The NDP newcomers... Hoang Mai

Member of Parliament for Brossard—La Prairie

Have you met Hoang Mai yet? This is a bright spark from Montreal.  He was born in Montreal in 1973 of Vietnamese parents, and grew up in Brossard, Quebec.

In 1998 he joined an international law office which took him to work in Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong before returning to Montreal in 2001. Since 2002 he has been a notary in private practice.

Hoang studied science and economics before completing his Bachelor’s degree in law and a Master’s degree in international private law from the Université de Montréal. He then continued his training in international law in The Hague.

Hoang is the NDP Critic for National Revenue and First Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.

To top it off, he is a big hockey fan!  It should be no surprise he is a Habs fan, which of course gives him a leg up as far as I am concerned.

During the debate ordering a contract settlement on locked out Canada Post employees Hoang had this to say...

"...Allow me to restate the facts, although I believe that, after a number of days and hours of debate, they are already known. On June 3, postal workers began rotating strikes. Seven days later, on June 10, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers offered to end the strike if the corporation agreed to ensure that the current contract remained in effect during the negotiations, but Canada Post refused to do so. Four days later, on June 14, the Minister of Labour announced that it was unnecessary to introduce back-to-work legislation since the labour action consisted solely of rotating strikes. 

Cheques were being delivered and people were nevertheless receiving their mail. The next day, on June 15, Canada Post decided to lock out all its employees and to shut down mail delivery service. On June 20, barely 5 days later, the Conservative government introduced a bill to impose a contract on Canada Post employees including a wage settlement below the level offered by management. In recent days, the government has been interfering by asserting that legislating Canada Post employees back to work is necessary for the economy. ..." - Open Parliament Hansard

Hoang clearly identified the hammer the Conservative government was using against Canada Post employees.  It will be interesting to watch Hoang Mai when Parliament returns.  I have no doubt he will shine  and impress both the media and Canadians.  

You can follow Hoang Mai on Twitter @hoangmai_npd or on facebook here.