Denis Paradis

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Denis Paradis Template:Post-nominals (born 1 April 1949) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brome—Missisquoi from 2015 until 2019 and previously from 1995 to 2006. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Paradis was Minister of State for Financial Institutions from 2003 to 2004.

His brother, Pierre Paradis, is a member of the National Assembly of Quebec and a provincial cabinet minister. The Paradis brothers are political allies.<ref>This point is not as self-evident as it may seem. Some prominent Quebec siblings, most notably Daniel Johnson, Jr. and Pierre-Marc Johnson, have been political rivals.</ref>

Early life and private career

Paradis was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree (1970) and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree (1975) from the University of Ottawa and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1976.<ref>Canada Votes 2004: Brome-Missisquoi, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, accessed 2 December 2010.</ref> In 1985, he co-authored the book Régles de procédure devant les tribunaux administratifs.<ref>Canada Votes 2008: Brome-Missisquoi, Candidate Profiles, accessed 2 December 2010.</ref>

After working as a partner in the firm Paradis-Poulin, he became the president of the Quebec Bar Association in 1993.<ref>Anne McIlroy, "A kind of early referendum," Hamilton Spectator, 11 February 1995, A12.</ref> In June 1993, he criticized the overcrowded state of some provincial courthouses.<ref>"Courthouses raise concerns," Globe and Mail, 22 June 1993, A9.</ref> He owns a winery in Saint-Armand, Quebec.<ref>Barb Bellingham, "It's a proper stomp; First grape harvest," Sherbrooke Record, 26 September 2007, p. 8.</ref>

First political offices (1995–2002)

Paradis was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a 1995 by-election, called after Gaston Péloquin, the sitting Bloc Québécois member for Brome—Missisquoi, was killed in an automobile accident.<ref>Paradis is from Brome—Missisquoi; he defeated Daniel Mignault and Heather Keith-Ryan for the Liberal Party nomination. See "Byelections Quebec is key issue in vote: Byelections to target sovereignty Conway Daly," Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 1994. Mignault was a former industrial commissioner for Sherbrooke and Bromont and a director of industrial development of Gaz Metropolitain. See "Gaz Metropolitain Appointment," Globe and Mail, 18 October 1984, B11; Hubert Bauch, "Townships fever," Montreal Gazette, 10 April 1988, M26; Aaron Derfel, "Robillard promises hard fight," Montreal Gazette, 29 December 1994, A1.</ref> Paradis championed the Canadian federalist cause in the campaign and said that his election would confirm Brome-Missisquoi's place within a united Canada.<ref>Tu Thanh Ha, "Paradis wins nod in Quebec riding," Globe and Mail, 9 January 1995, A4. It was noted that several members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada joined the Brome—Missisquoi Liberal riding association in this by-election, due to the weakened status of their own party. See Fred Langan, "A two-way fight in the riding would in many ways mirror the referendum," Financial Post, 14 January 1995, p. 17.</ref> The election was initially considered too close to call, but Paradis won by a significant margin. His victory was seen as helping the federalist cause in the buildup to the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.<ref>Derek Ferguson, "Chrétien's low profile irks Manning," Toronto Star, 10 February 1995, A11.</ref>

Paradis entered parliament as a backbench supporter of Jean Chrétien's government. In late 1995, he helped launch a Summer Work/Student Exchange project that encouraged students to develop their second-language skills.<ref>"Minister Don Boudria Launches the 3rd Edition of the Summer Work/Summer Exchange Project" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 19 June 1998, 11:28.</ref> He was elected chair of the Liberal Party's Quebec caucus in February 1997.

Paradis was returned to a second parliamentary mandate in the 1997 federal election, and in late 1997 he co-chaired a special committee that recommended Quebec's schools be divided on linguistic rather than denominational lines.<ref>Graham Fraser, "Committee endorses linguistic school boards in Quebec," Globe and Mail, 8 November 1997, B12.</ref> He was named as parliamentary secretary to the minister for International Cooperation in January 1999, and in September of the same year he was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the minister of Foreign Affairs.<ref>Member of Parliament Profile: Denis Paradis, Parliament of Canada, accessed 30 November 2010.</ref> He was again returned to parliament in the 2000 federal election.

Minister (2002–2004)

Chrétien government

Paradis was appointed as Secretary of State for La Francophonie and Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa in Chrétien's government on 15 January 2002. These were ministerial positions but not full cabinet portfolios.<ref>Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation: Secretaries of State Template:Webarchive, Parliament of Canada, accessed 13 January 2011.</ref>

Africa

Shortly after his appointment, Paradis met with Nigerian Information Minister Jerry Gana in an effort to prevent the execution of Safiya Hussaini.<ref>Isabelle Ducas, "Nigerian minister says Safiya Husaini will not be stoned to death," Canadian Press, 22 February 2002, 20:13.</ref> He later supported the Commonwealth's decision to suspend Zimbabwe for one year in the aftermath of that country's disputed 2002 presidential election.<ref>David Ljunggren, "Canada applauds as Commonwealth suspends Zimbabwe," Reuters News, 19 March 2002, 17:56. Some opposition parliamentarians, including Keith Martin, called for stronger sanctions. Chrétien later defended the Commonwealth's decision in his autobiography, writing that a harsher response would have been counter-productive.</ref>

Paradis accompanied Chrétien on a 2002 delegation to Africa that included stops in Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia and South Africa.<ref>Daniel Leblanc, "MPs chosen for diversity," Globe and Mail, 11 April 2002, A7; Gwynne Dyer, "The Enigma of Thabo Mbeki," Guelph Mercury, 11 April 2002, A9.</ref> He supported the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and in October 2002 he pledged more than two million dollars to promote security and good governance in francophone Africa.<ref>Denis Paradis, "Canada meeting the Africa challenge: the new partnership," Canadian Speeches, 1 July 2002, p. 17; "Chrétien says he's ready to talk human rights at Beirut francophone meeting," Canadian Press, 18 October 2002, 02:10.</ref>

In March 2003, Paradis announced that Canada would provide one hundred million dollars to Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, and Tanzania under the Canada Fund for Africa. The stated intent of this funding was to recognize improved commitments to human rights and democracy.<ref>Elizabeth Thompson, "Aid earmarked for six African countries," Calgary Herald, 3 March 2003, A4.</ref> Later in the same year, Paradis represented Canada at Olusegun Obasanjo's inauguration for a second term as President of Nigeria.<ref>Glenn McKenzie, "Obasanjo starts new term with pledge to act against poverty and corruption," Canadian Press, 29 May 2003, 17:17.</ref>

Paradis nominated former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to be named to the Order of Canada in 2002. Boutros-Ghali received the honour in 2004.<ref>Drew Fagan, "Honour for Boutros-Ghali sparks debate," Globe and Mail, 6 May 2004, A6.</ref>

Latin America

Paradis led a Canadian trade delegation to Cuba in November 2002. This visit marked an improvement in relations between the countries, which had been strained for three years due to Canadian concerns about Cuba's human rights practices.<ref>Jeff Sallot, "Canada's trade mission to Cuba signals thaw," Globe and Mail, 2 November 2002, A6; "Canada re-establishes normal ties with Cuba," Toronto Star, 2 November 2002, A06.</ref>

In January 2003, Paradis hosted a diplomatic event called the Ottawa Initiative on Haiti. At this meeting, representatives from Canada, France, the United States of America, and the Organization of American States discussed Haiti's political future. No representatives of the Haitian government were present. A few months later, journalist Michel Vastel leaked information about the meeting that he said was given to him by Paradis. Writing in L'Actualité, Vastel claimed that the delegates decided that Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide should be replaced by a United Nations trusteeship within a year. Paradis has denied Vastel's claim.<ref>Template:Cite book , page 43. Neither Vastel or L'Actualité retracted the story. Journalist Anthony Fenton later accused Paradis and other Canadian officials of being implicated in the 2004 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew Aristide. See Anthony Fenton, "Canadian crimes in Haiti: beyond complicity," Canadian Dimension, 1 September 2004, p. 6.</ref>

The Francophonie

In December 2002, Paradis called for the creation of a watchdog organization to target human rights violations in Francophonie nations.<ref>David Ljunggren, "Canada wants Francophonie human rights watchdog," Reuters News, 10 December 2002, 13:23.</ref>

Martin government

Paradis was not, during Jean Chrétien's tenure as Prime Minister, among the group of Liberal parliamentarians (MPs) who supported Paul Martin's leadership ambitions. He nevertheless supported Martin at the 2003 Liberal Party leadership convention, which was held to elect Chrétien's successor.<ref>"Secretary of State Denis Paradis gives his support to Paul Martin in the Liberal Party leadership race," Canada NewsWire, 4 May 2003.</ref> Martin won a landslide victory and became prime minister on 12 December 2003. When he formed his first ministry, he appointed Paradis as minister of state for Financial Institutions.<ref>"List of the new Canadian cabinet," Reuters News, 12 December 2003, 10:37.</ref>

Paradis led several roundtable discussions with business, academic, and social groups in months that followed, during the buildup to the Martin government's 2004 budget.<ref>See for instance "Federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale takes his pre-budget roundtable discussions to P-E-I and New Brunswick today," Broadcast News, 23 January 2004, 04:38; "Canada NewsWire Daybook for Thursday, January 29, 2004," Canada Newswire, 29 January 2004, 07:01; "CP News Agenda for Friday, Feb. 13," Canadian Press, 13 February 2004, 03:10.</ref> Shortly before budget day, he said that the government would return to a practice of setting aside four billion dollars per year to cover emergency spending or the possibility of an economic downturn.<ref>Heather Scoffield, "‘Prudence' in budget will curb spending," Globe and Mail, 8 March 2004, B1.</ref>

Return to the backbenches and time out of office (2004–2015)

Paradis was narrowly re-elected in the 2004 federal election over Bloc challenger Christian Ouellet. He was not re-appointed to the ministry and returned to the government backbenches.<ref>Susan Delacourt and Les Whittington, "New-look cabinet," Toronto Star, 20 July 2004, A01.</ref> He lost his seat to Ouellet in the 2006 election, amid losses for the Liberal Party across Quebec.Template:Fact

Paradis supported Stéphane Dion in the Liberal Party's 2006 leadership election.<ref>Philip Authier, "Former Quebec minister snubs Dion," National Post, 28 September 2006, A6. The article title refers to Liza Frulla, not Paradis.</ref> Dion won an upset victory in this contest, defeating Michael Ignatieff on the fourth ballot. Paradis attempted to reclaim his seat in the 2008 federal election but was narrowly defeated by Ouellet in a rematch from 2006.Template:Fact

Paradis ran for re-election in the 2011 federal election but lost to Pierre Jacob of the New Democratic Party amid a strong provincial swing to the NDP.<ref>"Brome-Missisquoi – Le Parti libéral va élire son exécutif" Template:Webarchive, farnham.enregion.ca, 12 November 2010, accessed 8 December 2010.</ref>

Return to Parliament (2015–2019)

Paradis again ran as the Liberal Party's candidate in Brome—Missisquoi during the 2015 federal election, and this time was victorious, beating New Democrat Catherine Lusson. He ran for the office of Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, losing to fellow Liberal MP Geoff Regan. Subsequently, he was elected to chair the Standing Committee on Official Languages. He did not run for re-election in the 2019 Canadian federal election.

Electoral record

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References

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