James Nation Hillyer (8 July 1974 – 23 March 2016) was a federal Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Lethbridge and later Medicine Hat–Cardston–Warner.
Hillyer grew up playing soccer and hockey, he earned his Chief Scout Award, and was also valedictorian when he graduated from Stirling High School in 1992.
[11] He supported former MP Stephen Woodworth's motion which called on Parliament to establish a committee to reexamine the definition of when human life begins.
Hillyer worked alongside former MP Joy Smith to advocate for adoption of the Nordic Model instead of legalizing prostitution[12] and to create legislation to prevent human trafficking.
[14] In December 2011, Hillyer stated in the House of Commons that he intended no offence when he made gunshot gestures with his hands as he voted to scrap the Canadian Firearms Registry.
[15][16] In promising not to make hand gestures in the Commons in the future, Hillyer suggested that "if people were offended they should blame whoever posted the six-week-old video [on YouTube] on the anniversary" of the École Polytechnique massacre.
[15] In March 2012, Hillyer was caught on camera "rolling his eyes dramatically" in the House of Commons during a speech by NDP MP Pat Martin.
In 2013, Hillyer broke his leg in a ski accident, which had long-term health consequences; he had surgery for a bone infection in February 2016, shortly before his death.