Gerard A. "Jigger" Phalen (March 28, 1934 – October 25, 2021) was a former

Canadian Senator The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...

, educator, and union leader.

Early life

Phalen was from

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

He was an industrial mechanical instructor at the Nova Scotia Eastern Institute of Technology and then at the University College of Cape Breton (now Cape Breton University) until his retirement in 1991. Active in the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, he served as its president from 1976 to 1979. He has also served as chairman of the faculty association at NSEIT and in various other academic capacities at UCCB.

Political career

He was appointed to the Canadian Senate by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Jean Chrétien in 2001 and sat in the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

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 ...

. He left the Senate upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on March 28, 2009.

Personal life

Phalen and his wife Christina Phalen had three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phalen, Gerard 1934 births 2021 deaths Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada senators 21st-century Canadian politicians People from Glace Bay