Rémy M. Beauregard led a distinguished career in the promotion and protection of human rights in Canada and internationally. Among his many accomplishments, he served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and worked with United Nations agencies and civil society organizations for the establishment of national human rights institutions in numerous developing countries.

At the time of his appointment, Janice Stein, then Chairperson of Rights & Democracy's Board of Directors, said “The Board of Directors and staff look forward to benefiting from his extensive experience in managing and strengthening human rights agencies in Canada and overseas.” Ms. Stein also welcomed the fact that Mr. Beauregard had worked in a number of Rights & Democracy's priority countries and with a number of its institutional partners.

The President of Rights & Democracy is an Order-in-Council appointment of the Government of Canada. Mr. Beauregard began his five year term on July 7, 2008.

M. Beauregard earned a Bachelors in History from the University of Ottawa and an MA in Public Administration from the École nationale d'administration publique. He held senior positions in the Ontario public service between 1986 and 2001, including seven years as Executive Director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, a position he held until his retirement from the Ontario public service. He also established the permanent secretariat of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies and became its first executive secretary.

At the international level, Mr. Beauregard worked as an adviser on governance and public service. He advised the Legal and Constitutional Commission of Rwanda in its planning for the 2003 referendum on Rwanda's new constitution. He also provided advice on the development of legislation for a national human rights institution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2003 to 2006, he was International Institutional Development Advisor to the Uganda Human Rights Commission. In 2005, Mr. Beauregard developed the Policies and Procedures Manual of Trinidad and Tobago's Integrity Commission. He worked with War Child Canada in 2006 to implement and manage the Northern Uganda Legal Defence Project for children affected by conflict. In 2007, he provided public ethics training to officials of the provinces of Beijing and Hebei.

M. Beauregard also served as Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Sudbury's Laurentian University.

Rémy M. Beauregard passed away on Jan. 8, 2010.