Mauril Bélanger

The Honourable
Mauril Bélanger
PC
Minister for Internal Trade
In office
May 17, 2005 – February 6, 2006
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Associate Minister of National Defence
In office
July 20, 2004 – February 6, 2006
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Albina Guarnieri
Succeeded by Vacant
Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
In office
December 12, 2003 – February 6, 2006
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Paul DeVillers
Succeeded by Scott Reid
Chief Government Whip
In office
2003–2004
Prime Minister Paul Martin
Preceded by Marlene Catterall
Succeeded by Karen Redman
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Ottawa—Vanier
In office
February 13, 1995 – August 15, 2016
Preceded by Jean-Robert Gauthier
Succeeded by Vacant
Personal details
Born (1955-06-15)June 15, 1955
Mattawa, Ontario, Canada
Died August 16, 2016(2016-08-16) (aged 61)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Catherine Bélanger[1]
Occupation Administrator, political adviser
Religion Roman Catholic[2]

Mauril Adrien Jules Bélanger[3] PC (June 15, 1955 – August 16, 2016) was a Canadian politician.

A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he represented Ottawa—Vanier in the House of Commons through a by-election victory in 1995 until his death in 2016. Bélanger also served in cabinet during the premiership of Paul Martin as Minister responsible for Official Languages, Associate Minister of National Defence, Minister responsible for Democratic Reform, and Minister for Internal Trade.

He was considered a frontrunner for the position of Speaker of the House of Commons after his 8th electoral victory during the 2015 federal election, but withdrew after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which caused his death in 2016.

Early life

Bélanger was born the second of five children in Mattawa, Ontario,[4] a small logging town in northeastern Ontario where the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers meet. He graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1977, where he had served as President of the Student Federation.[5] In the early 1980s, he worked for Jean-Luc Pépin, then Minister of Transport. In the mid to late 1980s, he worked as a registered investment advisor. He was then the Chief of Staff to Peter Clark (Chair of the Regional Council of Ottawa-Carleton).[6]

Politics

Bélanger was first elected to Parliament on February 13, 1995, in a by-election in the riding of Ottawa—Vanier, which has a large Francophone population.[7] His predecessor, Jean-Robert Gauthier, was appointed to the Senate. Ottawa–Vanier is considered a solid Liberal riding, having returned a Liberal MP since its creation in 1935, usually in a landslide. Bélanger himself won by large margins in the 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2008 elections. He won re-election for a seventh term by a reduced margin with 38.2% of the vote in the May 2011 election. In the October 2015 election, Bélanger had his largest margin since the 1997 election.[8]

Chrétien and Martin years

As member of Parliament, Bélanger served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, member of the Standing Committee on the Library of Parliament and member of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Urban Issues. From July 1998 to August 2000, he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. In December 2003, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Chief Government Whip.[7]

In the government of Paul Martin, Bélanger served as Minister responsible for Official Languages, Associate Minister of National Defence, Minister responsible for Democratic Reform, and Minister for Internal Trade.[7]

Opposition

Bélanger was re-elected in the 2006 federal election, and served as the Official Opposition critic for Canadian Heritage from February 2006 to January 2007, when he began a nine-month stint as critic for Infrastructure and Communities under new Liberal leader Stéphane Dion.[7] From October 2007 to March 2008, Bélanger served as the Official Opposition critic for Official Languages, Canadian Heritage, and the Francophonie.[7] After Bélanger won his seat once more in the 2008 federal election, he was appointed as Official Opposition critic for Official Languages in March 2010 by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.[7] After Bélanger's re-election in the 2011 federal election, he continued as his party's critic on this file under interim leader Bob Rae until May 2012.[7] After Justin Trudeau's election as Liberal leader, Bélanger was appointed the party's critic for Cooperatives in August 2013.[7]

Return to government

Following his re-election in the 2015 federal election, Bélanger submitted his name for the position of Speaker of the House of Commons and was considered a front-runner for the post.[9] However, on November 30, Bélanger announced that he was withdrawing as a candidate for speaker after he received a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[9] Despite his diagnosis, Bélanger continued as MP for Ottawa—Vanier.[10]

In December 2015, fellow Ottawa-area Liberal MP Andrew Leslie presented a motion in the house to name Bélanger honorary Speaker of the House of Commons and the right to sit in the chair for a future day.[9] In January 2016, Bélanger became the first MP to use a voice generator in the House of Commons when he used an app on his tablet to introduce a private member's bill to amend to lyrics of "O Canada" to make them gender neutral, which he had failed to do through a similar bill in the last parliament by a 144–127 vote.[11] On March 9, 2016, Bélanger sat in the Speaker's chair for one day, and presided over the proceedings with the aid of an iPad app that produced a computerized voice.[12] This honour made Bélanger the first honourary speaker of the house for a day.[13]

On May 6, 2016, consideration of Bélanger's bill to make the national anthem gender neutral was blocked when Conservative MPs used up the hour of debate time and refused consent to two motions backed by both the Liberals and the NDP to extend debate and allow time to hold a vote to send the bill to committee.[13][14] As Bélanger's health was deteriorating, Liberal MP Greg Fergus described the Conservative's procedural delay tactics as an attempt to prevent Bélanger from seeing the bill passed, while Conservative MPs insisted that they were debating an important issue and had followed parliamentary procedure.[13][14] Fellow Liberal MP Linda Lapointe gave up her timeslot for private member's business on May 30 to allow Bélanger's bill to be heard and go to a vote for it to be sent to committee the following day.[15]

Positions

Bélanger earned recognition for his promotion of francophone rights. In 2012, Bélanger asked the House of Commons to create a committee to examine the role of co-ops in the Canadian economy. This motion was unanimously passed by the House of Commons.[16] He presided over the Canadian House of Commons for one day as an honorary Speaker on March 9, 2016, a job he aspired before his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[17] Later that year, Bélanger became the National Honorary Spokesperson for the ALS Societies' Across Canada WALK for ALS.[18]

Honours

He was given the title of Commandeur de Ordre de la Pléiade, a francophone order which focuses on contributions made to international friendship and cooperation, in 2005. In 2007, László Sólyom, President of Hungary, made him an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. In April 2009, the Royal Canadian Legion recognized Bélanger for his contribution to the promotion of goodwill.[6] In June 2016, Bélanger received the CHF Canada Award for Outstanding Contribution to Co-operative Housing for effecting positive, large scale change to the co-op housing sector.[19]

Death

Bélanger died aged 61 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on August 16, 2016.[20][21] He was survived by his wife, Catherine.[22]

Electoral record

Source, unless otherwise stated:[8]

Canadian federal election, 2015: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalMauril Bélanger 36,474 57.57 +19.47 –
New DemocraticEmilie Taman 12,194 19.25 -9.43 –
ConservativeDavid Piccini 12,109 19.11 -8.84 –
GreenNira Dookeran 1,947 3.07 -1.99 –
LibertarianCoreen Corcoran 503 0.79 – –
Marxist–LeninistChristian Legeais 128 0.2 -0.03 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 63,355100.0 $218,727.98
Total rejected ballots 418––
Turnout 63,773––
Canadian federal election, 2011: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalMauril Bélanger 20,009 38.17 -8.03
New DemocraticTrevor Haché 15,391 29.36 +12.30
ConservativeRem Westland 14,184 27.06 -0.22
GreenCaroline Rioux 2,716 5.18 -3.40
Marxist–LeninistChristian Legeais 122 0.23 -0.02
Total valid votes/Expense limit 52,422100.00
Total rejected ballots 3160.60 +0.07
Turnout 52,73868.24+4.20
Canadian federal election, 2008: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalMauril Bélanger 23,948 46.20 +3.89 $79,668
ConservativePatrick Glémaud 14,138 27.28 -1.39 $53,405
New DemocraticTrevor Haché 8,845 17.06 -4.75 $30,040
GreenAkbar Manoussi 4,447 8.58 +1.98 $3,842
IndependentRobert Larter 227 0.44 –
Marxist–LeninistChristian Legeais 130 0.25 +0.04
Canadian ActionMichel St-Onge 100 0.19 – $149
Total valid votes/Expense limit 51,835100.00$85,605
Total rejected ballots 2770.53
Turnout 52,11264.04
     Liberal hold Swing +2.64
Canadian federal election, 2006: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMauril Bélanger 23,567 42.31 -6.86
ConservativePaul Benoit 15,970 28.67 +4.48
New DemocraticRic Dagenais 12,145 21.81 +3.27
GreenRaphaël Thierrin 3,675 6.60 -0.27
Progressive CanadianJames C. Parsons 221 0.40
Marxist–LeninistAlexandre Legeais 117 0.21 -0.28
Total valid votes 55,695100.00
     Liberal hold Swing -5.67
Canadian federal election, 2004: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMauril Bélanger 25,952 49.17 -6.40
ConservativeKevin Friday 12,769 24.19 -6.95
New DemocraticRic Dagenais 9,787 18.54 +9.83
GreenRaphaël Thierrin 3,628 6.87 +4.62
MarijuanaCarol Taylor 558 1.06 -0.45
Marxist–LeninistFrançoise Roy 85 0.49 +0.34
Total valid votes 52,779100.00
Canadian federal election, 2000: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMauril Bélanger 26,749 55.57 -6.30
AllianceNestor Gayowsky 7,590 15.77 +5.97
Progressive ConservativeStephen Woollcombe 7,400 15.37 +1.77
New DemocraticJoseph Zebrowski 4,194 8.71 -3.28
GreenAdam Sommerfeld 1,083 2.25 +0.94
MarijuanaRaymond Turmel 728 1.51
Natural LawPierrette Blondin 187 0.39 -0.27
Canadian ActionRaymond Samuéls 131 0.27
Marxist–LeninistKim Roberge 74 0.15 -0.13
Total valid votes 48,136100.00
Canadian federal election, 1997: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%
LiberalMauril Bélanger 30,728 61.87 +1.14
Progressive ConservativeLuc Edmund Barrick 6,754 13.60 +3.92
New DemocraticDavid Gagnon 5,952 11.99 +5.57
ReformRoy Grant 4,868 9.80 -10.76
GreenRichard Guy Briggs 651 1.31
Natural LawRoger Bouchard 330 0.66 +0.10
IndependentCésar Antonio Bello 241 0.49
Marxist–LeninistRobert Rival 138 0.28 -0.03
Total valid votes 49,662100.00
Canadian federal by-election, February 13, 1995: Ottawa—Vanier
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalMauril Bélanger 11,918 60.06 −10.41 $52,001
  Reform Kevin Gaudet 4,034 20.33 +12.44 $36,995
  Progressive Conservative Françoise Guenette 1,899 9.57 −0.96 $30,933
  New Democratic Party Bob Lawson 1,259 6.34 −0.16 $5,764
  Christian Heritage Gilles Gauthier 299 1.51 $1,751
GreenFrank de Jong 218 1.10 −0.24 $0
  Natural Law Ian A.G. Campbell 109 0.55 −0.35 $131
  Marxist-Leninist Serge Lafortune 61 0.31 +0.02 $136
  Abolitionist John Turmel 46 0.23 +0.17 $0
Total valid votes 19,843 100.00
Total rejected ballots 201
Turnout 20,004 30.39 −32.04
Electors on the lists 65,824
Ottawa municipal election, 1976: By-St. George's Ward[23]
Candidate Votes %
Georges Bedard (X) 3,785 84.51
Mauril Bélanger 694 15.49

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hilltimes.com/2016/08/22/former-liberal-mp-leblanc-communications-consultant-fortier-expected-to-vie-for-belangers-riding/77907
  2. ↑ "Catholic MPs stand ground on abortion despite threat". Ottawa Citizen. March 14, 2008. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
  3. ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ottawacitizen/obituary.aspx?n=mauril-blanger&pid=181145117
  4. ↑ "MP Mauril Bélanger dead at age 61 after ALS battle | Toronto Star". Toronto Star. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Mauril Bélanger, longtime Ottawa-Vanier MP, dies of ALS at 61". CBC News. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Hon. Mauril Bélanger". Liberal Party. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "PARLINFO – Parliamentarian File – Complete File – BÉLANGER, The Hon. Mauril, P.C., B.A.". Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  8. 1 2 History of Federal Ridings since 1867: OTTAWA—VANIER, Ontario (1974 – )
  9. 1 2 3 "Veteran MP Bélanger, diagnosed with ALS, to sit for a day as honorary Speaker". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mauril Bélanger will continue as Ottawa–Vanier MP after ALS diagnosis". Ottawa Citizen. November 30, 2015.
  11. ↑ "MP Mauril Bélanger uses voice generator to introduce bill". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  12. ↑ Wherry, Aaron (March 9, 2016). "Commons Sketch: Mauril Bélanger takes Speaker's chair in "rare moment of grace" for Parliament". www.cbc.ca. CBC News. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 Urback, Robyn (May 10, 2016). "Robyn Urback: How do you make Parliament even more excruciating to watch? Accuse the other guys of delaying a dying man's wish". National Post. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  14. 1 2 Bryden, Joan (May 6, 2016). "Tories Block Bid To See Mauril Belanger's Gender-Neutral Anthem Bill Passed". Huffington Post Canada. The Canadian Press. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  15. ↑ O'Malley, Kady (May 11, 2016). "Ailing MP's 'O Canada' bill gets second chance after colleague gives up spot". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Mauril Bélanger a Champion in the Co-op Movement". Axiom News. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  17. ↑ Mauril Bélanger takes Speaker's chair in 'rare moment of grace' for Parliament
  18. ↑ "Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger Takes the Lead as the National Honorary Spokesperson for the ALS Societies' Across Canada WALK for ALS | ALS Canada". www.als.ca. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  19. ↑ UNIFIED SAINT JOHN CO-OP, TOM CLEMENT AND MAURIL BÉLANGER HONOURED
  20. ↑ "MP Mauril Belanger passes away after battle with ALS". The Globe and Mail, August 16, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger dies at 61". CTV News. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Mauril Bélanger, longtime Ottawa-Vanier MP, dies of ALS at 61". CBC News. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Marion tops poll parade". The Ottawa Journal. December 7, 1976. p. 25.
27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
vacant Minister for Internal Trade
2005–2006		 vacant
Albina Guarnieri Associate Minister of National Defence
2004–2006		 vacant – post next held by Julian Fantino
' Minister of State
2003–2004
styled as
Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons		 '
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
Pierre Pettigrew Minister responsible for Official Languages
2004–2006		 Josée Verner
Jacques Saada Minister responsible for Democratic Reform
2004–2005		 Position retitled – see Belinda Stronach
Special Parliamentary Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
Paul DeVillers Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)
(2003–2006)		 Scott Reid
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