Québec, June 25, 1996 -- Pierre-F. Côté, Q.C., Chief Electoral Officer, has appointed 1 woman and 4 men as returning officers following the holding of public competitions.

The process underlying these competitions was prepared based on rules similar to those of the Public Service. Notices of competition were published in May and subsequently candidates took a written exam and an oral exam. The selection was made on the basis of competence and aptitude. As required by the Election Act, the persons appointed are those who obtained the best results in each of the five electoral divisions.

The returning officer must insure the application in his or her electoral division of the statutes administered by the Chief Electoral Officer and must carry out all the activities related to an enumeration, the holding of an election or a referendum.

In addition, under election rules, the returning officer must not be a member of a political party or engage in partisan work for the duration of his or her office which is ten years.

The following persons were appointed on June 13, 1996:

ELECTORAL DIVISION              FAMILY NAME, GIVEN NAME           PROFESSION

LAPORTE                                    VAILLANT, Jocelyne                          Sociologist

ACADIE                                        TREMBLAY, Gilles-J.                         Industrial Relations

                                                                                                                     Consultant

MARQUETTE                              DESCHAMPS, Richard                     Consultant

POINTE-AUX-TREMBLES        PARENT, Claude                               Strategic Planning 

                                                                                                                     Consultant

TROIS-RIVIÈRES                       CHAREST, Paul                                 Guidance Counsellor