Martin Cauchon, (born August 23, 1962) is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec Canada. He is a former Liberal Cabinet Minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. He is married to Dorine Perron and together, they have three children : Charles, François and Catherine. Cauchon was born in La Malbaie, Quebec and studied law at the University of Ottawa and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. He worked as a lawyer from 1985 to 1993, and from 2004 to present. Cauchon was counsel with Gowlings and with the now-defunct law firm of Heenan Blaikie. Today, he is counsel at the Montreal office of DS Lawyers Canada LLP, an international law firm. He is also a Vice-Chairman of the Canada China Business Council. He unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2013 as Justin Trudeau was the favourite. Politics Cauchon first ran for public office in the 1988 federal election when he challenged Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in the riding of Charlevoix, however he was unsuccessful in this bid. In the 1993 federal election Cauchon once again sought a seat in the House of Commons of Canada. In this election he was elected in the Montreal riding of Outremont, he was re-elected in the 1997 and 2000 elections. Cauchon was appointed Secretary of State for the Federal Office of Regional Development - Quebec by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in 1996. He became a full cabinet minister in 1999 when he was given the position of Minister of National Revenue. On January 15, 2002, he became Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Quebec lieutenant. As justice minister, Cauchon argued in cabinet in favour of same-sex marriage and the decriminalization of marijuana (indeed, when asked whether he had used marijuana in the past, he responded "Yes, of course"). As a minister, Cauchon leave its marks on many files. As Secretary of State for regional development, he solidified the community future organisation in the province of Quebec. During his tenue as minister of national revenu, he introduced the customs action plan opening the door for the use of more technologies in managing the Canada-US border. As Minister of Justice, he fought for equality right and tabled the bill on same-sex marriage. He also introduced a bill decriminalizing marijuana. Even though that latter bill wasn't pass into law, it was the precursor of the