About
Personal:
Born August 19, 1970, in Edmonton
Education:
Bachelor of Social Science, University of Ottawa; Bachelor of Arts, University of Alberta; currently completing an MA, Canadian politics and political theory, University of Alberta
Career Notes:
Former executive assistant to Ian McClelland, MP; former legislative aide, 1993-95; former senior researcher, First Past the Post
Political Career:
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. During his tenure as Chair, the Committee produced a report on Pre-Budget Consultations; conducted studies on Credit Card Interchange Fees and the Debit Payment System in Canada; Measures to Enhance Credit Availability and the Stability of the Canadian Financial System; and also examined financial legislation such as the Budget Implementation Acts.
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 the Chair of the Canada-Ireland Inter-parliamentary Group and Vice-Chair of the Canada-United States Inter-parliamentary Group.
James was born and raised in Edmonton.