Paul Lane

Paul Lane
MHA
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Mount Pearl-Southlands
Mount Pearl South (2011-2015)
Assumed office
October 11, 2011
Preceded by Dave Denine
Personal details
Born St. John's, Newfoundland
Political party Independent
Other political
affiliations		 Liberal Party (2014–2016)
Progressive Conservative (2011–2014)
Residence Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador

Paul Lane is a Canadian politician in the provincial legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He represents the electoral district of Mount Pearl-Southlands in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. Born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Lane resides in the suburban community of Mount Pearl, where he was a city councillor and deputy mayor prior to his election to the provincial legislature. He was first elected in the 2011 provincial election as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador (PC).[1] He currently sits as an independent; he was elected as a Liberal in the 2015 election.

Politics

Following the election of a PC majority government in 2011, Lane was not appointed to the Cabinet. On January 20, 2014 Lane crossed the floor to the Liberal Party to protest the leadership of Premier Kathy Dunderdale.[2] After leaving the PCs Lane apologized for his behaviour in the House of Assembly and on social media, and distanced himself from the policies of the PCs, especially his prior outspoken support for curtailing access to information with Bill 29 and for the Muskrat Falls project.

Following the election of a Liberal majority government in 2015, Lane was not appointed to Cabinet. In 2016, he was suspended from the Liberal caucus for voting with the opposition on a non-binding motion against the 2016 budget.[3] Lane then inquired whether he could continue to collect his additional salary as Chair of Committees. After leaving the Liberal Party Lane distanced himself from its policies. As an Independent he frequently votes in support of the positions put forward by NDP MHAs.[4]

After he left the Liberal Party, media reports surfaced that Lane was being sued for $28,000 in credit card arrears.[5]

Lane's use of House of Assembly travel funding has come under scrutiny from time to time. Lane has claimed travel expenses as small as $1 for use of a "private vehicle".[6] These expense claims, numbering in the hundreds, have amounted to tens of thousands of dollars of charges to taxpayers dating back to when Lane was first elected in 2011.

Electoral record

Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes % ±
LiberalPaul Lane2,55947.4–
Progressive ConservativeJim Lester2,31842.9–
New DemocraticRoy Locke5229.7–
Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Progressive ConservativePaul Lane2,37554.61-29.73
     NDP John Riche 1,675 38.51 +31.78
LiberalNorm Snelgrove2996.88-2.05

References

  1. ↑ "Plenty of new faces heading to Confederation Building". CBC News. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Newfoundland Tory switches to Liberals, blames Premier Dunderdale". The Globe and Mail, January 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Paul Lane Kicked Out of Liberal Caucus via Email". VOCM. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  4. ↑ http://www.assembly.nl.ca/business/hansard
  5. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/independent-mha-paul-lane-sued-28-alleged-credit-card-debt-1.3892491
  6. ↑ http://www.assembly.nl.ca/members/expense_reports/2014/september2014/LanePaul/LanePaul-IntraConstituencyTravelReport.pdf
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