Pierre Poilievre

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Pierre Poilievre : biography

June 3, 1979 –

On February 13, 2009, Poilievre stood in the House of Commons to make a statement concerning incidents of alleged anti-Semitism at York University. Poilievre stated his belief that Canadians must address anti-Semitism on college and university campuses.

"Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government condemns the latest anti-Semitic outburst at York University. This week, chants of ‘Zionism is racism’ were heard, and one person was called a ‘dirty Jew’.

Sadly, incidents like these have become far too prevalent on college and university campuses across Canada. I am reminded of the violent left-wing mob that shouted anti-Semitic curses at a former Israeli prime minister and prevented him from speaking at Concordia University in 2002.

I fear there is a rise among the extreme left of a new anti-Semitism. We see it in the instances that I mentioned. It lies below the surface of the public discourse waiting, waiting for us to let our guard down, waiting for the outrage to subside, waiting for the right time to flourish. We must confront it, fight it, and defeat it."

Poilievre was sent by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Geneva, Switzerland in April 2009 to attend the Conference Against Racism, Discrimination, and Persecution. This conference was held at the same time as the Durban Review Conference, which had been criticized by the Prime Minister as full of "anti-Semitic rhetoric". During the same trip, Poilievre traveled to Poland to participate in the International March of the Living Mission, a tour of Nazi concentration camps to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Union Dues and Union Transparency

Poilievre has been a vocal critic of the political activities of the Public Sector Alliance of Canada and has advocated of behalf of union members for their ability to opt-out of union dues. This came after the regional sectors of that union endorsed the separatist Parti Québécois in the 2011 Quebec provincial election. Poilievre remarked,

“I accept the results of the election,” said Poilievre. “But I can’t accept a union representing public servants working for the government of Canada which forcefully takes money out of the pockets of Canada’s public servants to support parties that want to break up the country. How can it be in the interests of public servants to support the breakup of Canada?”

Poilievre has also supported Conservative MP Russ Hiebert’s private members bill C-377, An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (labour organizations). The legislation advocates for an increased schedule and scope of disclosure for every Canadian labour union.

Foul language in the Commons

In June 2006, Poilievre used foul language in a committee meeting, and made unparliamentary gestures. Poilievre later apologized for making gestures within the Commons;.

Accusations of terrorism against Liberals

In February 2007, Poilievre suggested that there were members of Liberal caucus who wanted to legalize Hezbollah.

"Tar Baby"

In May 2009 Poilievre was accused of having insensitively used the term "tar baby" in the House of Commons in reference to a policy of carbon taxation from which Poilievre suggested that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff would try to distance himself. Poilievre repeated the term in a prepared reply to a question from a member of his own party on taxation. A number of Opposition MPs demanded Poilievre make amends for the use of the term. Media coverage of the dispute noted that Poilievre was "the latest in a long line of politicians to take flak for uttering the words.” Poilieve argued that the term was commonly used for "issues that stick to one." Over the previous years, the term itself had been used by a number of prominent Canadian public figures to indicate a sticky situation.

Deliberate security breach

In October 2010, Poilievre allegedly got impatient waiting at a Parliament Hill checkpoint and pressed a button to open the security gate and drove his car through without being identified and without having his vehicle inspected. He later apologized.

Background

Poilievre was born in Calgary, Alberta. He studied international relations at the University of Calgary,; www.pm.gc.ca. following a period of study in commerce at the same institution, but does not hold a degree.; University of Calgary. While there he made close friends and alliances with his lifelong political mentors Tom Flanagan, Ted Morton and Barry Cooper of the "Calgary School", and met Stephen Harper also.

When Poilievre was running for election in 2004, he stated that he was co-owner of a political research company called 3D Contact Inc.. According to the company profile, these ‘contacts’ were Stephen Harper, Ted Morton and Stockwell Day. His partner was Jonathan Denis, who later became Minister of Housing in the Alberta government.

Poilievre also has done policy work for Canadian Alliance MPs Stockwell Day and Jason Kenney, and prior to running for office himself; worked as a full-time assistant to Day. He also worked for Magna International, focusing on communications, and has done public relations work.

In 1999, writing as Pierre Marcel Poilievre, he contributed an essay, "Building Canada Through Freedom" to the book @Stake—"As Prime Minister, I Would…", a collection of essays from Magna International’s "As Prime Minister" awards program. He did not win the competition. At the time, he was editorially described as being in the second year of a Commerce program at the University of Calgary. His self-description was as "a political junkie with a passion for public debating and a special interest in international relations".@Stake—"As Prime Minister, I Would…". Magna International Inc., 1999, p. 57.