Raymond Lavigne

Raymond Lavigne

Raymond Lavigne (born November 16 1945) is a Canadian Senator.

A businessman and real estate consultant, Lavigne first ran for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1988 election but was unsuccessful.

He ran again in Verdun—Saint-Paul, Quebec in the 1993 election, and was elected a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP). He was re-elected as the MP for the riding, now called Verdun—Saint-Henri—Saint-Paul—Pointe-Saint-Charles, in the 1997 and 2000 federal elections.

In 2002, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in order to make his riding available for Liza Frulla, a former Quebec cabinet minister.

On June 8, 2006, he was temporarily removed from the Liberal caucus after allegedly misusing Senate funds for personal use. He apparently used $23,000 in funds for work on his estate, including having his executive assistant cut down trees on his property.[1].

Since then, Lavigne's lawyer said that Lavigne had agreed to pay back the $23,000, without an admission of wrongdoing.

On August 14, 2007, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who had been investigating allegations raised concerning the misuse of funds for the last year, laid criminal charges against Lavigne: fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and obstruction of justice[2].

External links

• Political biography from the Library of Parliament

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