Jean-Pierre Blackburn

The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn PC
Jean-Pierre Blackburn arrives at Rideau Hall to be sworn in as a cabinet minister
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Jonquière—Alma
In office 2006–2011
Preceded by	Sébastien Gagnon
Succeeded by	Claude Patry
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Jonquière
In office 1984–1993
Preceded by	Gilles Marceau
Succeeded by	André Caron
Personal details
Born	July 6, 1948 Jonquière, Quebec
Political party	Conservative Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Ginette Laforest
Residence	Jonquière, Quebec
Profession	Administrator, manager, professor
Cabinet	Minister of Veterans Affairs Minister of State (Agriculture)

Jean-Pierre Blackburn, PC (born July 6, 1948 in Jonquière, Quebec) is a Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the Conservative member of the Canadian House of Commons from the riding of Jonquière—Alma from 2006 to 2011; earlier, he was the Progressive Conservative MP from Jonquière from 1984 to 1993.

In 1993, Blackburn was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence. On February 6, 2006, he was appointed Minister of Labour and Housing in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Cabinet. He was shuffled to the National Revenue portfolio on October 30, 2008, and became Minister of Veterans Affairs in 2010.. In the May 2011 federal election, Blackburn lost to the NDP candidate, Claude Patry.

A businessman, Blackburn holds a bachelor's degree in administration and a master's in regional studies and intervention from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. He has also been a manager, administrator and a professor. More recently, he has been the president of Blackburn Communications Inc.

He was named Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in December 2011.^[1]

Ottawa Airport tequila incident

On February 23, 2010, Blackburn provoked an argument with airport security officials when a bottle of tequila in his possession was confiscated prior to boarding an aircraft at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport, in accordance with Transport Canada security regulations.^[2][3] Blackburn wanted to keep the bottle in his possession in the cabin. When security officials refused, Blackburn presumed that the staff would simply drink his tequila and thereby demanded the tequila be emptied in his presence. The argument became heated and security officials called Ottawa Police to deal with Blackburn. According to a senior government official "The minister wasn't pleased by the fact he had to leave the bottle of alcohol behind. He was upset that they wouldn't destroy it in front of him," the official said, on condition of anonymity. "He was verbally abusive." The tequila incident was compared to another event at Charlottetown Airport 4 days earlier involving Conservative Minister Helena Guergis who verbally abused airport staff.^[4] Twenty-six days later Blackburn issued a statement apologizing for the incident.

References

1. Clark, Campbell (May 10, 2012). "Harper rewards defeated minister Lawrence Cannon with Paris post". Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
2. "And now, a statement from the 'Minister for Tequila' - Inside Politics". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
3. "TP 14628 E - Prohibited Items List - Aviation Security - Air Transportation - Transport Canada". www.tc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
4. "Second cabinet minister loses cool in airport - CTV News". www.ctv.ca. Retrieved 2010-03-20.

External links

• Jean-Pierre Blackburn – Parliament of Canada biography