Pierre Blais
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Pierre Blais Template:Post-nominals (born December 30, 1948) is a Canadian jurist and former politician and Cabinet minister.<ref name="Members">Template:Cite web</ref> He also served as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal until his retirement in June 2014.<ref name="About"/>
On May 1, 2015, Blais was appointed as chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, replacing Interim Chair Deborah Grey who was stepping down from the Committee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The SIRC was dissolved on July 19, 2019, with the creation of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency. Blais served as a member of the NSIRA until his term expired on May 1, 2020.
Education
Blais holds both a BA (1968) and an LLL (1976) from Laval University.<ref name="Members"/>
Political career
Blais entered the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Bellechasse, Quebec through the 1984 election.
In 1987, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed Blais to Cabinet as Minister of State for agriculture.<ref name="About">Template:Cite web</ref> Two years later, he was promoted to the position of Solicitor-General.<ref name="About"/> In 1990, he became Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and, in 1993, was appointed by Mulroney to the position of Minister of Justice.<ref name="About"/>
Blais retained this position, and added the position of President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada when Kim Campbell succeeded Mulroney as PC leader and prime minister.<ref name="About"/>
Blais's political career came to an end when he was defeated, along with the Campbell government, in the 1993 election.
Judicial career
A member of both the Quebec and Ontario bar, Blais was appointed a Justice of the Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, an ex officio member of the Court of Appeal and Judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada in June 1998.
Through 2004, Blais presided over hearings related to Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel's detention under a National Security Certificate. In February 2005, he ruled that the security certificate was valid and that the government could deport Zundel immediately.
On February 20, 2008, Blais was appointed to the Federal Court of Appeal. On September 9, 2009, he was appointed chief justice of the Federal Court of Appeal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Blais retired as Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal effective June 23, 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
External links
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- 1948 births
- Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry
- Members of the 25th Canadian Ministry
- Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
- Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs
- Lawyers in Quebec
- Judges in Quebec
- Living people
- Politicians from Chaudière-Appalaches
- Université Laval alumni
- Judges of the Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
- Solicitors general of Canada
- Judges of the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada
- 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada