Colleen Beaumier (born November 8, 1944) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, who served in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2008.

Pre-politics

Born in

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, she studied at the

University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universit ...

, earning a bachelor of arts in psychology. She and her husband Pierre are the parents of three adult children: Stephanie, Michael and John; Stephanie ran for

Brampton City Council Brampton City Council is the governing body for the City of Brampton, Ontario. It consists of the mayor of Brampton (currently Patrick Brown), five elected regional councillors and five elected city councillors. Each councillor represents two city ...

in the 2006 election but was defeated. Before enter politics, she taught at the Ontario School for Mentally Challenged Children, served as a community member of the Ontario Parole Board, worked as a controller at a trucking firm and, at the time of her election, she was the vice-president of a bioanalytical services firm employing more than 100 people. Her involvement in international human rights began in 1980. As area co-ordinator of Operation Lifeline, she assisted Vietnamese refugees settling in the Toronto area.

Political career

Beaumier was first elected in 1993 in the riding of

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

. In 1997, she was re-elected, this time in the newly created riding of

Brampton West—Mississauga Brampton West—Mississauga was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. This riding was created in 1996, from parts of Brampton riding. It consisted of the parts ...

, where she won again on November 27, 2000. During the federal election of 2004, she defeated former provincial Minister of Health Tony Clement in the newly created riding of

Brampton West Brampton West (french: Brampton-Ouest) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Its population was 170,422 in 2006- making it the ...

. In 2006, she was again re-elected, her fifth such mandate. As a Member of Parliament, she has remained a frequent spokesperson for human rights. At the 1995 global conference on the Inter-Parliamentary Union at the United Nations, she spoke on the dangers of global income disparities. In response to human rights violations uncovered during the Somali Inquiry, she authored a private member's bill, Bill C-208, which increased transparency in the bureaucracy and established tougher penalties for the destruction of documents. Beaumier served on numerous parliamentary committees, most notably serving as chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development and the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs. She also served as vice-chair of Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. In 2003, she served as parliamentary secretary to the

Minister of National Revenue The minister of national revenue (french: ministre du revenu national) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. T ...

and later as the associate critic for the

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and cu ...

. She announced on September 5, 2008 that she would not be running in the 2008 election. She was succeeded by

Andrew Kania Andrew Kania (born December 7, 1967) is a former Canadians, Canadian Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament for the electoral district (Canada), electoral district of Brampton West, in Ontario. Kania was elected in the 2008 Canadia ...

Electoral record

, -

References

External links

How'd They Vote?: Colleen Beaumier
voting history and quotes * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumier, Colleen 1944 births 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario People from Chatham-Kent Politicians from Brampton Women in Ontario politics Women members of the House of Commons of Canada