Michael Bryant (politician)

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Michael Bryant (born 1966 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of St. Paul's for the Ontario Liberal Party, and is the Attorney General in the government of Dalton McGuinty.

Bryant received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in 1988, and a Master's Degree from the same institution in 1989. He graduated as in 1992 from Osgoode Hall Law School with an LL.B. and was the Silver Medalist of his year. He then earned an LL.M. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1994. Bryant is a Fulbright Fellow. He clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada in 1992-93, and was later a lawyer at the firm of Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City, as well as lecturing in law at King's College at the University of London in England, and practicing litigation at McCarthy Tétrault. In 1997, he became an Adjunct Professor in International Law at the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto.

Bryant was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1999, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Isabel Bassett in St. Paul's by almost 5,000 votes (he had previously defeated Kathleen Wynne at the Liberal Party's nomination meeting, 328 votes to 143). The Progressive Conservatives won the election, and Bryant served as his party's Critic to the Attorney General for the next four years. In 2003, he played a significant role in exposing a scandal involving Tory cabinet minister Chris Stockwell's use of government funds for personal expenses, which resulted in Stockwell's resignation.

He was re-elected by a greater majority in the provincial election of 2003. The Liberals won a majority government in this election, and Bryant was appointed Ontario Attorney General with responsibility for Native Affairs and Democratic Renewal. His appointment was generally welcomed by the province's legal community.

Unlike most Liberals, Bryant supported the Mike Harris government's plan for a tax credit for parents sending their children to private and denominational schools. Nonetheless, he voted with his party to eliminate the credit in late 2003.

On November 12, 2003, Bryant appointed Justice Sidney Linden to lead a public inquiry into the events surrounding the death of Anthony O'Brien "Dudley" George (March 17, 1957 – September 7, 1995), an Ojibwa protestor who was shot and killed near Ipperwash Provincial Park in Ontario in 1995 during the Ipperwash Crisis. Bryant gave Justice Linden a broad mandate to inquire into and report on events surrounding George's death and to make recommendations directed to the avoidance of violence in similar circumstances. Justice Linden, who was chief justice of the newly amalgamated Ontario Court of Justice from 1990-99, conducted public hearings which began in July 2004 and is expected to deliver his final report to Bryant in the spring of 2007.

On June 10, 2004, Bryant appointed the Honourable Patrick J. LeSage, Q.C. to review Ontario’s police complaints system. LeSage, a former chief justice of Ontario's Superior Court of Justice, delivered his report on April 25, 2005 following province-wide hearings. On April 19, 2006, Bryant introduced Bill 103, which if passed will be known as the Independent Police Review Act, 2006, and largely adopts the recommendations in the LeSage report. The main feature of the bill would be the creation of an independent civilian body, led by an Independent Police Review Director, who would be responsible for receiving complaints and then determining, on a case-by-case basis, who would investigate the complaint: the independent civilian body itself, the police service affected or another police service. Members of the public would still be able to deal directly with their local police service, if they prefer. Bill 103 passed second reading on October 23, 2006 and was referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, which held public hearings on January 30-31 and February 1, 2007. It is expected to return to the legislature for third reading in the spring session that is scheduled to begin March 19, 2007.

In late 2004, Bryant brought forward a controversial initiative to ban pit bulls from Ontario. Bill 132 was introduced on October 26, 2004 and passed by the Ontario Legislative Assembly as the Public Safety Related to Dogs Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005 on March 1, 2005. It received Royal Assent on March 9, 2005.

Bryant signed a land claim settlement agreement with the Rainy River First Nation on May 20, 2005, that resolved a 90-year-old grievance relating to the surrender and sale of First Nations’ reserve land. The Rainy River First Nations has about 750 members and its reserve is located 39 kilometres west of Fort Frances, Ontario. The settlement was for $71 million and land.

After a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005, Bryant's cabinet responsibilities for Native Affairs and Democratic Renewal were transferred to other ministers. He was retained as Attorney General.

On October 19, 2005, Bryant introduced Bill 14, which was passed by the Ontario Legislature as the Access to Justice Act, 2005 on October 19, 2006 and received Royal Assent that same day. Two components of the bill received public attention. Firstly, the act for the first time establishes paralegals as a regulated legal profession. Previously paralegals were completely unregulated and anyone could call themselves a paralegal. Secondly, the bill amended the Justices of the Peace Act to reform the appointment process, establish minimum qualifications and improve the complaints and discipline process. Also notable in the bill was a provision to amend the Provincial Offences Act to allow witnesses to be heard by video conferencing or other electronic means. It also amended the Limitations Act to give potential litigants and businesses the opportunity to reach their own arrangements on limitation periods, the time period that sets out how long a person has to start legal proceedings.

On November 15, 2005, Bryant introduced Bill 27, which was passed by the Ontario Legislature as the Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006 on February 13, 2006 and received royal assent on February 23, 2006. The law settled a public controversy over a proposal by a private lawyer to use Sharia law principles in family arbitrations. As passed, Bill 27 requires that all family law arbitrations in Ontario be conducted only in accordance with Canadian law. Arbitrated resolutions based on other laws and principles - including religious principles - have no legal effect and will not be enforceable by the courts. The law also requires that family arbitrations be subject to the general rules of the family law of Ontario in order to improve legal protections for women and children. Bill 27 also amended the Children's Law Reform Act to ensure that violence and abuse are considered when determining the best interests of a child in the context of custody and access.

On April 26, 2006, Bryant introduced Bill 107, which was passed by the Ontario Legislature as the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006 on December 5, 2006 and received royal assent on December 20, 2006. The act implements a new human rights complaints process, with individual claims being filed directly with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Under the act, the Ontario Human Rights Commission has the power to inquire into any matter it believes to be in the public interest, and has the right to intervene in any application before the tribunal. The commission may bring its own applications before the tribunal. The act also establishes a new publicly-funded Legal Support Centre to assist applicants to the tribunal.

Bryant, his wife Susan Abramovitch, an entertainment lawyer, and their two children, live in midtown Toronto.