text: john baird ( canadian politician ) john russell baird , pc ( born may 26 , 1969 ) is a canadian former politician . baird served from 2011 to 2015 as canada 's minister of foreign affairs in the cabinet of prime minister stephen harper . he had been a member of the federal cabinet , in various positions , since 2006 . previously he was a provincial cabinet minister in ontario during the governments of premiers mike harris and ernie eves . baird resigned from cabinet on february 3 , 2015 , and as a member of parliament on march 16 , 2015 . overview before his spell as minister of foreign affairs baird held the posts of minister of transport , infrastructure and communities , minister of the environment and president of the treasury board . prior to entering federal politics he was a provincial politician serving in the legislative assembly of ontario from 1995 to 2005 and a cabinet minister in the progressive conservative governments of mike harris and ernie eves , serving as the minister for children , community and social services , energy and francophone affairs in addition to being the government 's chief whip . a long - time resident of the former city of nepean , where he attended bell high school , and a graduate of kingston 's queen 's university , he was until recently the member of the house of commons of canada for the riding of ottawa west — nepean . baird was elected there as a candidate for the conservative party of canada in the 2006 federal election , when his party defeated paul martin 's liberal party and established a minority government . baird was sworn in as leader of the government in the house of commons , replacing jay hill , on august 6 , 2010 . prior to this , baird served as transport minister starting october 30 , 2008 , environment minister starting january 2007 , and president of the treasury board during the conservatives ' first year in power . baird served in the legislative assembly of ontario from 1995 to 2005 for the riding of nepean — carleton ( part of nepean until 1999 ) , and was a cabinet minister in the progressive conservative governments of mike harris and ernie eves . he served as the minister for children , community and social services , energy and francophone affairs in addition to being the government 's chief whip . after the conservatives ' defeat by dalton mcguinty 's ontario liberal party , he was the party 's critic for key portfolios including finance , culture and health . baird had been a member of the conservatives since 1985 , when he was the youngest delegate at that time and was also a political aide for the federal progressive conservative party of canada in the late 1980s . directly upon his entry into politics , baird became well known for being vocal on many subjects in the provincial and federal levels of government . during his tenure in the harris cabinet he adopted several cost - saving measures , including reductions in discretionary government spending and an attempt to sell hydro one , the government - owned utility firm . as the federal president of the treasury board in the harper cabinet , he adopted the federal accountability act , which was put in place after the gomery commission which investigated the federal sponsorship scandal in the late 1990s and early 2000s . as environment minister , baird signalled the canadian government 's opposition to the kyoto protocol whose targets have been functionally ignored since its symbolic ratification by the chretien government . early life and career baird was born in nepean , ontario , the son of marianne ( née collins ) and gerald baird . he became involved in politics when he backed a candidate for the local federal pc nomination in 1984 . the next year , at age sixteen , baird was the youngest delegate to attend the party 's january 1985 provincial leadership convention , as a supporter of ontario attorney - general roy mcmurtry . he was later president of the youth wing of the progressive conservative party of ontario , and aligned himself with dennis timbrell during the latter 's abortive campaign for the pc leadership in 1989 – 90 . he backed mike harris when timbrell withdrew from the contest . baird has also indicated that he was charged with trespassing during the 1988 federal election , after he tried to question ontario premier david peterson about free trade with the united states during a liberal party campaign stop in a kingston shopping mall . he received a bachelor of arts degree in political studies from queen 's university in 1992 . baird worked on the political staff of perrin beatty when beatty was federal minister of national defence in the early 1990s , and followed beatty through subsequent cabinet shifts , culminating in his becoming secretary of state for external affairs in the short - lived 1993 government of kim campbell . after the defeat of the federal progressive conservatives in the 1993 federal election , baird worked as a lobbyist in ottawa . baird says he has been a vegetarian since 1997 . however , he admits to eating fish , and he reportedly ate seal meat on a trip to the arctic in 2009 . he had a pet grey tabby cat named thatcher ; when the cat died on november 10 , 2009 , a message sent by baird using his blackberry which said " thatcher has died " resulted in a false rumour to the effect that margaret thatcher had died . in june 2008 , he was selected by the ottawa business journal as a recipient of the " forty under 40 " award . provincial politics government backbencher while baird had been associated with red tories such as timbrell and beatty , he became associated with the conservative ideology of the mike harris - led ontario pc party upon entering provincial politics . he was first elected to the ontario legislature in 1995 , defeating liberal incumbent hans in the ottawa - area riding of nepean . the youngest member of the legislature , baird was appointed parliamentary assistant to the minister of labour on july 13 , 1995 . he became parliamentary assistant to the chair of the management board of cabinet in april 1997 , and was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the minister of finance in november of the same year . as a backbencher , baird proposed a bill naming highway 416 as the " veterans ' memorial highway " and successfully steered its passage through the legislature . he was easily re - elected in 1999 , defeating longtime ottawa councillor gord hunter by a margin of almost 15 , 000 votes . community and social services minister baird joined premier harris 's cabinet on june 17 , 1999 as minister of community and social services , where he became responsible for implementing and expanding ontario 's workfare program . as one of harris 's few bilingual ministers , he was also named as minister responsible for francophone affairs . 1999 baird 's first press conference as a cabinet minister was held in july 1999 , and was intended to highlight the harris government 's record in reducing the provincial welfare rolls . baird told reporters that 15 , 000 people had left the system since the introduction of workfare , and used this figure to argue that the government 's policy was a success . at the time , he lacked information on the number of workfare recipients who actually found jobs , and he also did not account for 40 % of the welfare recipients who had been cut from the list . a number of media reports subsequently criticized both the principle and the implementation of workfare in ontario . a september 1999 report from baird 's ministry showed that 10 , 600 workfare placements had been created in the first six months of 1999 , a figure which the toronto star observed was significantly lower than that which had been predicted by the government . baird indicated that he would continue with the workfare program , and that the proportion of welfare recipients on workfare would be increased from 15 % to 30 % . baird was criticized in late 1999 for refusing to cancel a five - year contract that had been signed between his department and the bermuda - based private firm andersen consulting ( later accenture ) , worth up to $ 180 million . the contract , signed when janet was community and social services minister , entrusted andersen with providing technological upgrades to the province 's welfare management system . the arrangement was criticized by auditor general erik peters , who observed that there was nothing in the contract to prevent andersen from increasing its hourly rates . a published report in early 2000 indicated that andersen was charging an average of $ 257 per hour for work that had previously been done by ministry staff at $ 51 per hour . another report indicated that the firm had charged a total of $ 55 million to find roughly $ 66 million worth of savings . in response to opposition questions , baird said that he would not terminate the contract but would endeavour to negotiate a lower rate . baird opposed the harris government 's plan to amalgamate the city of ottawa with neighboring municipalities , which was approved by the legislature in 1999 . 2000 in january 2000 , baird unveiled a series of initiatives designed to reduce fraud and misuse in the welfare system . this was highlighted by the establishment of a welfare fraud hotline and a complementary conditionality three months later , in which anyone convicted of welfare fraud would run the risk of being given a lifetime ban from the program . the investigations baird initiated during the fiscal year of 2000 uncovered $ 58 . 2 million in social assistance that people were not entitled to receive , and $ 16 . 6 million in avoided future costs , but critics of this approach , including opposition members , poverty advocates , and scholars , suggested that the harris government was overstating the extent of fraud in order to undermine public confidence in welfare programs . in mid - year , baird announced that workfare placements had reached departmental quotas for most of the province . baird revealed a $ 50 million program in may 2000 to help people with developmental disabilities become integrated into their communities . he later affirmed that the province was considering closing its remaining three institutions for the mentally handicapped as part of a larger strategy focusing on home care . baird expressed concern about the physical condition of these institutions , saying that their residents " deserve better " . later that same year , he stated that his department would spend $ 26 million on shelters and other funding for the homeless . baird supported mandatory drug - testing for welfare recipients and argued that those who refused such tests should be at risk of have their assistance cut off . he introduced a policy initiative to this effect at a press conference in late 2000 , in which he dramatically cast a box of syringes onto the floor and said that his department planned to " stop people from shooting their welfare cheque up their arm , and to help them shoot up the ladder of success " . baird acknowledged that his department did not have reliable figures on the number of welfare recipients abusing drugs , although he cited estimates of between 4 % and 10 % . the proposal was criticized by several people , including ontario human rights commissioner keith norton , a former progressive conservative cabinet minister , who expressed concern that it could violate ontario 's human rights code , but officials including baird justified the measures as , " necessary in order to push people still receiving assistance toward independence . " shortly after baird 's announcement , a government website operated by the ministry of community and social services launched an attack against liberal party leader dalton mcguinty for opposing the drug testing plan . the site claimed that mcguinty was " opposed to helping welfare recipients who are addicted to drugs " . baird denied that the message was partisan and initially refused to apologize . the speaker of the legislative assembly of ontario subsequently ruled that the site content was inappropriate and it was removed by the government , with an apology . 2001 – 02 in early 2001 , baird announced that his government 's proposed drug - testing plan would be extended to identify welfare recipients addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol . he later announced that provincial welfare applicants would be required to pass a literacy test . the harris government 's welfare policies were put under scrutiny in august 2001 after a pregnant woman in sudbury , kimberly rogers , died while serving a house arrest for welfare fraud . the woman had been confined to her apartment for three months and reports indicated that her pregnancy was " exacerbated by sweltering conditions in her apartment " . responding to criticism , baird said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case until a coroner 's inquest was completed . he defended his government 's general policy on welfare issues . a subsequent inquest did not assign blame to the government for the woman 's death , but recommended that lifetime bans for fraud be eliminated , and that adequate food , housing and medication be provided to anyone under house arrest . baird was given additional responsibilities as minister responsible for children on february 8 , 2001 . his department increased funding for child services early in the year , amid a significant increase in provincial demand . in november 2001 , the provincial media obtained a confidential government report recommending 40 – 45 % cuts in provincial child - care programs . baird initially declined to comment on the document 's contents , but rejected its proposals in early 2002 . baird was the first cabinet minister to support jim flaherty 's campaign to succeed mike harris as progressive conservative party leader in the party 's 2002 leadership election . the election was won by flaherty 's rival ernie eves , and early media reports suggested that baird might be dropped from the new premier 's cabinet in april 2002 . he was not , but was demoted to the position of chief government whip while remaining associate minister for francophone affairs . his replacement in social services was brenda elliott , who was from the more centrist wing of the progressive conservative party . energy minister and government house leader baird was returned to a more prominent cabinet position in august 2002 after eves separated the ministries of environment and energy and appointed baird to head the latter department . baird was given additional responsibilities as government house leader in june 2003 after chris stockwell was forced to resign following allegations that he had used government funds for a family vacation . as energy minister , baird was entrusted with implementing the government 's plan to sell off part of ontario 's hydro one . a few months later , he became unexpectedly involved in two major and interrelated policy reversals . the energy ministry came under intense media scrutiny in late 2002 after hydro rates increased significantly in many parts of the province . critics argued that the progressive conservative government 's price deregulation policy ( implemented before baird became energy minister ) was responsible . baird suggested that the rate increases resulted from an unusually hot summer . rates remained high through the autumn , and the eves government was forced to re - regulate the market in november by introducing a price cap . the government continued to support deregulation in principle , but maintained the cap for the remainder of its term in office . the second and more fundamental reversal occurred in late january 2003 , when premier eves announced that hydro one would remain under public control . baird was regarded as less combative as energy minister than he had been in community and social services . the energy policies of the eves government were controversial , but opposition criticism was often directed at the premier rather than at baird . eves took a prominent interest in the energy portfolio , and sometimes relegated baird to a secondary role in policy announcements . in november 2002 , however , he was followed around the province by " " , a man in a giant lizard suit sent by the ontario new democratic party as a stunt to show that electricity rates would create an ' economic monster ' for consumers . in early march 2003 , baird announced that the government might be forced to implement rolling blackouts as a response to energy shortages . he encouraged conservation in late summer 2003 , following a province - wide blackout caused by a generator failure in the united states . opposition member the ontario liberal party won a majority government in the 2003 election , although baird was comfortably re - elected in his own seat . between 2003 and 2005 he served as official opposition critic for finance , culture , francophone affairs , intergovernmental affairs and health . he opposed the imposition of a health premium by dalton mcguinty 's government in 2004 , charging that the liberals broke an election pledge not the raise taxes . baird and new democrat peter were vocal critics of speaker alvin curling for allegedly favouring his liberal colleagues , saying that he sanctioned conservative and ndp members for behaviour he would allow from liberals . at one stage , baird described curling 's job performance as an " absolute disgrace " . baird co - chaired jim flaherty 's second campaign to lead the progressive conservative party in 2004 . flaherty was again unsuccessful , losing on the second ballot to the more centrist john tory . baird and flaherty left provincial politics in 2005 to campaign for the federal house of commons . although baird was generally on the right wing of the provincial progressive conservative party , he expressed liberal views on some social issues . he supported same - sex marriage during the 2003 provincial election , and in 2005 helped the mcguinty government achieve quick passage of a provincial bill granting legal recognition to same - sex couples . federal politics baird supported a canadian alliance candidate in the 2000 federal election , and later endorsed stephen harper 's bid to lead the newly formed conservative party of canada in its 2004 leadership election . he was appointed as the conservative party 's ontario co - chair for the 2004 federal election . there were rumours that baird would leave provincial politics to contest the 2004 election , but this did not happen . in 2005 he resigned his provincial seat to campaign federally for the conservative party . baird won a contested nomination battle for ottawa west — nepean conservative nomination on may 5 , 2005 , defeating challengers ed , margret and ade . john pacheco , a leader in the social conservative movement against same - sex marriage , had sought the nomination but was disqualified due to past comments he had made alleging that homosexual practices posed a health risk . pacheco later campaigned in the election as an " independent conservative " , with the specific intent of being a spoiler against baird . he argued that if his campaign caused baird to lose , the conservatives would " get the message that social conservatives are serious about their politics . " baird chose to ignore pacheco entirely in at least one all - candidates debate . baird was elected , defeating liberal candidate lee farnworth by about 5 , 000 votes . the ottawa citizen endorsed baird in this campaign , and argued that his political judgment had improved considerably since his tenure as a harris cabinet minister . in december 2006 baird was one of thirteen conservative mps who voted against reopening the national debate on same - sex marriage . baird has played an aggressive role in question period since his appointment to cabinet , leading mp garth turner to describe him as stephen harper 's " commons pit bull " . president of the treasury board baird was appointed president of the treasury board on february 6 , 2006 . following his appointment , he said that one of his priorities would be to prevent government jobs from being relocated from ottawa to other regions for political purposes . baird also indicated that his government was not planning to introduce job cuts or initiate a radical reduction in the size of government . in june 2006 he announced the creation of a three - member panel to advise the federal government on grant and contribution programs and accountability issues . one of the members was frances , a former ontario new democratic party cabinet minister . accountability act baird introduced the conservative government 's first piece of legislation in april 2006 . the accountability act promised significant reform to the structure of canadian politics and government . prime minister harper said that it would " put an end to the influence of money " in the canadian government . the accountability act restricted the ability of former politicians and bureaucrats to become lobbyists , provided protection to whistle - blowers in the civil service and gave the auditor general of canada new powers of oversight . it limited individual donations to political parties and candidates to $ 1 , 100 per year ( down from $ 5 , 200 ) , created nine new or revised positions to oversee the activities of public officials and placed crown corporations such as the canadian broadcasting corporation under access - to - information legislation . opposition mps complained that several recommendations for access - to - information reform were left out of the bill , and were instead sent to committee for further review . new democratic party mp pat martin suggested that this deferral could delay meaningful reform for the foreseeable future . martin later made a deal with baird to give the bill an easy passage through committee , in return for the conservatives accepting some ndp amendments . information commissioner john reid has criticized the new proposed powers for his department under the legislation , arguing that they will create unnecessary bureaucracy . shortly after the accountability act was introduced to parliament , reid issued an emergency report saying that the legislation would " increase the government 's ability to cover up wrongdoing , shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to canadians " . he added that no government had ever put forward " a more retrograde and dangerous " set of proposals for dealing with access to information laws . baird described reid 's criticisms as " excessive " , stating that most of the commissioner 's specific concerns were minor in nature . representatives of canada 's business community also expressed concern about changes to disclosure laws , arguing that their commercial secrets could be exposed to competitors . the bill passed the house of commons on division in june 2006 . the canadian senate approved it in december 2006 , with several amendments , and sent it back to the commons for further consideration . the amended act was approved by the commons without debate on december 8 , and was signed into law four days later . shortly after the bill first passed the commons , baird acknowledged that the conservatives might have unintentionally broken political financing laws by failing to report convention fees collected in 2005 . he told a senate committee that $ 1 . 7 million was left unreported and that he did not realize it was an issue at the time . the matter is under review by the chief electoral officer . the conservatives quietly tabled an amendment to the accountability act in november 2006 , stipulating that convention fees will not be counted as political contributions . program cuts in may 2006 , baird was asked to find $ 1 billion in cuts for 2006 and 2007 . on september 25 , on the same day that the government announced a $ 13 . 2 billion surplus , baird announced cuts to sixty - six federal programs , including status of women , medicinal marijuana research , canadian museums , adult literacy , youth employment and social development and the british columbia pine beetle program . one of the most controversial cuts was to the federal court challenges program , which provided funding for canadians to pursue rights cases in the canadian court system . baird argued that government funding would be redirected in a way that " reflects the priorities of working families " and that he " just [ didn 't ] think it made sense for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge the government 's own laws in court . " in justifying cuts to adult literacy programs , baird referenced his government 's support for youth literacy and said , " we 've got to fix the ground level problem and not be trying to do repair work after the fact . " 2006 ottawa municipal election in early october 2006 , baird 's department reviewed a promised $ 200 million grant to the city of ottawa 's light - rail expansion project for the o - train . baird indicated that the government would keep the funding at least until the november election , but added that the council elected in november would have the final say on the issue . he also leaked details of the city 's contact with the german firm siemens . as a result , the rail program became a focal issue in the 2006 ottawa mayoral election and baird 's opponents accused him of trying to influence the outcome . baird and ottawa mayor bob chiarelli accused one another of lying about details of the project , and liberal mp navdeep bains asked the federal ethics commissioner to investigate baird 's decision to release details of the private contract . chiarelli was defeated in the election and the light - rail expansion was stopped by the new council . an ottawa citizen report in january 2007 revealed that federal officials had not posed any objections to the light - rail project before baird 's intervention , and suggested that his involvement was political in nature . green party leader elizabeth may speculated that ottawa may have been deprived of light - rail service because of an apparent " personal vendetta " from baird against chiarelli . baird denied this charge , saying that his intervention was not political . opponents of the light - rail project have argued that it was undertaken without sufficient consultation with the public . in february 2008 , it was reported that the house of commons committee on government operations would be looking into his involvement over the case . mp and committee member mark holland voiced a concern that baird leaked information on the contract . baird replied that he made the right decision and dismissed the investigation saying " there is no evidence of anything " . speaking to reporters he added following the announcement of the investigation : " if you want to avert a billion - dollar boondoggle , you have to make some difficult decisions " . other responsibilities baird held ministerial responsibilities for the toronto centre and the toronto waterfront revitalization corporation . he developed a working relationship with toronto mayor david miller soon after his appointment , and was present for the announcement of a comprehensive new waterfront strategy in june 2006 . ontario cabinet minister david caplan described baird as a champion of waterfront renewal and miller described him as an ally of the city . baird spent christmas 2006 meeting with canadian soldiers in afghanistan . environment minister 2007 – 08 on january 4 , 2007 , baird was appointed as environment minister in a cabinet shuffle , replacing rona ambrose . in making the appointment , prime minister stephen harper acknowledged that his government needed to do more to make the environment a priority . some commentators remarked favourably on baird 's appointment , describing him as a strong communicator and negotiator . columnist andrew coyne , however , described baird as " the man sent to kill the issue , " suggesting that baird 's appointment was meant to neutralize the environment as an election issue rather than to initiate any meaningful reforms . baird is a vocal opponent of the kyoto protocol , which he argues will bring about an " economic collapse " . later in 2007 , he added that any new environmental agreements must include reduction targets for major greenhouse emitters such as china , india and the united states who have not signed the protocol or does not have any mandatory reductions set by the protocol . baird met with renowned canadian environmentalist david suzuki following his appointment . at the time suzuki said he was encouraged by baird 's approach , but remained skeptical of the harper government 's environmental plans . however , when baird unveiled the conservative government 's plan in april 2007 , suzuki confronted him , calling the plan " a disappointment " . approach to the kyoto protocol in february 2007 , the liberal opposition brought forward a non - binding motion for canada to renew its commitment to the kyoto protocol . all conservative mps who were present in the house , including baird , voted against the motion , which passed with the support of the three opposition parties . the following month , opposition members on a special commons committee used their majority to bring forward sweeping changes to the government 's clean air act . among other things , the revised act called for participation in international carbon markets and the fulfillment of kyoto targets . baird indicated that the opposition 's changes would not be included in federal targets or regulations . in april 2007 , baird produced a federal study supported by five independent economists to support his approach to the kyoto protocol . among the five economists was toronto - dominion bank chief economist don drummond , who also wrote a private letter to baird arguing that the " economic cost [ of implementing kyoto ] would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s . " opposition parliamentarians dismissed the report as a scare tactic , while liberal environment critic david mcguinty argued that the study was misleading , saying that it did not properly examine international emission trading and ignored jobs to be created through the " green economy " . the report claimed that canada 's ability to invest in developing nations to meet emissions targets through cdm by misquoting the amount of credit to be $ 85 million instead of the real approximation of $ 3 billion . soon afterward , a united nations report also contradicted the study mentioning that " steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can be accomplished at a cost of only 0 . 12 per cent of the world 's annual economic output " but baird responded that canada 's gas emission levels would peak in 2012 , three years before the un 's set target of 2015 . environmental strategy baird was the harper government 's representative at the release of a major united nations report on climate change in paris in february 2007 . he described the report as a " turning point in the battle against climate change , " while indicating his surprise that human activity was found to be a major cause of the phenomenon . baird released his government 's targets for greenhouse gas emissions in late april 2007 . the plan calls for canada to begin cutting its existing rate of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 and for cuts to reach 20 % by 2020 . under this plan , canada will reach its kyoto targets between 2020 and 2025 , taking an additional eight to thirteen years longer than kyoto . the government plan uses production intensity targets instead of hard caps . baird said that the " plan strikes a balance between the perfection some environmentalists may be seeking and the status quo that some in industry seek to protect . " in december 2007 , baird revealed in a plan that over 700 big - companies , including oil and gas , pulp and paper , electricity and iron and steel companies , must cut greenhouse emissions by six percent between 2008 and 2010 . the companies would also have to produce an annual report every may 31 that would include data regarding the level of greenhouses emissions produced each year . baird 's proposal has been met with approval from canada 's executives , who described them as the toughest emission regulations in the world , and who feared that more stringent standards would stifle oil sands exploration . ontario premier dalton mcguinty had been considerably less critical than his brother , federal liberal member of parliament david mcguinty , having written to prime minister harper on the environmental policy . the premier had stressed the importance of a policy that considered the north american market as a whole , due to the automotive industry 's importance to his province . mcguinty said the conservatives ' environmental plan could have gone further but described the auto emissions part of the plan as " very sensible " . members of opposition parties have criticized the government 's abandonment of the kyoto goals , while david suzuki described the proposal as a " sham " with " weak targets " . former us vice president al gore said baird 's plan was a " complete and total fraud " that was " designed to mislead the canadian people " . baird responded by defending his plan and by criticizing gore 's environmental record , noting that no similarly stringent measures were passed during gore 's tenure in office and that the kyoto treaty was never submitted to the us senate for ratification . liberal party mp pablo rodriguez introduced to the house of commons a private bill that would have forced canada to comply with the kyoto treaty in response to the government 's plan . while the bill passed , baird mentioned that , even though that the government wouldn 't dismiss the idea , there were no new environmental measures planned . all three opposition parties demanded that the environment become one of the main points of the government 's throne speech in the 2007 fall session . environmental record shortly after his appointment , baird , stephen harper and natural resources minister gary lunn announced $ 1 . 5 billion for clean - energy initiatives over the next decade . baird and lunn also announced a $ 230 million program for clean energy technology . lunn said that " there were literally hundreds of programs but there was no focus " when the conservatives took office . critics argued that the new conservative measures were similar to measures introduced by the liberals in their 2005 budget . former liberal leader stéphane dion has argued that the conservative party 's strategy is too strongly focused on nuclear energy . on february 12 , 2007 , baird appeared at a press conference with stephen harper and quebec premier jean charest to announce a $ 1 . 5 billion environmental fund for the provinces . journalist frances russell criticized that as a reduction from the $ 3 billion promised by the previous liberal government . canada is a signatory to the kyoto protocol which legally requires signatory countries to set up compatible carbon trading markets . in direct defiance of this international legal obligation , in march 2007 , baird indicated that he wanted canadian companies to be banned , or at least severely restricted , from participating in the international carbon market . several european countries had already set up a trading system to allow companies that reduce their emission levels below government targets to sell " credits " on an international market . many industry leaders argued that canada should adopt a similar policy . then - opposition leader stéphane dion argued that participation will allow canadian firms to make " of money " . baird however described some carbon markets as " shaky , " and argued that trade should be restricted to within canada , or perhaps within north america . in april he indicated that canadian businesses would soon gain the right to earn credits by investing in overseas environmental projects . baird defended another conservative government decision to cut funds for climate science research , arguing that further studies are largely superfluous in light of recent united nations reports . gordon mcbean of the canadian foundation for climate and atmospheric sciences has disagreed , claiming that further research is the best way to adapt to a changing climate . baird said in a house of commons committee that his government would not consider the implementation of a carbon tax . he told that the government 's approach " will be to provide regulation for industry to ensure we reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air pollutants " bali while participating at the united nations summit on climate changes in bali , indonesia , baird announced a $ 86 million funding to help canadian communities notably coping with the loss of forests due to pine beetles in the west and of infrastructures in the north due to softer soil . the four - year plan included $ 56 million on several projects and $ 29 million for research . baird was criticized by some parties and observers for obstructing progress on what was to become ' the bali action plan ' . baird showed up for the bali conference at which it was intended he explain canada 's position at a meeting with non - governmental activists , but instead quickly left , with one of the activists alleging that baird left because he " probably did not want to confront young activists critical of canada 's stand . " draft baird movement in late november and early december 2008 , a website went online allegedly representing a movement to draft baird for leader of the conservative party , in the face of stephen harper facing possible defeat by an opposition coalition . the draft group allegedly comprised over 100 party members from across the country — including two mps and one senator ( who , reportedly , had requested anonymity ) . in its only contact with the media , the campaign claimed it had nearly 3 , 000 visitors and 237 new supporters in less than ten hours . baird has since indicated not only that he is loyal to harper , but that he is uninterested in ever becoming party leader . in 2011 he told a newspaper , " some people may have when growing up , always harboured leadership ambitions . i 've never harboured leadership ambitions . it is the honest - to - god truth . " minister of transport ( 2008 – 2010 ) baird served as minister of transport between october 30 , 2008 and august 6 , 2010 . ' interim ' environment minister 2010 – 2011 cancun climate ' fossil awards ' after resuming his environment portfolio from november 2010 until january 2011 , baird was the harper government 's main representative to the united nations climate conference in cancun in december 2010 . on the first day , canada “ won ” three fossil of the day awards , awards which , after a vote by more than 400 leading international organizations , go to countries that do the most to disrupt or undermine un climate talks . " canada under baird was accused of " working against progressive legislation to address climate change " , cited for " cancelling support for clean energy and for failing to have any plan to meet its very weak target for reducing [ canada ] ' s greenhouse gas emissions . " foreign affairs minister 2011 – 2015 activists on board a canadian boat taking supplies to gaza ( which had been blockaded by the israeli government to ensure that weapons and other contraband did not enter gaza ) in november 2011 urged baird to resign as foreign minister for " failing to do his job " . they said they had been roughed up and by israeli forces and that " if minister baird wants to put the interests of a far - right israeli government before canadians , he should apply for the job of israel 's ambassador " . baird affirmed canada 's support for likud 's opposition to palestinian statehood while visiting israel in february 2012 . on september 7 , 2012 he announced the sudden closure of canada 's embassy in tehran and the expulsion of all iranian diplomats from canada . baird made the announcement at an asia - pacific economic cooperation meeting in russia . he said canada 's decision was not linked to growing speculation of an imminent attack by israel on iran 's nuclear facilities . baird said " canada views the government of iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today . " canada 's actions were immediately praised by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu who described them as " bold leadership . " baird signed an agreement between the governments of the united arab emirates and canada for cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy . baird 's criticism of the stance of several african countries on same - sex rights and of the russian federation for its ban on " homosexual propaganda " and other moves to suppress lgbt rights have been condemned by the social conservative lobby group women of canada which issued a statement accusing him of " abuse of office " claiming that " mr. baird 's actions are destructive to the conservative base in canada and causing collateral damage to his party . " a spokesman for baird 's office replied stating " the promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of canada ’ s foreign policy . " baird refused to sign the world arms trade treaty , with the canadian government reportedly ordering its diplomats to play a “ low - key , minimal role ” during negotiations and protect the rights of canadian gun owners . resignation and departing public office following his resignation as minister of foreign affairs , baird remained a backbench mp for several weeks . on february 19 , 2015 he represented the government at the re - opening of canada house , the home of the canadian high commission to the united kingdom . baird 's resignation from parliament took effect on march 16 , 2015 . private sector since leaving politics , baird has accepted several private sector appointments . in june 2015 he was hired as a strategic adviser to hatch ltd , an international engineering and consulting firm for companies in the resource industry . in october 2015 , he joined political risk consulting firm eurasia group as a senior adviser , where he offers strategic insight to companies on how global politics affects business . he has also been hired as an adviser to barrick gold and bennett jones , and accepted an appointment to the board of directors of canadian pacific railway . electoral record source : elections canada all electoral information taken from elections canada and elections ontario . italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals , and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available . the 1999 and 2003 expenditure entries are taken from official candidate reports as listed by elections ontario . the figures cited are the total candidate 's campaign expenses subject to limitation , and include transfers from constituency associations . return to private sector on march 27 , 2015 , barrick gold corp. announced mr. baird 's appointment to its international advisory board , along with former u.s. speaker of the house of representatives , newt gingrich . no compensation details were disclosed in the filings .