• Elected the Member of Parliament for Acadie—Bathurst in 1997 and re-elected in 2000, 2004 and 2006
• Vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages and member of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs
• A former miner, he was President of the United Steelworkers of America, Brunswick Mine Local 5385; later, he represented nearly 2,500 members of the United Steelworkers, negotiating 37 collective agreements in New Brunswick
• Represented workers on the Minimum Wage Board for seven years
• In 1998-99, undertook a tour of Canada to assess the impact of changes to the EI program, the findings of which were made public in a report that describes the disastrous effects of the changes to EI
• En 2003, was granted the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Pléiade, Ordre de la Francophonie et du Dialogue des cultures for his contribution to la Francophonie in Canada
• Has three daughters and one grandson, lives in Bathurst with his partner Lyna

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