signed a strong dissent on his colleagues' decision, holding to the importance which should be given to French language radio services in British Columbia. To support this dissent, he quoted an excerpt from a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache wrote: «Language rights are not negative rights, or passive rights; they can only be enjoyed if the means are provided. » (R. v. Beaulac, (1999) 1 S.C.R. 768, paragraph 20 of the internet publication of Mr. Justice Bastarache's Reasons)
Mr. Demers has been a member and chair of the Québec Telecommunications Board. He was a Commissioner of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and Assistant Vice-Chair in charge of the 80 Commissioners in Montréal. He was General Counsel of the Québec Department of Communications, and in that capacity made presentations to the Conference of Federal and Provincial Ministers of Communications. He was a member of the task forces established by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Communications on «Competition in Long Distance Services », and on «Telecommunications Prices and Availability of Affordable Universal Services».
He was Assistant General Counsel of the CRTC for six years, which included the drafting of the first rules on Canadian content for broadcasting, and a member of the Cabinet Committee on copyright. He was Solicitor in the International Claims Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and was a member of the negotiating team on claims arising from nationalizations and confiscations of Canadian properties (Poland, Hungary, ex Czechoslovakia, Rumania, ex USSR and Egypt).
He was a Combines Investigation Officer in the Office of the Director of Investigations and Research on Restrictive Trade Practices, inquiring on food and petroleum products across Canada.
He was one of the founding members and President (2004-2005) of the Telecommunications Regulators Forum (FRATEL) of the countries having French as a common language, Chair (1996-1998) of the Canadian Council of Administrative Tribunals (CCAT), Chair of the Communications Committee of the Canadian Association of Members of Public Utility Tribunals (CAMPUT), and Chair of the Québec Conference of Administrative Judges. He was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Centre for the Study of Regulated Industries of the Faculty of Law of McGill University, and member of the advisory committee of the Canadian Centre on Judicial Documentation. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice published by the Faculty of Law of the University of Victoria (B.C). He was founding president of Alliance Ontaroise de Québec.
He addressed FRATEL on « Good Governance in Telecommunications Regulation and the Challenge of Globalization». In some other presentations, he addressed the Québec Chartered Accountants on the "Strategic Role of Telecommunications Regulation in Canada", the members of CCAT on «Investing in Knowledge», on the «Future of Canadian Telecommunications – the Regulator's Perspective » at the University of Québec in Montréal, on the «Problems related to Competition and the Ownership of Telecommunication Infrastructures inside Buildings» for the Association of Canadian Owners of Large Real Estate Complexes, on « Economic and Technical Regulations » to Master's degree students of the National School of Public Administration, on «Globalization of Telecommunications and its Incidence in Québec » for a Seminar of the Canadian Bar Association, on «Telecommunications – the Case of Québec» to a seminar on Canada-United States Telecommunications at the School of Business Administration of the University of Vermont, USA.
He was a trainer of members of Federal administrative tribunal for the School of Public Administration of Canada. He was Vice-President of the Law Group of the Public Service of Canada. He was a Captain training Officers of the Regular Army at the School of Signals in Kingston.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in Washington, D. C. (NARUC) recognized him as one of the ten most experienced utility regulators. He was honored by the Québec Conference of Administrative Judges for «Excellency in his Contribution to Administrative Justice and the Quality of his Commitment ». The University of Ottawa honored him for his «Exceptional Contribution to the Development and Influence of the University in the Québec Region». He received the « Volunteer of the Year Award » for his commitment to amateur sports in Québec, from the Mayor of Québec, Hon. Jean-Paul L'Allier.
Still a volunteer in amateur sports, he is Chair of the Communications Committee, Editor-in-Chief and Senior Adviser to the President of the International Taekwon-Do Federation (Vienna, Austria). He is a Taekwon-Do black belt. He is President of the Outaouais Section of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.
Born in Verner (Ontario), he attended Sacred Heart College in Sudbury, the University of Sudbury, Laval University (B.A.), Queen's University and the University of Ottawa (LL. L., "Diploma in Graduate Studies in Public Law and Administration" and courses required to proceed to an LL.D.). He is a member of the AJEFO and the Québec Bar.
Email :
JMD01@bell.net
Categories : Justice
Last Update : 2011-12-08
