Warren Allmand

Who is Warren Allmand?

William Warren Allmand, PC OC QC is a former Canadian Liberal Party Member of Parliament and was a Cabinet member from 1972 to 1979.

Allmand was born in Montreal and studied civil law at McGill University and comparative law at the University of Paris. He was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1958. In 1965, he was elected to the Parliament of Canada. He was sworn into the Privy Council on November 27, 1972, and has held the three Cabinet posts: Solicitor General, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and finally Consumer and Corporate Affairs. As Solicitor General, he tabled in 1976 the bill that abolished the death penalty in Canada.

In 1995, he gained notoriety for voting against Paul Martin's budget, as he was opposed to the fact the cuts that Martin was proposing were too drastic and that it did not cancel the Goods and Services Tax. As a result, Jean Chrétien removed him from his position as Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice, although he remained in the Liberal caucus. He retired before the 1997 election. Mr. Allmand was also Chair of the Justice Committee when Canada's controversial gun control legislation was reviewed by the Committee and adopted.