Annex A:  Biography of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Plouffe, CD

The Honourable Jean-Pierre Plouffe was appointed Commissioner of the Communications Security Establishment effective October 18, 2013, for a period of three years. On October 18, 2016, he was re-appointed for a two-year term.

Mr. Plouffe was born on January 15, 1943, in Ottawa, Ontario. He obtained his law degree, as well as a master's degree in public law (constitutional and international law), from the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1967.

Mr. Plouffe began his career at the office of the Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces. He retired from the Regular Force as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1976, but remained in the Reserve Force until 1996. He worked in private practice with the law firm of Séguin, Ouellette, Plouffe et associés, in Gatineau, Quebec, specializing in criminal law, as disciplinary court chairperson in federal penitentiaries and also as defending officer for courts martial. Thereafter, Mr. Plouffe worked for the Legal Aid Office as office director of the criminal law section.

Mr. Plouffe was appointed a reserve force military judge in 1980, and then as a judge of the Quebec Court in 1982. For several years, he was a lecturer in criminal procedure at the University of Ottawa Civil Law Section. He was thereafter appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec in 1990, and to the Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada in March 2013. He retired as a supernumerary judge on April 2, 2014.

During his career, Mr. Plouffe has been involved in both community and professional activities. He has received civilian and military awards.