Daniel Jean

Not to be confused with Daniel Jean (judoka).

Daniel Jean
National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister
In office May 16, 2016 – May 23, 2018
Prime Minister	Justin Trudeau
Preceded by	Richard Fadden
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office November 2013 – May 15, 2016

Daniel Jean was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau from May 2016 until May 2018.

Education

Jean possesses a Bachelor of Social Sciences, International Relations and Economics, from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Business Administration from the State University of New York.[1]

Biography

Jean began his career in Canadian government in 1983 and has held various positions since then, including Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.[1]

While he was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2015, Jean was seen to urge government to sign an extradition treaty with China.[2]

National Security Advisor

Jean became the National Security Advisor (Canada) to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May 2016, after Richard Fadden retired from the position.[3]

Several months after his appointment, Jean went to Beijing to talk about an extradition treaty and a "transfer of offenders" treaty.[2]

He assisted in the release of Hyeon Soo Lim from North Korea.[4]

Resignation

Jean attracted controversy in 2018 when he gave a briefing to journalists on Justin Trudeau's trip to India, in which Jaspal Atwal was invited to an event at the Canadian embassy.[5] Atwal is a Canadian of Indian descent to was convicted of the attempted murder of Malkiat Singh Sidhu in 1986.[5] Jean claimed that the briefing was designed to "counter a false narrative" that CSIS, the RCMP, and the High Commission to India knew of Atwal's invitation in advance but did nothing.[5][6]

Following the briefing, several media outlets reported that a senior official had alleged that Atwal's presence was the result of a concerted effort to embarrass the Canadian government.[6] The briefing drew criticism from some, including Conservative MP Glen Motz for raising "the conspiracy theory of rogue Indian elements" rather than accepting responsibility for Atwal's invitation.[5]

Within 24 hours, Surrey Centre Liberal MP Randeep Sarai said that he had secured Atwal's invitation, thus giving the lie to Jean,[2] who announced that he would retire as national security advisor in April 2018, stepping down officially on May 22.[7]

References

1. "Daniel Jean". Prime Minister of Canada. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
2. Glavin, Terry (27 February 2018). "How Trudeau's top national security advisor lost the plot in India". MacLean's.
3. May, Kathryn (2016-05-05). "Trudeau's pick for security adviser shows focus on foreign affairs expertise". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
4. "Sweden aided Ottawa in North Korea's release of pastor, Trudeau signals". The Globe and Mail. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
5. "National security adviser Daniel Jean defends controversial briefing on Atwal affair | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
6. "If not for Daniel Jean's blunder, Atwal affair could have been over in days". Retrieved 2018-05-02.
7. "Daniel Jean, adviser who suggested Trudeau's India trip was sabotaged, retiring". Retrieved 2018-05-02.