Geoff Regan

The Honourable Geoffrey Paul Regan PC, MP, B.A, LL.B
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Halifax West
Incumbent
Assumed office 2000
Preceded by	Gordon Earle
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
In office December 12, 2003 – February 5, 2006
Prime Minister	Paul Martin
Preceded by	Robert Thibault
Succeeded by	Loyola Hearn
Personal details
Born	November 22, 1959 (1959-11-22) Windsor, Nova Scotia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Kelly Regan
Children	Caitlin, Nicole, and Harrison
Residence	Bedford, Nova Scotia
Profession	Lawyer
Website	www.geoffregan.ca

Geoffrey Paul Regan, PC, MP (born November 22, 1959 in Windsor, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian politician. He has the prenomial "the Honourable" and the postnomial "PC" for life by virtue of being made a privy councillor and a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. Regan grew up in a strong political family. He is the son of former Nova Scotia Premier and Federal Cabinet Minister, Gerald Regan. His maternal grandfather was also a Member of Parliament from Saskatchewan. His wife Kelly Regan is a provincial MLA. Two of his sisters are also well-known: Nancy Regan was a well-known local television personality with ATV, and Laura Regan is an actress.

Biography

Regan is a current member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Halifax West since 2000, and from 1993 to 1997. Regan earned his B.A. in political science from St. Francis Xavier University in 1980. Following his time at St. FX, Regan went on to earn a law degree from Dalhousie University, graduating in 1983. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 1984 and practiced real estate and commercial law before entering public life.

Regan served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, under Jean Chrétien and later as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Regional Minister for Nova Scotia in the newly formed government of Paul Martin, sworn in on December 12, 2003. After the 2004 federal election, Regan retained his position in cabinet in Martin’s minority government. In February 2004, Regan was appointed to act as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, in matters related to Maher Arar. Upon the defeat of the Liberal government in the 2006 election, he was appointed by the Honourable Bill Graham, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition, to the shadow cabinet as the Official Opposition Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development. During his time as critic, Regan introduced a private members’ bill to expand Canada Access Grants for disabled and low income students. In January 2007, he was appointed to the newly created Liberal Priorities and Planning Committee, which was chaired by then Liberal Opposition Leader Stéphane Dion. In March 2008, Regan was named Chair of the Caucus Committee on Environmental Sustainability. Regan also served as Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

One of the first projects Regan undertook as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans was to designate the Sable Gully as a Marine Protected Area. Located offshore of Nova Scotia, near Sable Island, the Gully contains a rich diversity of marine habitats and species, including deep-sea corals and northern bottlenose whales. The Gully is the largest marine canyon in eastern North America and is nationally and globally acknowledged as an important and incomparable marine habitat. The protection of the Gully was both crucial and timely as the surrounding waters had witnessed considerable growth in oil and gas exploration and development. He also helped designate three other areas as Marine Protected Areas. Gilbert Bay, on Labrador’s southeast coast, Basin Head, on the eastern tip of Prince Edward Island and Eastport Peninsula, on the northeast coast of Newfoundland all became Marine Protected Areas during Regan’s tenure as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

During his time as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Regan was a strong advocate for the elimination of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). Under Regan, The Department of Fisheries and Oceans made significant investment to expand aerial surveillance and at sea patrols in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area (NRA). The increase in patrols and surveillance led to reductions in non-compliant behaviour and a decrease of 29% in foreign vessels fishing in the NRA. Regan was also an active member of the High Seas Task Force, an international task force committed to stopping IUU in parts of the ocean not under the exclusive control of sovereign states. In addition to this, Regan hosted an intergovernmental conference on global overfishing. This meeting held in St. John’s attracted Fisheries and Oceans Ministers from around the world.

Regan introduced the Oceans Action Plan (OAP) in May 2005. The OAP enabled government-wide action to develop Canada’s ocean resources for the benefit of coastal communities, while protecting fragile marine ecosystems. The OAP was the framework to advance an integrated federal oceans agenda and was a key priority in the DFO’s strategic plan. It recognized that Canada, with almost 245,000 km of coastline, is an important maritime nation.

In opposition

Regan was re-elected in the 2006, 2008, and 2011 federal elections, despite significant Liberal losses in all three. Under the leadership of Stephane Dion, Regan served as Opposition Critic for Human Resources and Skills Development. Under Michael Ignatieff, Regan served as Liberal Critic for Natural Resources, and later, Public Works and Government Services. He is currently acting as the Liberal Critic for Industry and Consumer Affairs under interim leader Bob Rae and serves as Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology.

Family life

Geoff married Kelly Regan in 1993. They live in Bedford, Nova Scotia and have three children.

External links

• Official Site
• Political Biography from the Library of Parliament

27th Ministry – Cabinet of Paul Martin
Cabinet Posts (1)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Robert Thibault	Minister of Fisheries and Oceans 2003–2006	Loyola Hearn
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by Howard Crosby, Progressive Conservative	Member of Parliament for Halifax West 1993-1997	Succeeded by Gordon Earle, New Democratic Party
Preceded by Gordon Earle, New Democratic Party	Member of Parliament for Halifax West 2000-present	Succeeded by incumbent