Michael Cooper

Michael Cooper is the Conservative Member of Parliament for St. Albert—Edmonton.

The Bill is substantively similar to Cooper's Bill C-417 but died on the order paper at the dissolution of the 43rd Parliament.

Following the 2021 election, Senator Boisvenu re-introduced the juror bill, as Bill S-206, with Cooper as the House of Commons sponsor.

On December 8, 2021, Bill S-206 passed the Senate unanimously, and had passed through the House of Commons, receiving unanimous support during third reading on September 28, 2022.

Bill S-206 received royal assent on October 18, 2022, finally becoming law.

He was called to the Alberta Bar in 2010.

Prior to being elected Cooper worked as a civil litigator at a leading Edmonton law firm.

First elected in 2015, Cooper was re-elected in 2019, and again in 2021.

Cooper serves as The Shadow Minister for Democratic Reform, and as a member of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Cooper is a lifelong resident of St. Albert and an active community volunteer.

He is a Lector at St. Albert Catholic Parish and a member of the Knights of Columbus, St. Albert Rotary Club and the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce.

A graduate of the University of Alberta, Cooper received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, both with distinction.

On November 20, 2015, Michael Cooper was appointed Official Opposition Deputy Justice Critic by Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose.

Cooper was re-appointed to this role by Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer as Deputy Shadow Minister.

The Bill was introduced after Constable David Wynn was shot and killed and Auxiliary Constable David Bond was shot by Shawn Rehn at a St. Albert casino in January 2015.

Rehn was on bail at the time, despite a lengthy criminal history.

A similar Bill was introduced by Cooper's predecessor, Brent Rathgeber, in June 2015.

On April 14, 2016, then Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould introduced Bill C-14, the government's Physician-Assisted Dying Legislation in the House of Commons.

Bill C-14 was assented June 17, 2016 and incorporated several of the recommendations from the Conservative MPs' dissenting report, including limiting physician-assisted dying to competent adults suffering from a physical illness and prohibiting advance directives.

Cooper sponsored in the House of Commons Bill S-217, known as Wynn's Law, introduced by Senator Bob Runciman on February 3, 2016.

Bill S-217 sought to amend the Criminal Code to make it mandatory for the criminal history of bail applicants to be presented at bail hearings.

Bill S-217 passed the Senate in October 2016.

When the Bill was debated at second reading in the House of Commons, Marco Mendicino, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice announced the Liberal government's opposition to the Bill.

Despite this, it passed second reading with the unanimous support of Conservative, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green MPs, plus 27 Liberal MPs. However, when Bill S-217 was studied at the Justice Committee, Liberal and NDP MPs on the Committee voted to recommend that the Bill not proceed.

Cooper contributed to the 2017 book Turning Parliament Inside Out: Practical Ideas for Reforming Canada’s Democracy, which features a cross-section of Parliamentarians on ideas for Parliamentary reform.

Cooper wrote a chapter on how to fix Question Period.

Ambrose also appointed Cooper as vice-chair of the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying.

He, along with the other Conservative MPs on the committee authored a dissenting report from the majority committee report cautioning against advance directives and opening physician-assisted dying to minors.

On June 14, 2017, the House of Commons voted not to proceed with Bill S-217 by a vote of 199 to 103.

Cooper endorsed MP Erin O'Toole during the 2017 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race.

O’Toole placed third behind MP Maxime Bernier and the winner MP Andrew Scheer.

On October 29, 2018, Cooper introduced Private Members’ Bill C-417, which sought to amend the jury secrecy rule section of the Criminal Code.

The Bill would amend the section so that former jurors suffering from mental health issues arising from their jury service can disclose all aspects of the jury deliberation process with a medical professional.

The jury secrecy rule prohibits former jurors from disclosing aspects of the jury deliberation process with anyone for life.

The Bill would implement a recommendation of a report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights entitled: Improving Support for Jurors in Canada.

Cooper's Bill was seconded by NDP MP Murray Rankin.

Following the 2019 federal election Cooper was appointed by Scheer as the Deputy Shadow Minister of Finance.

Cooper is currently a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs as well as the vice-chair of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).

The Bill passed the House of Commons unanimously on April 12, 2019, but died on the order paper when the 2019 federal election was called.

Cooper sponsored Bill S-207, introduced by Conservative Senator Pierre-Hughes Boisvenu in December 2019.