Information Services Room 29 Legislative Building News Service Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA Phone: (204) 945-3746 R3C OV8 Date: January 23, 1987 MAURICE STRONG SLATED FOR TASK FORCE MEETINV To Address First Gathering Of National Environment Body Maurice Strong, Canada's representative on the World Commission of Environment and Development, will make an official presentation to the first meeting of the new National Task Force on Environment and Economy. The 17-member task force will hold an all-day meeting in Winnipeg starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, February 17, in Room 255 Legislative Building. Although the presentation will not be open to the public, Strong will be available for questions between 10.30 and 11 a.m. Strong, who is currently executive co-ordinator of the United Nations Office for Emergency Operations in Africa, has been active in the environmental protection field for many years. His previous positions have included president, Canadian International Development Agency and chairperson, Canadian International Development Board, starting as director general, External Aid Office from 1966 to 1970; secretary general, United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and under-secretary general, United Nations, Geneva from 1970 to 1972; and executive director, United Nations Environment Program from 1973 to 1975. Be was also chairman of the board and of the executive committee, Petro-Canada, from 1976 to 1978; chairman of the board, AZL Resources Inc., Arizona, U.S.A. from 1978 to 1983; and chairperson, International Energy Development Corp., Geneva, from 1980 to 1983. Strong now sits on a number of international boards and commissions. Be is currently involved with the World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Brundtland. The commission has been on a global fact-finding mission and has held hearings in Canada, Indonesia, Norway, Brazil, Zimbabwe, the U.S.S.R. and Japan. Born in 1929 in Oak Lake, Manitoba, Strong is married and has five children. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado. For further information, or to arrange an interview with Maurice Strong, contact: Mark Stefanson, chairperson, Task Force Secretariat, 960 - 330 St. Mary Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 3Z5; phone (204) 945-4742. - 30 - MG-3179 CD .