News Release

Vancouver -- The British Columbia Securities Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Robin Ford as a full-time commissioner for a four-year term beginning August 2004.

Ms. Ford qualified as a lawyer in British Columbia in 1982 and in England in 1989. She has more than 20 years of experience in regulation and extensive experience with policy formulation and regulatory reform. She has degrees in political science from McGill University and the University of Victoria, and in law from the University of Victoria.

Ms. Ford worked for more than five years with the BC Ministry of Attorney General, where she was involved in administrative law and regulation and appeared before administrative tribunals and the Courts. She then spent 16 years in the United Kingdom working in the legal and regulatory field. For five years, she headed the insurance legal team at Her Majesty’s Treasury and then at the newly created Financial Services Authority.

With the appointment of Ms. Ford, the BCSC has 10 commissioners, including four full-time commissioners. The BC government appoints the commissioners, who are responsible for administering the Securities Act in the province.

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities in British Columbia and administering the Securities Act.