Bob Dechert

Robert "Bob" Dechert (born May 18, 1958) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, Dechert served as Member of Parliament for the riding of Mississauga—Erindale in the House of Commons of Canada from 2008 to 2015.

Robert Dechert
Dechert in 2012
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Mississauga—Erindale
In office
October 14, 2008 – October 18, 2015
Preceded byOmar Alghabra
Succeeded byRiding abolished
Personal details
Born (1958-05-18) May 18, 1958[1]
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Ruth Clark[2]
ResidenceMississauga, Ontario
ProfessionLawyer

Background

Dechert was born in Brampton, Ontario[1] and graduated from McMaster University in Hamilton with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.[3] He attended law school at the University of Toronto and was called to the bar in Ontario in 1985.[3] He joined the law firm of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP where he practiced corporate law and was a senior partner.[4][5]

Politics

Dechert became involved in politics in his teen years, putting up signs for Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC) candidate Duncan Beattie in the 1972 federal election,[5] and assisting in the campaign of the Ontario PCs in the 1975 provincial election.[2]

The PCs suffered a historic defeat in the 1993 federal election, winning only two seats in the House of Commons. In its aftermath, Dechert came together with a group of provincial conservatives, primarily from Ontario, to form the "Blue Committee" in 1994.[2] The group desired a more conservative PC party, and wanted to work together with the Reform Party of Canada, which won 52 seats in that election. The Blue Committee was instrumental in the creation of the United Alternative movement, the Canadian Alliance and ultimately, the merger of the Alliance and the PCs to form the modern Conservative Party of Canada.

Dechert ran in the 2004 federal election in the riding of Mississauga—Erindale, losing to Carolyn Parrish.[6] He ran in the same riding in the 2006 federal election, losing to Omar Alghabra.[7] He defeated Alghabra in the 2008 federal election to become the Member of Parliament for that riding,[8][9] and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice on March 5, 2010.[1][4] In the 2011 federal election, Dechert once again defeated Alghabra to return to the House of Commons,[10][11] and was named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird.[1]

On September 9, 2011, it was revealed that Dechert had been engaging in "flirtatious e-mails" with a correspondent, Shi Rong, working for the People's Republic of China news agency, Xinhua. The e-mails came to light when the correspondent's husband hacked into her e-mail account and made them public. Dechert acknowledged the "flirtatious" nature of his relationship and issued an apology, but denied any wrongdoing.[12] Critics, including Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat to Beijing, raised concerns as to whether Shi Rong was a Chinese spy trying to gain access sensitive government information. Both Burton and the opposition asserted that Dechert must have known about Xinhua's espionage activities.[13][14]

Despite the controversy, Dechert stayed on as Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minister, then returned to his previous role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Justice Minister in September 2013.[1]

Dechert contested the newly established riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills in the 2015 federal election, losing to Liberal candidate Iqra Khalid.[15][16] He then sought to represent the Ontario PCs in the riding of Mississauga—Erin Mills in the 2018 provincial election, but withdrew from the nomination process in January 2017, citing concerns over the sale of new party memberships.[17][18][19]

References
  1. "Profile - Dechert, Bob". Library of Parliament. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. Gillis, Charlie (September 26, 2011). "Why Bob Dechert kept his job". Maclean's. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. "Mississauga–Erindale". CBC News. September 22, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  4. "Prime Minister Announces the Appointment of Bob Dechert as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice" (Press release). Government of Canada. March 5, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  5. Le, Julia (November 10, 2008). "New Mississauga-Erindale MP says he can deliver". The Mississauga News. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  6. "Election results...riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. June 29, 2004. p. A14.
  7. "Election results...riding by riding". The Globe and Mail. January 24, 2006. p. A16.
  8. "Ontario Results". The Toronto Star. October 15, 2008. p. U2.
  9. "Victory at long last for Dechert". Mississauga News. October 15, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  10. "Riding results from across Canada". Edmonton Journal. May 3, 2011. p. A6.
  11. "Dechert defeats a familiar foe in Mississauga-Erindale". The Toronto Star. May 2, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  12. "Tory MP apologizes for flirty emails to Chinese journalist". CBC News. September 9, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  13. Andrea Janus (September 17, 2011). "MP in email scandal fits profile of spy target: expert". CTV News. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  14. The Canadian Press. "Reporter says Chinese news agency asked him to spy". CBC News. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  15. "Canada Votes". The Toronto Star. October 20, 2015. pp. GT13–GT15.
  16. "Iqra Khalid wins Mississauga-Erin Mills". The Toronto Star. October 19, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  17. Cruickshank, Ainslie (January 9, 2017). "Set to lose, ex-MP Dechert withdraws from Ontario PC nomination race". iPolitics. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  18. Belgrave, Roger (January 18, 2017). "Former Tory MP Dechert questions 'integrity' of candidate nominations in Mississauga riding". The Mississauga News. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  19. Jones, Allison (January 16, 2017). "Former federal finance minister Joe Oliver loses bid to become Ontario PC candidate". The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 22, 2021 – via CBC News.
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