NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Release Ministry of Attorney General 2002AG0056-000644 Aug. 20, 2001 PREMIER'S TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL APPOINTED

VANCOUVER – Premier Gordon Campbell has appointed 14 members to the new Premier's Technology Council, which will inform the premier on all technology-related issues and advise government on how to make a global magnet for high-tech investment, growth and job creation.

"As part of our 90-day agenda, we committed to creating an advisory council to look at technology issues and devise strategies to put British Columbia at the forefront of the world's technology-based economies," Campbell said today.

"This council includes some of our brightest and most innovative business leaders, researchers and educators from all major technology sectors. Together, we can make British Columbia the first choice for high-tech business, reinstate ourselves as a world leader in e-government, and ensure all British Columbians can participate fully in the digital economy."

The premier will chair the council. Paul Lee, senior vice-president and worldwide studios chief operating officer of Electronic Arts Inc., will serve as industry co-chair.

The council's first task will be to recommend strategies within 90 days to bridge the digital divide - the figurative line that separates British Columbians who have the access and skills needed to make use of information technology from those who do not.

"Together, industry and government must build a bridge between information technology and people from all sectors of the economy," said Lee. "As British Columbia and Canada continue to develop expertise in the use of telecommunications, the entire community will share in the prosperity that follows."

The council will engage in public consultation and hold quarterly meetings in a venue open to the public.

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Attached are biographies of the council members. -2- PREMIER'S TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

Premier Gordon Campbell, Chair

Paul Lee, Co-Chair Paul Lee is Senior Vice President and Worldwide Studios Chief Operating Officer of Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest interactive entertainment software firm. An Electronic Arts executive since 1989, he has held various senior positions including General Manager, Electronic Arts Canada. Mr. Lee was a principal of Distinctive Software, Inc., prior to its merger with Electronic Arts in 1991. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours degree and is a Leslie Wong Fellow, as well as a chartered financial analyst. In 1996, Mr. Lee was awarded that year's Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of British Columbia. He is the current Chair of the British Columbia Technology Industries Association.

Greg Aasen As founder and Chief Operating Officer of PMC-Sierra, Mr. Aasen has developed the company into a leading supplier of semiconductor chip sets for Broadband Networking applications. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a degree in electrical engineering in 1979, Mr. Aasen began his career with Mitel first as a product engineer and then as a design engineer. In 1986 he joined MPR Teltech as a design manager and two years later started their first business division, the Pacific Microelectronic Centre. In 1992, an agreement was negotiated with Sierra Semiconductor of California to invest US$5M in PMC-Sierra as a spin-off from MPR Teltech. In June 2000, Mr. Aasen was named "Person of the Year" by the British Columbia Technology Industries Association. He currently serves on the board for several industry associations: The Fabless Semiconductor Association, the Strategic Microelectronics Consortium (Canadian), and Micronet. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Starvision Multimedia Corporation and Sierra Wireless.

Barbara Alexander Barbara Alexander is Regional Sales Manager, British Columbia, for Microsoft Canada Co. She has been with Microsoft for three years. As Regional Sales Manager, she works closely with the Microsoft partners in BC to bring value to their Enterprise customers through the application of its desktop, office and server products and solutions. Before moving to British Columbia, Ms. Alexander was involved in Microsoft's Healthcare Division. She worked with Independent Software Vendors to incorporate Windows NT, SQL Server and Exchange Server technologies into their solutions and to help promote those solutions to perspective customers. Ms. Alexander is a 20-year veteran in the computer industry in Canada. She has worked in both sales and marketing positions for hardware and software solutions for Apple Computer, BULL, King Products and Network Associates.

Shannon Byrne Shannon Byrne is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Paradata Systems Inc. She has an extensive background in object-oriented programming, software development of information security products and payment systems. Ms. Byrne's technical expertise is coupled with extensive sales, marketing and operations experience. She has been with Paradata Systems Inc. since 1995 and has developed e-Commerce systems for digital goods delivery via CD-ROM and the Internet. Initially the Software Development manager, she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 1997 and then became President in 1998. Paradata Systems Inc. was recently awarded the 2001 British Columbia Technology Industries Association "Best Application of Web Technology" award. She is a recipient of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" for the year 2000. -3- Michael Calyniuk Michael Calyniuk, C.A. is a senior audit partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and leads its British Columbia Technology Industry Group. Mr. Calyniuk has specialized in providing strategic business advice to B.C., U.S., and European based private and public technology companies. Mr. Calyniuk's responsibilities include private and public financing, due diligence reviews and corporate restructuring for global operations. Over the past 15 years he has focused significantly upon advising and assisting technology companies with their negotiations for the purchase and sale of technology. Mr. Calyniuk is also a member of PwC's Audit and Business Advisory Services Technology Board, responsible for the adoption and deployment of technology throughout the firm's 150 countries, a member of the firm's Global Information Technology Procurement Team and oversees the global procurement of software deployed to its 160,000 employees worldwide. Norm Francis Norm Francis is President & CEO of Pivotal Corporation. Mr. Francis has extensive senior high technology management experience including 20 years at the forefront of the software industry. In 1979 he co-founded Basic Software Group. After the success of BSG's best-selling accounting package, ACCPAC, Computer Associates International acquired BSG. A valued guest speaker and conference panelist, Mr. Francis has successfully shepherded all aspects of software development and marketing. He holds a B.Sc. in computer science from UBC and is a chartered accountant. Greg Kerfoot Greg Kerfoot is CEO and President of Crystal Decisions. Mr. Kerfoot joined Crystal Decisions in September 1988 when it was known as Crystal Services. At that time, he was director of research and development and chief architect of Crystal Reports. In 1992, he became president of Crystal Services, overseeing the expansion of the product line to include Crystal Info. In 1996, he became executive vice president of Crystal Decisions, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Seagate Technology. Prior to joining Crystal Services, Mr. Kerfoot spent five years at Computer Associates developing the well-known accounting system ACCPAC. He has spent nearly two decades studying and working with computers. He sits on the Board of Directors for Crystal Decisions and graduated from UBC in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. William Koty William Koty is the Director of the Division of Applied Technology for the UBC Continuing Studies. He has developed award-winning Certificate programs in Internet Marketing and Internet Publishing. Prior to joining UBC in 1994, he worked for 12 years in software marketing for several high technology companies. Mr. Koty specializes in strategic marketing, product development and marketing communications. He is a partner in a consulting firm High Latitude Consulting, which provides strategic and technical planning for companies seeking to develop e-business operations and enter new markets. Mr. Koty holds a Master of Arts in International Policy Studies from the Monterey Institute for International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in World Business from San Francisco State University. Dr. Victor Ling Dr. Victor Ling is Vice President of Research at the BC Cancer Agency. World renowned for his discovery of the existence and mechanisms of drug-resistant chemotherapy, Dr. Ling's research has provided hope to patients suffering from leukemia, breast and ovarian cancers and cystic fibrosis. In particular, it has led to the discoveries of why many patients do not respond to traditional chemotherapy treatment. He has worked to decipher the language of cells, and has co-ordinated cancer research for British Columbia for the past five years. He is also Vice-Dean of Cancer Research, University of British Columbia and Member of the Governing Council, Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Dr. Ling has won several of the world's top awards in cancer research, and was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2000. -4- Ian McBeath Ian McBeath is President and CEO of Inflazyme Pharmaceuticals Inc. Mr. McBeath has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having worked in senior management positions for blue chip companies such as Beecham, ICI and J&J, prior to entering biotech in 1990. He moved to from the United Kingdom in May 1998. Previously, he was CEO and founding director of a United Kingdom based gene delivery company. Under his leadership, Inflazyme has developed early stage technology (originating in UBC) into a potential oral replacement for inhaled steroids in asthma. In May 1999, the company completed the largest biotech/big pharma partnering deal ever in Canada with the major international company, Aventis Pharma. Inflazyme obtained a TSE listing in 1999 and is now in the TSE300 index. Amos Michelson Amos Michelson is Chief Executive Officer of Creo Products Inc. From August 1991 to June 1995 Mr. Michelson was Vice President, Business Strategy. Based in Vancouver, Creo Products Inc. is a Canadian high-technology company that has integrated its strengths in electronics, optics, precision mechanics and software to become the world's leading supplier of computer-to-plate systems. For approximately 10 years prior to joining the company in 1991, he held various positions with Optrotech Ltd., an Israeli developer and manufacturer of optical and imaging systems for the printed circuit board industry, most recently chief operating officer. Mr. Michelson holds a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Technion in Israel and a MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in the United States. Firoz Rasul Firoz Rasul is the Chief Executive Officer of Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in zero-emission fuel cell development. Mr. Rasul has served as Chairman and CEO of Ballard Power Systems since May 1999 and as President and CEO of Ballard Power Systems since 1988. He was the Vice-President of Marketing and Sales for MDI Mobile Data International, from 1981 until its take-over by its largest competitor, Motorola, in September 1988. Mr. Rasul is the President of the Ismaili Council for Canada. He was recently appointed to the UBC Board of Governors, and has also held positions as Chairman of Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada, as a director of BC Telecom, director for Royal Bank Capital Management, member of the national committee of the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada, and a board member of Science World British Columbia. Mr. Rasul has a Bachelor degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Hertsfordshire in the United Kingdom and a Masters degree in Business Administration from McGill University in Montreal. Dr. Donald Rix Dr. Donald Rix, M.D., is one of the owners and founders and currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDS Metro Laboratory Services, the largest independent community laboratory in BC. He is also one of the owners and founders and currently Chairman of Cantest Ltd. based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. Rix recently received the Lifetime Leadership and Achievement Award from the British Columbia Biotechnology Association for his contributions to the biotechnology sector. He currently serves on the Science Council of British Columbia, the BC Medical Services Foundation, BIRC Corporation, and the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. He is also a board member of MDS Ventures Pacific Inc., Genyous Inc., Futurefund Capital (VCC) Corp. and Bio Futurefund Capital (VCC) Corp. Dr. Rix received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1953 and his MD degree in 1957. His education includes an honourary Diploma of Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in 1985, the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa from the University of Western Ontario in 1998 and a Fellowship in General Pathology (FRCP) Canada. -5- Jim Yeates Jim Yeates is Chairman of Burntsand Inc., and has been involved in Canada's high tech industry for the last 28 years. Over the past 16 years, he has been Chairman and/or CEO of the publicly listed companies Computer Innovations, a microcomputer integrator in Canada and the United Kingdom that was acquired by SHL Systemhouse Inc., and Integrated Network Services Inc., a leading wide area network integrator that was acquired by Sprint Canada in December 1994. Mr. Yeates was one of the founders of Burntsand Inc. in 1996 and currently is the Chairman of this leading North American e- Business Solutions integrator. Mr. Yeates holds a Master of Computer Sciences degree from McGill University and an undergraduate engineering degree from the University of Vermont.

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