The Liberal government has filled posts on the federal firearms advisory committee that have sat vacant since Justin Trudeau's government was elected.

Former Supreme Court justice John Major will serve as chair.

The two co-chairs are Olympic sport shooter Lynda Kiejko and Nathalie Provost, who survived the 1989 shootings at École Polytechnique.

The advisory committee was established in 2006 to provide advice and expertise to the government on firearms issues. The chair has been vacant since the Liberals came to office in 2015.

In an interview two weeks ago, Goodale hinted that the newly overhauled group would be led by a "distinguished Canadian jurist" and that the other members would better represent Canadian society.

"The government is hard at work on our commitments to reduce gun violence through balanced, effective firearms measures that prioritize public safety while ensuring we do not unfairly impact law-abiding Canadians," Goodale said in a statement.

The public safety department said the names of the remaining committee members will soon be made public.

New faces, new focus

John Major served on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1992 until 2005.

A year later, he was appointed to lead the inquiry into the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, which he called the worst mass murder in Canadian history.

Most recently, Major has been practicing law in Calgary.

Lynda Kiejko has won three Pan Am Games medals in pistol and air pistol, and comes from a family of sport shooters.

Nathalie Provost was hit by four bullets in the Polytechnique shooting 27 years ago and has become a passionate advocate for effective gun control.

Appointing these three people to head the firearms advisory committee sends a strong signal the group will be serving a much different role than it did in the past.

Under the previous government, the group was stacked with firearms enthusiasts, many of whom lobbied for the reclassification of rifles or looser restrictions on guns.

The Liberals committed to changing the makeup of the committee's membership during the last federal election.