| The Honourable Michel Esdras Bernier | |
|---|---|
Michel Esdras Bernier, October 1910 | |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for St. Hyacinthe | |
| In office 1882–1904 | |
| Preceded by | Louis Tellier |
| Succeeded by | Jean Baptiste Blanchet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 28, 1841 St-Hyacinthe, Canada East |
| Died | July 27, 1921 (aged 79) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Cabinet | Minister of Inland Revenue (1900–1904) |
Michel Esdras Bernier, PC (September 28, 1841 – July 27, 1921) was a Canadian politician.
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada, sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Responsible government, though, requires the sovereign or her viceroy, the Governor General of Canada, to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet: a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected Members of Parliament. Those summoned to the QPC are appointed for life by the governor general as directed by the Prime Minister of Canada, meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence.
Born in St-Hyacinthe, Canada East, he was a notary and businessman before being elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the riding of St. Hyacinthe in 1882. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1887, 1891, 1896, and 1900. From 1900 to 1904, he was the Minister of Inland Revenue. From 1904 to 1914, he was the Deputy Commissioner of the Board of Railway Commissioners and Transport Commissioners.
Saint-Hyacinthe is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 53,236. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region, and is traversed by the Yamaska River which flows perpendicular to Quebec Autoroute 20. Saint-Hyacinthe is the seat of the judicial district of the same name.
Canada East was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of Canada was created by the Act of Union 1840 passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, having effect in 1841. For administrative purposes, the new Province was subdivided into Canada West and Canada East. The former name of "Lower Canada" came back into official use in 1849, and as of the Canadian Confederation of 1867, it formed the newly created province of Quebec.
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons currently meets in a temporary Commons chamber in the West Block of the parliament buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, while the Centre Block, which houses the traditional Commons chamber, undergoes a ten-year renovation.
