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Dr. Rey D. Pagtakhan, P.C., M.P. - Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development)

The Honourable Dr. Rey Pagtakhan was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 and was re-elected for the fourth term in 2000. He was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs on January 15, 2002 and was appointed Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development) on May 26, 2002. Previously, he served as Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Dr. Pagtakhan also chaired the Standing Committees on Citizenship and Immigration and on Human Rights and the Status of Persons with Disabilities as well as the Western and Northern Federal Liberal Caucus. He was Parliamentary Advisor to the Canadian Delegation at the 1992 World Health Assembly in Geneva and was Advisor to the Minister of Health on the Manitoba First Nations Working Group on Health. He was sent to observe the 1991 Referendum on Ukrainian Independence. "He has become one of the best-liked and most widely respected in the House," wrote a Toronto Star columnist. A Vancouver Sun commentator said, "I never met Pagtakhan, but I know something of him through his writing: he strikes me as thoroughly decent." The Winnipeg Free Press, shortly after his first election, quoted a student, "I used to think politicians were all talk, no action. But I think Dr. Pagtakhan will do a wonderful job."

Dr. Pagtakhan graduated in medicine from the University of the Philippines (UP) and holds the degree of Master of Science in Perinatal Physiology from the University of Manitoba. He completed his Residency in Pediatrics at the St. Louis Children's Hospital-Washington University Medical Centre and his Fellowship in Pediatric Respirology at the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Prior to his political career, Dr. Pagtakhan was a Full Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine, Director of the Manitoba Cystic Fibrosis Centre, President of the Manitoba Pediatric Society, and a lung specialist for children. He was a school trustee and a member of the Winnipeg Police Commission. He served as the first Chair of the Board of Presidents of the Canadian Ethnocultural Council and as National President of the United Council of Filipino Canadian Associations in Canada.

As a Member of Parliament, Dr. Pagtakhan has published papers on senate reform, health care system, prenatal nutrition, and hate on the internet and has spoken across Canada and abroad on a variety of issues. As a medical doctor, he has authored and co-authored several chapters and papers for medical textbooks and journals and has lectured widely at medical schools and scientific conferences. He has received several awards and honours, including the Canadian Governor-General Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Medal, the Missouri and St. Louis Heart Associations' Joint Research Fellowship (held at Washington University School of Medicine), the Manila Medical Society First Prize for Basic Research, the UP Medical Alumni Society Most Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the Philippine Presidential Citation for Outstanding Filipino Overseas. Most recently, the University of the Philippines conferred upon Dr. Pagtakhan a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

Born in the Philippines, Dr. Pagtakhan and his wife, Gloria née Visarra, a dietitian, immigrated to Canada in 1968 and were granted Canadian citizenship in 1974. They have four sons: Reis, Advin, Sherwin, and Christopher Justin; a daughter-in-law (Mabini Joy), and a granddaughter (Kailani Joy).

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