A University of Ottawa professor was appointed chairman Wednesday of a new panel that will review the mandate of the National Capital Commission.

Gilles Paquet will be joined on the panel by two other members, Ottawa's Barbara Farber and Guy Benoit of Gatineau, Que.

Paquet, 70, professor emeritus and senior research fellow at the university's Centre on Governance, told CBC News he does not expect his panel to recommend drastic changes. But he said he is already certain of one conclusion: the NCC is not funded properly.

In April, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said the federal government would appoint a panel to study the NCC's mandate, activities and funding.

At the time, Cannon said "everything was on the table" and that the panel would review everything from the need for the NCC to the scope of its activities.

The NCC is a 47-year-old federal agency that manages federal government lands and buildings in the capital region.

Some critics would like to abolish the NCC, saying it has no useful role and is not accountable to municipal authorities or the public.

The NCC's review panel will begin its study later this month and hopes to release its report before the end of the year. It will be the first review of the NCC in almost two decades.