| The HonourableJean-Jacques BlaisPC KC | |
|---|---|
| Minister of National Defence | |
| In office August 12, 1983 – September 16, 1984 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau John Turner |
| Preceded by | Gilles Lamontagne |
| Succeeded by | Robert Coates |
| Minister of Supply and Services | |
| In office March 3, 1980 – August 11, 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Roch LaSalle |
| Succeeded by | Charles Lapointe |
| Solicitor General of Canada | |
| In office February 2, 1978 – June 3, 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Ron Basford (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Allan Lawrence |
| Postmaster General of Canada | |
| In office September 14, 1976 – February 1, 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Bryce Mackasey |
| Succeeded by | Gilles Lamontagne |
| Member of Parliament for Nipissing | |
| In office October 30, 1972 – September 3, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Carl Legault |
| Succeeded by | Moe Mantha Sr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1940-06-27) June 27, 1940 (age 84) Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Alma mater | University of Ottawa |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Jean-Jacques Blais PC KC (/ˈbleɪ/ BLAY, French: [blɛ]; born June 27, 1940) is a former Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Nipissing in the House of Commons of Canada from 1972 to 1984. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Born in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Blais attended Ecole Sacré-Coeur and Sturgeon Falls High School before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1961 and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1964 from the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1966 and created a Queen's Counsel in 1979. In 2001, he obtained a master's degree in international law from the University of Ottawa.
First elected to the House of Commons of Canada for Nipissing in the 1972 federal election, Blais served in several cabinet posts in the government of Pierre Trudeau. He was parliamentary secretary to the President of the Privy Council from 1975 to 1976, Postmaster General from 1976 to 1978, and Solicitor General from 1978 to 1979.
Blais retained his seat when the Liberal Party was defeated by the Progressive Conservative government of Joe Clark, and returned to cabinet when the Liberals regained power in 1980. He served as Minister of Supply and Services from 1980 to 1983, and Minister of National Defence from 1983 until the 1984 election, when he lost his seat to Moe Mantha in the Progressive Conservative sweep of Brian Mulroney.
Blais subsequently returned to practicing law. In 1994, he was appointed chair of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, holding that position until he retired in 2002. He was the chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute until 2012.
In August 2012, with the help of lawyer Mark Power, he contested the nomination of Auditor General Michael Ferguson, named in November 2011, on the grounds that, as a unilingual Anglophone, his nomination was illegal and unconstitutional. The court action refers to article 16 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act.
Archives
There is a Jean-Jacques Blais fonds at Library and Archives Canada.
References
- "La nomination du VG contestée devant la justice". Retrieved 2012-08-29.
- "Jean-Jacques Blais fonds, Library and archives Canada". 25 November 2016. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- "Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry". University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
External links
| Parliament of Canada | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byCarl Legault, Liberal | Member of Parliament for Nipissing 1972–1984 |
Succeeded byMoe Mantha, PC |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byRoch La Salle | Minister of Supply and Services 1980–1983 |
Succeeded byCharles Lapointe |
| Preceded byRonald Basford (acting) | Solicitor General of Canada 1978–1979 |
Succeeded byAllan Lawrence |
| Ministers of defence | |
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| Ministers of militia and defence (1867–1923) | |
| Ministers of national defence (1923–) |
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| Associate ministers of national defence (1953–2013, 2015–) | |
| Ministers of the naval service (1910–22) | |
| World War I | |
| World War II |
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| Postmasters general | |
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| The office of Postmaster General was abolished when the Post Office Department became a Crown Corporation known as the Canada Post Corporation on October 16, 1981. |
| Solicitors general of Canada | |
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| The office of Solicitor General was abolished and the office of Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness was in force April 4, 2005. |
- 1940 births
- Franco-Ontarian people
- Liberal Party of Canada MPs
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
- Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
- Lawyers in Ontario
- Canadian King's Counsel
- Postmasters general of Canada
- University of Ottawa alumni
- Living people
- People from West Nipissing
- Solicitors general of Canada
- Members of the 20th Canadian Ministry
- Members of the 22nd Canadian Ministry
- Members of the 23rd Canadian Ministry
- Ministers of national defence of Canada
- 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada