Prior to seeking elected office, Pettigrew was director of the Political Committee, NATO Assembly, in Brussels, from 1976 to 1978, executive assistant to the Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1981 and Foreign Policy Advisor to Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, from 1981 to 1984. Pettigrew was vice-president of Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche in Montreal from 1985 to 1995, where he acted as a business consultant to companies with dealings in international markets.
From 1996 to 1999, he also served as Minister of Human Resources Development. In that time, the Department of Human Resources Development represented more than half of the Canadian federal budget. Pettigrew negotiated with the provinces and the territories the National Child Benefit, the most important social program since Canada Pension Plan (1966), a 10 billions program by now. He implemented the new Employment Insurance Program which became balanced after years of deficit despite lowering the premiums. Under his watch, however, ineffective accounting practices at HRDC allegedly left millions of dollars unaccounted for. Pettigrew was fortunate to have been shuffled to the portfolio of International Trade. His successor Jane Stewart took the brunt of the "billion-dollar boondoggle" scandal.
As Minister for International Trade, he promoted free trade and always characterized the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as "a tremendous success".[1] and a model to expand upon. He was a key participant in the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks, claiming that Canada's main goal of lowering agricultural subsidies would be of great benefit to the world's poorer nations. At the 2003 WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancún, Pettigrew played an aggressive role as chair of the working group on the Singapore issues, controversial sectors of proposed liberalization which were bitterly opposed by some developing nation delegates, not to mention masses of protesters outside of the gates where the meetings were held. He also championed the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and in the period leading up to the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in 2001, he spearheaded a campaign to allay growing public suspicion of the deal by promising the eventual release of the draft negotiating texts. After a delay due to translating the texts into the Portuguese language, the texts were made publicly available July 3, 2001. Throughout his mandate at International Trade, he was heavily embroiled in the US - Canada softwood lumber dispute.
Pettigrew has long been rumoured to be a possible leadership candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada or as a leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec.
In 1999, Pettigrew wrote Pour une politique de la confiance (English translation: The New Politics of Confidence), a book on globalization and the art of governing.
On June 17, 2005, an incident occurred at a conference in Montreal regarding the subject of Haiti, at one point during the conference, Pettigrew was splashed with a red substance by Yves Engler, a political activist associated with the group Haiti Action Montreal. As Engler threw the red substance on Pettigrew, he shouted "Pettigrew lies, Haitians die". Engler claimed that the red paint was meant to symbolize the blood on the hands of the Canadian state due to Canada's involvement in Haiti. Pettigrew told police that he wanted full charges pressed against Engler. However, a couple of days later, Pettigrew suddenly decided to drop all charges.
Despite growing pressure, Pettigrew consistently stated that Canada would "stay the course" in Haiti.[3]
On December 28, 2005, Pettigrew was the victim of an attempted mugging while he was waiting for a train in the Montreal subway station. The accused, Frederick Estelle, has been charged with aggravated theft.[4][5]
At the 2004 election, Pettigrew was nearly defeated by a Bloc Québécois challenger– only the second time that the Liberals' hold on the riding had been seriously threatened. At the 2006 election, Pettigrew was defeated by Bloc challenger Vivian Barbot.
Post-political career
On October 23, 2006, Deloitte Canada's Managing Partner and Chief Executive Alan MacGibbon announced that Pierre Pettigrew had been appointed as Executive Advisor for the firm's international activities. Pettigrew is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.[6]
Note: Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election, and not the vote Sarker received as an independent candidate.
1Until 1909, the office of the minister of Labour was a secondary function of the Postmaster-General of Canada. W. L. M. King was the first to hold the office independently.
2The office of Minister of Employment and Immigration, and Minister of Labour were abolished and the office of Minister of Human Resources Development went in force on July 12, 1996. Under the new provisions, a Minister of Labour may be appointed. However, when no Minister of Labour is appointed, the Minister of Human Resources Development shall exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister of Labour.
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