He has served as a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations, and the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment. He chaired the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the Justice Subcommittee that reviewed the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), the Justice Subcommittee on Organized Crime. In February 1996 he was named parliamentary secretary to Stéphane Dion, then Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs. In 1999 he was elected National Caucus chair. In January 2002 he was appointed Secretary of State (Amateur Sport) and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
Before entering politics, he studied at the University of Ottawa and practised municipal law.