Jean Poirier

Jean Poirier (born January 17, 1950 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1984 to 1995.

Poirier was educated at the University of Waterloo, receiving a B.E.S. degree in 1972. He served as a Federal-Provincial Project Co-ordinator for Environment Canada from 1972 to 1977, and was a Professional Community Development Officer from 1979 to 1984.

He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in a by-election held in December 1984, defeating Progressive Conservative candidate Gaston Patenaude by fewer than 2,000 votes in Prescott and Russell, the easternmost riding in Ontario. The by-election was called after the previous Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), Don Boudria, left provincial politics to run for the Canadian House of Commons.

Poirier was re-elected with a significantly increased majority in the 1985 provincial election. The Liberals formed a minority government after this election, and Poirier served as a parliamentary assistant from 1985 to 1987. He was re-elected by a landslide in the 1987 provincial election, and served as Deputy Speaker of the assembly from 1987 to 1990.

The Liberals were upset by the New Democratic Party in the 1990 provincial election, although Poirier was re-elected by a significant margin (the NDP has only a minor presence in the Prescott and Russell area). He served as his party's critic for Correctional Services and Intergovernmental Affairs while in opposition.

In 1994, Poirier was one of only three Liberal MPPs to vote in favour of a government bill which would have extended spousal benefits to same-sex couples. He did not run for re-election in the 1995 provincial election.

Poirier was a member of the "Chargé de mission pour la région Amérique" committee from 1989 to 1995, was the Ontario president of "l'Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française" (AIPLF) from 1986 to 1995, and was a member of "l'Association parlementaire Ontario-Québec" from 1990 to 1995. After leaving provincial politics, he worked for "l'Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie". He formerly served as regional president of the "Association des communautés franco-ontariennes" in Eastern Ontario. He resigned in early 2004 to join the organization as its president. During his term, he was mostly known for his refusal to accept funding from Canadian Heritage as a protest from insufficient funding. He resigned in November 2005 to found l'Assemblée de la Francophonie en Ontario.

He now appears as a panelist on the CPAC television program "Revue Politique". He is a leading proponent of official bilingualism in Eastern Ontario municipalities.

He was made an Officer of the National Order of Merit by the French Government in May 2002 [http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2002/20020928/html/house-e.html]