REGINA — The Diocese of Qu’Appelle has a new chancellor, as Marie-France Menc assumed the duties of chancellor in November 2024, taking over from Tom Irvine, K.C., who served in the role since 2014.
The diocesan chancellor has three main functions: to advise the bishop on any legal matters referred to the chancellor, to advise on any matters of discipline or other issues when requested, and to rule on any points of order at meetings of Synod and Diocesan Council.
Menc brings a wealth of legal experience to the role. She recently retired from the law firm of Kanuka Thuringer LLP in Regina, where she practised business and non-profit organization law for 17 years. Before that, she practised in Toronto; briefly in Paris, France; and in London, Ont.
Menc’s husband, Robert Hawkins, is a retired law professor who sits on diocesan council, and until last fall was a Regina city councillor. The couple have three sons, all in their 30s.
Born to immigrant parents, Menc grew up just north of Toronto with her twin sister. She attended Catholic schools and then Trinity College, the Anglican college at the University of Toronto. She studied Law at U of T and then earned a post-graduate degree in international commercial law from Aix-Marseille University in Aix-en-Provence, France.
The new chancellor says her first priority is to update the canons and regulations of the diocese. “This is underway,” she says, and she has been participating as a member of the diocesan legislation committee. The canons (church law) and regulations are very complex and detailed, and a change in one provision must be accurately reflected wherever the subject is mentioned. The bishop has asked the committee to “strive for accuracy, brevity and clarity,” says Menc.
Menc is pronounced like ‘men’ as in more than one man, with a hard “c” or k sound at the end.
