Denis ParadisPC (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.
After working as a partner in the firm Paradis-Poulin, he became the president of the Quebec Bar Association in 1993.[6] In June 1993, he criticized the overcrowded state of some provincial courthouses.[7] He owns a winery in Saint-Armand, Quebec.[8]
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.[12] He was elected chair of the Liberal Party's Quebec caucus in February 1997.
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.[20] Later in the same year, Paradis represented Canada at Olusegun Obasanjo's inauguration for a second term as President of Nigeria.[21]
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.[23]
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.[28] 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.[29]
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.[30] He lost his seat to Ouellet in the 2006 election, amid losses for the Liberal Party across Quebec.[citation needed]
Percentage change figures are factored for redistribution. Conservative Party percentages are contrasted with the combined Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative percentages from 2000.
↑Coderre was styled as Minister responsible for the Francophonie.
↑Technically, this position was vacant during the 2000 Canadian federal election. For reasons of convenience, Paradis's time in office is here listed as one continuous term.
↑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.
↑Anne McIlroy, "A kind of early referendum," Hamilton Spectator, 11 February 1995, A12.
↑"Courthouses raise concerns," Globe and Mail, 22 June 1993, A9.
↑Barb Bellingham, "It's a proper stomp; First grape harvest," Sherbrooke Record, 26 September 2007, p. 8.
↑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.
↑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.
↑Derek Ferguson, "Chrétien's low profile irks Manning," Toronto Star, 10 February 1995, A11.
↑"Minister Don Boudria Launches the 3rd Edition of the Summer Work/Summer Exchange Project" [press release], Canada NewsWire, 19 June 1998, 11:28.
↑Graham Fraser, "Committee endorses linguistic school boards in Quebec," Globe and Mail, 8 November 1997, B12.
↑Isabelle Ducas, "Nigerian minister says Safiya Husaini will not be stoned to death," Canadian Press, 22 February 2002, 20:13.
↑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.
↑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.
↑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.
↑Elizabeth Thompson, "Aid earmarked for six African countries," Calgary Herald, 3 March 2003, A4.
↑Glenn McKenzie, "Obasanjo starts new term with pledge to act against poverty and corruption," Canadian Press, 29 May 2003, 17:17.
↑Drew Fagan, "Honour for Boutros-Ghali sparks debate," Globe and Mail, 6 May 2004, A6.
↑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.
↑Engler, Yves; Fenton, Anthony (August 2005). Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority. Co-published: RED Publishing, Fernwood Publishing. ISBN1-55266-168-7.
, 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.
↑David Ljunggren, "Canada wants Francophonie human rights watchdog," Reuters News, 10 December 2002, 13:23.
↑"Secretary of State Denis Paradis gives his support to Paul Martin in the Liberal Party leadership race," Canada NewsWire, 4 May 2003.
↑"List of the new Canadian cabinet," Reuters News, 12 December 2003, 10:37.
↑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.
↑Heather Scoffield, "‘Prudence' in budget will curb spending," Globe and Mail, 8 March 2004, B1.
↑Susan Delacourt and Les Whittington, "New-look cabinet," Toronto Star, 20 July 2004, A01.
↑Philip Authier, "Former Quebec minister snubs Dion," National Post, 28 September 2006, A6. The article title refers to Liza Frulla, not Paradis.