Michel Cogger
Encyclopedia
Michel Benoit Cogger is a Quebec
businessman, lawyer and former Canadian Senator
.
Cogger was a senior political advisor to and fundraiser for Progressive Conservative
Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
and helped run the party's campaigns in Quebec
in the 1984
and 1988 federal elections
in which the Tories swept the province.
Mulroney and Cogger had been friends since the 1960s when the two attended law school at Laval University together. Cogger ran Mulroney's bid to win the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
as well as the successful campaign against Joe Clark
which forced him to call a 1983 leadership convention
.
In 1986, Muroney named Cogger to the Senate. In 1991 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
laid influence peddling
charges alleging that Cogger had taken payments from businessman Guy Montpetit in exchange for the use of Cogger's influence to win government grants and contacts. Cogger was acquitted in 1993 but in 1997 the Supreme Court of Canada
ordered a new trial which led to Cogger's conviction in 1998. He was fined $3,000, put on 12 months' probation and ordered to do 120 hours of community service. Cogger successfully appealed the sentence which was substituted by an absolute discharge in 2001.
In September 2000, Cogger resigned from the Senate. He had been largely absent from the upper house during his legal battles and was fined a total of $23,250 for missing sessions.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
businessman, lawyer and former Canadian Senator
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
.
Cogger was a senior political advisor to and fundraiser for Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
and helped run the party's campaigns in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in the 1984
Canadian federal election, 1984
The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...
and 1988 federal elections
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
in which the Tories swept the province.
Mulroney and Cogger had been friends since the 1960s when the two attended law school at Laval University together. Cogger ran Mulroney's bid to win the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1976
The 1976 leadership election of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was held in Ottawa on February 22, 1976, to elect a leader to replace Robert Stanfield, who had resigned after losing the 1968, 1972, and 1974 elections. It unexpectedly elected a 36-year-old, little-known PC Member of...
as well as the successful campaign against Joe Clark
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
which forced him to call a 1983 leadership convention
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1983
The 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 11, 1983 in Ottawa, Ontario to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada...
.
In 1986, Muroney named Cogger to the Senate. In 1991 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
laid influence peddling
Influence peddling
Influence peddling is the illegal practice of using one's influence in government or connections with persons in authority to obtain favors or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. Also called traffic of influence or trading in influence ...
charges alleging that Cogger had taken payments from businessman Guy Montpetit in exchange for the use of Cogger's influence to win government grants and contacts. Cogger was acquitted in 1993 but in 1997 the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
ordered a new trial which led to Cogger's conviction in 1998. He was fined $3,000, put on 12 months' probation and ordered to do 120 hours of community service. Cogger successfully appealed the sentence which was substituted by an absolute discharge in 2001.
In September 2000, Cogger resigned from the Senate. He had been largely absent from the upper house during his legal battles and was fined a total of $23,250 for missing sessions.
Further reading
- Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition, by John SawatskyJohn SawatskyFerdinand John Sawatzky is a Canadian author, journalist and expert on interviewing techniques.-Early career:Born in Winkler, Manitoba, he graduated from Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford and attended Simon Fraser University in the late 1960s. Graduating in political science, he...
, 1991. - On The Take, by Stevie CameronStevie CameronStevie Cameron is an award-winning Canadian investigative journalist and best-selling author. Born in Belleville, Ontario in 1943, she now lives in Toronto with her husband, David Cameron, a professor at the University of Toronto. They have two daughters; both Toronto-based screenwriters.-Early...
, 1994.