Christian Paradis

Christian Paradis PC (born January 1, 1974) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mégantic—L'Érable from 2006 to 2015. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, he was first elected in the 2006 federal election and served as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources until January 4, 2007, when he was appointed Secretary of State for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Rural Secretariat. On June 25, 2008, Paradis was appointed Minister of Public Works and Government Services, retaining his position as Secretary of State for Agriculture until October that same year. On October 30, 2008, in a cabinet shuffle following the election, he retained the Public Works portfolio. In addition, he succeeded Lawrence Cannon as Quebec Lieutenant.[1] On January 19, 2010, in a cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Harper appointed him Minister of Natural Resources. On May 18, 2011, in a cabinet shuffle he was appointed to be the Minister of Industry. On July 15, 2013, in a cabinet shuffle, he was appointed as Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie.

The Honourable
Christian Paradis
PC
Member of Parliament
for Mégantic—L'Érable
In office
January 23, 2006 – August 4, 2015
Preceded byMarc Boulianne
Succeeded byLuc Berthold
Minister for International Development
Minister for La Francophonie
In office
July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byJulian Fantino (Int. Development)
Steven Blaney (La Francophonie)
Succeeded byMarie-Claude Bibeau
Minister of Industry
In office
May 18, 2011 – July 15, 2013
Prime MinisterStephen Harper
Preceded byTony Clement
Succeeded byJames Moore
Personal details
Born (1974-01-01) January 1, 1974
Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Julie Roberge
Residence(s)Thetford Mines, Quebec
ProfessionLawyer
PortfolioMinister of Industry
Quebec Lieutenant

A lawyer by profession, Paradis had a legal practice in Thetford Mines where he also served as president of the chamber of commerce. He is a graduate of the Université de Sherbrooke and has a master's degree in corporate law from Université Laval. Paradis has been a staunch defender of Canada's asbestos mines, but recently gave in to global pressure to list asbestos as a hazardous chemical.[2] On April 3, 2015, Paradis announced that he would not seek re-election.[3][4]

Achievements and positions

Paradis served as representative of the riding of Megantic-L'Érable from 2006 to 2015. He received nearly 50% of the vote in each federal election.[5]

In March 2011, as Minister of Natural Resources, Minister Paradis in the company of Minister Normandeau announced that the governments of Canada and Quebec reached a historic agreement in principle for the co-management of the Old Harry hydrocarbon reservoir, located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.[6][7]

Telecommunications - As Minister of Industry and therefore responsible for telecommunications, Minister Paradis stood up to the telecommunications industry, stressing the need for four national carriers to maintain competition in all regions of the country. He announced in March 2012, the lifting of restrictions on foreign ownership for smaller players in the wireless industry and in March 2013, he announced a new broadband wireless spectrum auction to enable access to new entrants and incumbents.[8][9][10][11]

Information request tampering

Paradis' aide Sebastien Togneri resigned on September 30, 2010 for meddling in access-to-information requests while working under Paradis at the Public Works ministry.[12][13] When Paradis was asked whether Togneri was the only person involved in these incidents, he did not directly answer the question.[14] In November 2010 two further aides that had accompanied Paradis from Public Works to Natural Resources were found to also have been involved in the interference with information requests at Public Works.[14][15] The opposition called for Paradis to resign.[13]

Electoral record
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeChristian Paradis21,93149.14+2.44
New DemocraticCheryl Voisine11,71626.25+16.79
Bloc QuébécoisPierre Turcotte7,48116.76-10.96
LiberalRené Roy2,6015.83-8.13
GreenWyatt Tessari6551.47-0.69
Canadian ActionAlain Bergeron2500.56–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,634100.00
Total rejected ballots 7331.62
Turnout 45,36764.61
2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeChristian Paradis20,69746.70-3.15$60,593
Bloc QuébécoisPierre Turcotte12,28327.72-4.90$49,764
LiberalNicole Champagne6,18513.96+3.56$7,283
New DemocraticBruno Vézina4,1919.46+5.57$1,755
GreenJean-R. Guernon9592.16-1.09
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,315100.00$81,095
Total rejected ballots 6881.53
Turnout 45,00364.42
2006 Canadian federal election: Mégantic—L'Érable
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeChristian Paradis23,55049.85+38.43$51,309
Bloc QuébécoisMarc Boulianne (incumbent)15,41032.62-12.12$48,632
LiberalYvan Corriveau4,91210.40-26.25$19,371
New DemocraticIsabelle Tremblay1,8363.89+0.16$0.00
GreenJean François Hamel1,5343.25-0.21none listed
Total valid votes/expense limit 47,242100.00 $75,377
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 5431.14  
Turnout 47,78568.64+5.63 
Electors on the lists 69,617   
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

References
  1. Leblanc, Daniel (October 30, 2008). "This page is available to GlobePlus subscribers". Toronto: Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  2. CTVNews.ca Staff (14 September 2012). "CTV News.ca - Canada will no longer oppose global fight against asbestos: Paradis". CTV News.ca. CTV News.ca. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  3. "Ministers Glover and Paradis will not seek re-election". 3 April 2015.
  4. "Christian Paradis, Shelly Glover, federal ministers, won't seek re-election | CBC News".
  5. Marquis, Melanie (September 20, 2015). "Will Quebec's Mégantic-L'Érable riding stay blue without Christian Paradis?". The Globe and Mail.
  6. « Old Harry: le PC va utiliser l'entente pour aider sa popularité lors d'élections » [archive] (consulté le 1 avril 2015)
  7. « Gisement Old Harry : « Une entente historique » | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca » [archive] (consulté le 1 avril 2015)
  8. "Canadian Minister Paradis Announces New Broadband Wireless Spectrum Auction". telecomreviewna.com. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  9. Geist, Michael. "Paradis Announces New Spectrum Auction Measures." N.p., 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
  10. « Ottawa vise plus de concurrence dans la téléphonie sans fil | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca » [archive] (consulté le 2015-04-01)
  11. "Un Spectre De Fréquence Pour La Téléphonie Aux Enchères." Radio-canada.ca, Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
  12. "Aide quits, but minister refuses to resign". www.nationalpost.com. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  13. "Info-meddling probe may widen". cbc.ca. October 1, 2010. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  14. "Two more Tory staffers tried to block access to information: docs - Winnipeg Free Press". winnipegfreepress.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  15. Smith, Joanna (October 4, 2010). "More Christian Paradis aides vetted information requests". www.thestar.com. Toronto. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
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