Regan was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia, of partial Irish descent, the son of Rose Mary (née Greene) and Walter Edward Regan.[3][4] He graduated from Dalhousie Law School and was admitted to the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society in 1954.
Legal career
He became one of the region's best known labour lawyers, and his high-profile image led to an invitation to enter politics.
As premier, Regan supported industrialization and the development of offshore gas and oil. His first government amended the province's labour code to prevent courts from issuing injunctions to prevent picketing in labour disputes, and the office of the provincial ombudsman was established. In its second term, the Regan government nationalized the Nova Scotia Light and Power electrical utility, and consolidated electricity supply under the Nova Scotia Power Corporation. A massive plan for the development of tidal power in the Bay of Fundy was also announced.
Regan returned to the federal House of Commons in the 1980 federal election, and was appointed Minister of Labour and Minister of State for International Trade in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Regan was defeated along with the Liberal government in the 1984 election.
Criminal charges and controversy
On October 27, 1993, CBC News revealed that the RCMP were investigating Regan for sexual misconduct.[6] In March 1995 and May 1995 he was charged with a total of nineteen counts of sexual offences.[7][8] As of April 2, 1998, there were eighteen charges, but nine were stayed by Justice J. Michael MacDonald of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.[9]
Regan ultimately faced trial on eight charges including rape, attempted rape and forcible confinement, for crimes allegedly committed in 1956 and 1969 against victims aged 14 and 18 at the time.[10][11] On December 18, 1998, he was acquitted on all eight charges by a jury.[12]
On September 10, 1999, by a margin of 2–1, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal reinstated the nine stayed charges regarding alleged incidents in the mid-1960s and '70s involving girls and women aged 14 to 24 at the time; two were later dropped, but the others were to be tried together with the other remaining charge.[13][14][15] The ruling reinstating the charges was upheld in a 5–4 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in February 2002.[16] But in April 2002, the crown attorney's office announced that it would not continue prosecution on the remaining charges of sexual assault due to the age of the allegations, the cost and the age of the defendant.[17][6]
^Canada. Parliament; Normandin, P.G. (1990). "Guide Parlementaire Canadien". The Canadian Parliamentary Guide = Guide Parlementaire Canadien. P. G. Normandin. ISSN0315-6168. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
1The department was eliminated in 1993 when the government was reorganized. The position of Secretary of State for Canada was not legally eliminated until 1996 when its remaining responsibilities were assigned to other cabinet positions and departments, particularly the newly created position of Minister of Canadian Heritage.
1Until 1909, the office of the minister of Labour was a secondary function of the Postmaster-General of Canada. W. L. M. King was the first to hold the office independently.
2The office of Minister of Employment and Immigration, and Minister of Labour were abolished and the office of Minister of Human Resources Development went in force on July 12, 1996. Under the new provisions, a Minister of Labour may be appointed. However, when no Minister of Labour is appointed, the Minister of Human Resources Development shall exercise the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister of Labour.
