Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu

Who is Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu?

Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu is a Canadian politician and victim's rights activist, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada on January 29, 2010, representing the province of Quebec under the banner of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Boisvenu is the founding president of the Murdered or Missing Persons' Families' Association, which he founded after the 2002 rape and murder of his daughter Julie.

He is also co-founder of the Le Nid centre, a shelter for abused women in Val-d'Or, and of a camp for underprivileged youth in Estrie.

Professionally, Boisvenu is a former provincial civil servant in Quebec, and was regional director for the Department of Recreation, Game and Fisheries and for the Department of the Environment before becoming Deputy Minister for the Department of Regions.

Boisvenu has a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology from the Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in administration from L'École nationale d'administration publique in Quebec City.

In February 2012, Boisvenu, a key Conservative spokesman on crime issues, stated that convicted murderers should be given the choice of suicide rather than spending life in jail. He retracted the statement after it sparked controversy and later issued an apology "if his comment offended people whose close ones committed suicide".