Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu

The Honourable Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu
Senator from Quebec
Incumbent
Assumed office January 29, 2010
Nominated by	Stephen Harper
Appointed by	Michaëlle Jean
Preceded by	Marcel Prud'homme
Personal details
Born	February 12, 1949 Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, Quebec
Political party	Non-affiliated (2015-present) Conservative (2010-2015)
Profession	Politician

Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu (born February 12, 1949) is a Canadian politician and victim's rights activist, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada on January 29, 2010 on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, representing the province of Quebec under the banner of the Conservative Party of Canada.^[1]

Boisvenu is the founding president of the Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association, which he founded after the 2002 rape and murder of his daughter Julie.^[2]

He is also co-founder of the Le Nid centre, a shelter for abused women in Val-d'Or, and of a camp for underprivileged youth in Estrie.^[3]

Professionally, Boisvenu is a former provincial civil servant in Quebec, and was regional director for the Department of Recreation, Game and Fisheries and for the Department of the Environment before becoming Deputy Minister for the Department of Regions.^[3]

Boisvenu has a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology from the Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in administration from L'École nationale d'administration publique in Quebec City.^[3]

In February 2012, Boisvenu, a key Conservative spokesman on crime issues, stated that convicted murderers should be given the choice of suicide rather than spending life in jail. He retracted the statement after it sparked controversy and later issued an apology "if his comment offended people whose close ones committed suicide".^[4]

In June 2013, it was reported that a Senate ethics complaint was filed against Boisvenu. The complaints relate to Boisvenu using his position of senator to influence the clerk of the Senate and another Senator to arrange a job and time off for his assistant, with whom he had a romantic relationship. Furthermore, objections were raised because of Boisvenu's six-month delay in complying with a previous ethics order.^[5]

In June 2014, Senate ethics officer Lyse Ricard found that Boisvenu had acted inappropriately by renewing his assistant's contract while the two were involved in a relationship, and that he also violated the code by promising her a two-week period of sick leave between jobs. He then contacted Senate clerk Gary O'Brien and Senate leader David Tkachuk in a bid to have the time off counted as sick leave and not vacation time. However, Ricard concluded that Boisvenu was responsible for "an error of judgment made in good faith" and did not recommend he be sanctioned. In 2012, there were media reports that, after his divorce, Boisvenu continued to charge the Senate for $20,000 in out-of-town living expenses, even though he had left his home in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and was living in Gatineau, Quebec.^[6]

Boisvenu resigned from the Conservative caucus in June 2015 after learning that he is the subject of an RCMP investigation into his expense claims.^[7]

References

1. "Ontario's Runciman among 5 new senators". Toronto Star, January 29, 2010.
2. "Victims activist Boisvenu named to Senate", CTV News, January 29, 2010.
3. "Backgrounder: List of New Senators", Prime Minister of Canada's website, 29 January 2010
4. "Tory senator's remarks on murderers sparks death penalty furor". The Globe and Mail. February 1, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
5. "Senator's favours for assistant subject of complaint to ethics watchdog". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
6. "Senator Pierre-Hugues Bienvenu let off the hook by ethics czar for hiring girlfriend". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
7. "uebec senator says he's leaving Conservative caucus". Toronto Star. June 4, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.