• New Federal Director Ready for Monday's Speech from the Throne

OTTAWA / REGINA / VICTORIA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is pleased to announce the appointment of John Williamson as federal director. Mr. Williamson has served as the CTF's Ontario director since September 2002, and is well qualified to advocate lower taxes, less waste, and more accountable government in the nation's capital.

As Ontario director, Mr. Williamson established himself as an outspoken promoter of lower taxes and a fierce critic of government spending abuses in Canada's largest province. During the recent Ontario election, Mr. Williamson secured the signatures of Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty, the current premier, and Progressive Conservative leader Ernie Eves, the former premier, on a CTF initiated Taxpayer Protection Promise. He also waged a successful campaign to quash a proposed 25 per cent pay raise for Members of Provincial Parliament.

"When we hired John as Ontario director to open our Toronto office, expectations were high because we believed our message of responsible government and fair taxation would resonate with Ontario's taxpayers," said CTF National Communications Director Troy Lanigan. "We are pleased to report that under John's management, the CTF quickly established itself as Ontario's most effective and visible advocacy group. We are excited John is taking on the job of federal director because we know he will work hard to ensure the concerns of ordinary Canadians are clearly, and loudly, articulated in Ottawa."

Before joining the CTF, Mr. Williamson worked as a journalist and with various political organizations in the areas of policy development and communications. After working in Hong Kong for two years, John returned home to take up employment with the National Post writing editorials and serving on the paper's Editorial Board. His work focused primarily on public policy issues, dealing with taxation, social policy, government spending, and parliamentary reform. John is a graduate of McGill University and is from New Brunswick.

Mr. Williamson is available for media interviews, speaking engagements and will write weekly commentaries under the Let's Talk Taxes banner. He will continue to serve as the Ontario spokesman until a new provincial director is announced in February.

Mr. Williamson replaces Walter Robinson who served as the federal director from July 1997 to December 2003.