House of Commons
Which position did Don Boudria hold from 1984 to Jun 1997?
Don Boudria Donald Boudria , ( born August 30 , 1949 ) is a former Canadian politician . He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2005 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada , and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien . Municipal and provincial politics . Boudria was born in Hull , Quebec , raised in Sarsfield , Ontario , and educated in the area , and was a public servant before entering political life . A Franco-Ontarian , he was elected as a councillor in Cumberland Township in 1976 , and remained a council member until his election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1981 provincial election . Boudria defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Joseph Albert Bélanger by 5,172 votes in Prescott and Russell , and served in the legislature for three years as a member the Ontario Liberal Party , which was then the official opposition to the Progressive Conservative government of William Davis . Entry into federal politics . He left provincial politics to run for the House of Commons in the 1984 federal election . Boudria won a convincing victory in Ontarios easternmost riding , Glengarry—Prescott—Russell , even as his party suffered a landslide defeat against Brian Mulroneys Progressive Conservatives . Joining the opposition benches of the Commons in 1984 , he became a member of the Liberal Rat Pack with Brian Tobin , Sheila Copps and John Nunziata . This group of young Liberals made it their business to harass the Tories at every possible turn . Re-election and cabinet positions . Boudria was re-elected without difficulty in 1988 , 1993 , 1997 and 2000 . Like the other Rat Pack members , he rose rapidly in the Liberal ranks . From 1991 to 1993 , he served as Deputy Liberal House Leader . After the Liberals won a huge majority in 1993 , Boudria became a backbencher once again for a time . He was appointed Chief Government Whip on September 15 , 1994 . He held this position until October 4 , 1996 , when he was named to Cabinet as Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for La Francophonie . Boudria was named Leader of the Government in the House of Commons after the 1997 election . He retained this position until January 14 , 2002 , when he was again given a full portfolio as Minister of Public Works and Government Services . In March 2002 , he stayed at a weekend resort owned by Groupe Everest , a prominent recipient of departmental funds . The trip was paid for by Boudrias son , and the minister was not directly accused of a conflict of interest . He was nonetheless deemed to have shown poor judgement , and was reassigned as Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons on May 26 , 2002 . Chrétien loyalist . Boudria was known within the Liberal caucus as a leading Chrétien loyalist . During Question Period , he frequently handed Chrétien notes from a white binder . In 2000 , this practice led Reform Party deputy leader Deb Grey to wonder if Chrétien could answer a question without any help from Binder Boy . The nickname stuck . He lost his cabinet position in December 2003 when Paul Martin replaced Chrétien as Liberal leader and prime minister . Subsequently , he was elected chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages ( 3rd session of the 37th parliament ) and the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs ( 1st session of the 38th parliament ) . On May 6 , 2005 , Boudria announced he would not run in the next election . Life after government . Boudrias memoir , Busboy : From Kitchen to Cabinet , was published in late 2005 . In 2006 , he assisted Stéphane Dions campaign for the leadership of the Liberal Party . Boudria joined Ottawa-based public relations agency Hill & Knowlton Canada as a senior associate in May 2006 , and was promoted to senior counsellor in March 2007 . His son Dan Boudria was elected to the Conseil des écoles catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est in the 2006 municipal elections . In early 2007 , the Liberal Party of Canada Association of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell selected his son as candidate in the 2008 federal election . He lost to incumbent Conservative candidate Pierre Lemieux . Electoral record . Note : Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election . Note : Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election . External links . - Don Boudria : Personal Website - Howd They Vote? : Don Boudrias voting history and quotes