About
James Rajotte was first elected to the House of Commons in 2000 as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Southwest, and was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Leduc in 2004, 2006 and 2008.
He currently serves as the Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance. The Committee conducts annual pre-budget consultations, reviews the Bank of Canada's Reports on Monetary Policy, and studies finance-related legislation such as Budget Implementation Bills.
During his tenure as Chair, the Committee conducted studies on the Retirement Income Security of Canadians, Credit Card Interchange Fees and the Debit Payment System in Canada, and Measures to Enhance Credit Availability and the Stability of the Canadian Financial System.
In the 39th Parliament, he served as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. During his tenure as Chair, the Committee conducted studies and produced reports on the Challenges Facing the Manufacturing Section, Counterfeiting and Piracy of Intellectual Property, the impact of the strong Canadian dollar on the economy, and the state of science and technology in Canada.
He has also served as the Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Science and Technology and as the Official Opposition Critic for Industry.
Mr. Rajotte introduced a Private Member's Bill in the last session of Parliament on Identity Theft (pretexting), a bill which was unanimously approved by the House of Commons.
He has served on many inter-parliamentary groups; presently, he is Vice-Chair of the Canada-United States Inter-parliamentary Group. He is a past Chair of the Canada-Ireland Inter-parliamentary Group.
He received a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta.
Mr. Rajotte was born and raised in Edmonton.