Réginald Bélair (April 6, 1949 – March 3, 2020) was 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. Bélair was 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 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 ...

from 1988 to 2004, representing the riding of

Cochrane—Superior Cochrane (also known as Cochrane North and Cochrane—Superior) was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the House of Commons of C ...

until 1997 and subsequently

Timmins—James Bay Timmins—James Bay (french: Timmins—Baie James) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997. Its population in 2011 was 83,104. The district includes the extreme ...

. Bélair also worked as an administrator, a manager, and a political assistant. In the House of Commons, Bélair was a Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole, and was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works (Public Works and Government Services) and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Supply and Services (Public Works and Government Services). Bélair was born in

Hearst, Ontario Hearst is a town in the district of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Mattawishkwia River in Northern Ontario, approximately west of Kapuskasing, approximately east of Thunder Bay along Highway 11. At Hearst, Highway 583 extends ...

. He served as a municipal councillor in

Kapuskasing Kapuskasing is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917, when the name was changed so as not to conflict with another railw ...

for three years.

Retirement

In the 2004 federal election, electoral redistribution put Bélair's home area of Kapuskasing outside of Timmins—James Bay and into the newly named riding of

Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The area was represented by the riding of Algoma from 1867 to 1904 and from 1968 to 19 ...

, an extension of the Algoma—Manitoulin riding held by Liberal colleague

Brent St. Denis Brent J. St. Denis (born May 27, 1950) is a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2008, originally representing Algoma and later its successor ridings of Algoma—Manitoulin and Algoma—Ma ...

. Bélair at first announced that he might seek the Liberal nomination in Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, then announced his retirement instead. He died from cancer at a hospital in Kapuskasing on March 3, 2020 at the age of seventy.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belair, Reginald 1949 births 2020 deaths Deaths from cancer in Ontario Franco-Ontarian people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Ontario municipal councillors People from Kapuskasing People from Hearst, Ontario 21st-century Canadian politicians