Minister of State and Chief Government Whip Gordon O'connor of Canada
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Gordon James O'Connor was one of a few defence ministers to have served in the military, the last being Gilles Lamontagne.
O'Connor has also been a lobbyist for several defence industry companies.
Gordon O'Connor is married and has two children, both of whom are now adults.
Joe Friesen, "O'Connor meets with Afghan rights chief", The Globe and Mail, 15 March 2007.
Appointed Chief Government Whip and Minister of State by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on October 30, 2008, the Honourable Gordon O'Connor was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and re-elected in 2006 in the riding of Carleton-Mississippi Mills.
O'Connor had several careers in the private and public sectors, most notably he served Canada as a military officer for over 30 years.
Gordon O'Connor was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and re-elected in 2006 and 2008.
O'Connor has also had an active career in the private sector, including time spent as the owner of a small business.
Appointed to Cabinet as Minister of National Defence on February 6th, 2006 and as Minister of National Revenue on August 14th, 2007, Gordon O'Connor was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 and re-elected in 2006 in the riding of Carleton - Mississippi Mills.
O'Connor received a Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics and Physics from Concordia and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from York University.
O'Connor had several careers in the private and public sectors, most notably he served Canada as a military officer for over 30 years, joining the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Armour Branch, and retiring at the rank of Brigadier General.
O'Connor has been a resident of Kanata, Ontario for over 20 years.
As usual, it would appear that O'Connor is simply forwarding an agenda which has no basis in fact.
By the time the famed Van Doos are ready to come home next winter, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor says he believes the Canadian army will be able to cede most of the fighting around Kandahar to Afghan troops.
Training, something upon which O'Connor is putting a great deal of faith, is, at best, third rate, not to mention that various different elements of the army are being trained by different nations with differing standards and techniques.
O'Connor is suggesting that as the ANA stands-to, Canadian troops will stand-down with a view to departing.
With Canada's military stretched thin in one of its largest overseasdeployments ever, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has approached Cabinet with a $15-billion wish list for badly-needed equipment.
O'Connor is an attorney appointed by President George W.
O'Connor was a litigation associate at the law firm of Cahill Gordon.
If we hadn't moved on this project and moved now, the capacity of the Canadian Forces to provide tactical airlift beyond the year 2010 would have been almost eliminated," O'Connor said of the 20-year investment.
O'Connor was at CFB Trenton in Ontario on Thursday for the fourth-straight day of military spending announcements to update the Armed Forces' air, land and sea equipment.
O'Connor was tight-lipped about the potential supplier, pointing to the government's Advanced Contract Award Notice (ACAN), which allows Ottawa to announce its intention to buy from one supplier, while leaving time for others to put in a bid showing they can also meet the necessary requirements.
Hillier agreed, saying O'Connor has his full support.
11Gordon O'Connor ConflictedWhen Gordon O'Connor was named Defence Minister, he brought to the position the experience of not only a Brigadier General, but an industry lobbyist.
According to the Government of Canada's Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, in the ten years prior to his election to government, Gordon O'Connor is listed in their database 28 times, representing the interests of 24 different companies.
As Defence Minister, Gordon O'Connor was suddenly in the position to deliver to those clients the services they desired.
O'Connor had been misinformed from the start and was guilty of no wrongdoing.
Perhaps the most ideally suited candidate for Minister of Defence, O'Connor has both the military record, industry connections and bushco credentials to qualify.
Already ensconced in the Airbus scandal - having lobbied the DND on their behalf and helped to scuttle liberal plans to purchase Lockheed Martin jets, O'Connor takes the offensive with this:"I will not recuse myself from anything.
O'Connor said security begins very far from our borders.
O'Connor said that a transition to NATO leadership is scheduled for the summer of 2006.
Harper stressed that O'Connor has served in the defence field throughout his career, and it is time for him to try something new.
O'Connor has accomplished a great deal," Harper said, explaining that during his time in the role, O'Connor secured a high level of investment in the Canadian military and has made Arctic sovereignty a priority.
Minister O'Connor has also been the architect of the government's Canada First defence strategy and he's been way ahead of the curve in insisting there be important investments in protecting Canadian sovereignty.
67Gordon O'Connor on Donald Rumsfeld When Gordon O'Connor was the Canadian Defense Minister, he wrote a letter to US.
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor was put on the defensive in the House of Commons again Monday in connection with his former role as a lobbyist for global weapons manufacturers.
O'Connor said categorically: I have no conflicts.
O'Connor was the registered lobbyist for Airbus Military.
The move comes after many months of inaction, ineptness and inconsistency in the way O'Connor has handled the controversial Afghan mission.
At the time Minister O'Connor said the announcement marked a new era for the Air Force and that the announcement would help ensure the long-term life of CFB Bagotville.
Gordon O'Connor took on some projects started by his predecessors and saw them to fruition.
Gordon O'Connor was a man of integrity who served his country, then his clients, and then again his country when called, without unduly favouring anyone.
O'Connor was forced to admit his assertions that the International Committee of the Red Cross would notify Canada of any mistreatment of prisoners in Afghan custody were false.
Jim Travers of the Toronto Star gets to the nub of the issues.
At a time when Hillier is moving fast toward a lighter, more flexible, operations-oriented military able to deliver more bang-for-the buck internationally, O'Connor is retreating toward big-ticket, high-profile, low-efficiency purchases that wave the flag most vigorously at home.