Christopher "Chris" Bentley is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and is the province's Attorney General in the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Academic endeavours

Bentley received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, and obtained a law degree from the University of Toronto in 1979. Two years later, he obtained a Master's degree from Cambridge University in England. Bentley has practiced criminal and labour law, with the firm of Bentley & LeRoy LLP. In 1985, he was a founder and first chairperson of Neighbourhood Legal Services London & Middlesex, a legal clinic intended to assist low-income clients.

Since 1992, Bentley has worked as a part-time teacher at Western. He helped establish the university's Law School Careers Office, has lectured at various continuing education courses. In 2000, he published a book entitled Criminal practice manual: A practical guide to handling criminal cases.

Member of Provincial Parliament

Bentley first ran for the provincial legislature in the 2003 general election, contesting the riding of London West as a Liberal. He was successful, defeating incumbent maverick Progressive Conservative Bob Wood by over 10,000 votes. The Liberals won the election, and Bentley was appointed Ontario Minister of Labour on October 23, 2003. After a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005, he was named as Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Bentley was re-elected in the 2007 election and was named Attorney General of Ontario shortly thereafter.

External Links

• Official MPP Site

es:Christopher Bentley