Rachel Blaney

Rachel Blaney
MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for North Island—Powell River
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by John Duncan
Personal details
Born 1974
Political party New Democratic Party
Residence Campbell River, British Columbia
Profession Executive Director (non-profit)

Rachel A. Blaney MP is a Canadian politician who was elected during the 2015 Canadian federal election to be the Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada that represents the federal electoral district North Island—Powell River. Blaney was appointed the New Democratic Party critic for multiculturalism, and subsequently for seniors issues, and the deputy critic for Infrastructure and Communities in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. She introduced one bill into the House of Commons, An Act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights (right to housing) which sought to add the right to proper housing free of unreasonable barriers into the Canadian Bill of Rights, though it was defeated at second reading.

Background

Rachel Blaney was raised in Terrace as an adoptive daughter of a Stellat'en First Nation family.[1] She moved to Nanaimo to attend Malaspina University-College where she received a bachelor of arts degree in First Nation Studies.[2] She moved to Campbell River in 1998 where she married, and raised three children. She worked with the Homalco First Nation before becoming the Executive Director of the Immigrant Welcome Centre of North Vancouver Island (later the Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association of North Vancouver Island) in 2007.[3]

In Fall 2014, the 40 year old Blaney sought to be the NDP candidate in the North Island—Powell River riding for the upcoming 2015 federal election, defeating challenger Dave Coles, a retired union leader from also from Campbell River.[3] She was encouraged by a visit from party leader Tom Mulcair in December 2014, and campaigned throughout 2015 in preparation for the October election in which she was viewed as a likely contender to flip her riding away from the Conservative Party.[4] In the election, she benefitted from a wave of support for the NDP over Vancouver Island[5] and defeated Conservative Party political advisor Laura Smith, retired meteorologist Peter Schwarzhoff for the Liberal Party and financial administrator Brenda Sayers for the Green Party.[6]

42nd Canadian Parliament

Though Blaney was elected as a Member of Parliament to represent the North Island—Powell River constituency, her party had lost seats overall and formed the third party in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. She opened constituency offices in Powell River and a shared Campbell River office with MLA Claire Trevena. For constituency work, Blaney hosted numerous public meetings on a variety of topics,[7] including hosting Romeo Saganash to discuss aboriginal affairs[8] and the NDP critic on international trade Tracey Ramsey to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership.[9] Party leader Tom Mulcair assigned her to be the party's critic on multiculturalism issues and deputy critic (to Matthew Dubé) for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Communities. Mulcair reassigned her critic role from multiculturalism to seniors issues in February 2017.[10]

Blaney introduced one bill into parliament, An Act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights (right to housing) (Bill C-235), which sought to add the right to proper housing free of unreasonable barriers into the Canadian Bill of Rights.[11] While it received first reading in December 2016, the bill was defeated at second reading in November 2017 with both the Liberal and Conservative parties voting against it. Along with Courtenay—Alberni MP Gord Johns, she advocated for reversing the previous government's scheduled closure of the Comox Marine Communications and Traffic Services.[12] While the new government directed the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to review the closure, they ultimately upheld it.[13] A defamation lawsuit filed by Gordon Wilson, whose politically-appointed position as "LNG - Buy BC Advocate" was eliminated by a new provincial government, accused Blaney for posting a statement on Facebook that she ought to have known was false, specifically "Taxpayers paid $550,000 for what? No notes, nothing tracking the work he had done.".[14][15]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticRachel Blaney24,34040.21-1.53$139,441.92
ConservativeLaura Smith15,84026.17-19.86$83,346.00
LiberalPeter Schwarzhoff15,41625.47+19.11$40,436.14
GreenBrenda Sayers4,9408.16+3.01$37,000.01
Total valid votes/Expense limit 60,536100.00 $268,365.27
Total rejected ballots 1770.29–
Turnout 60,71375.21–
Eligible voters 80,730
New Democratic notional gain from Conservative Swing +9.17
Source: Elections Canada

References

  1. ↑ Farrell, Terry (November 4, 2015). "Rachel Blaney represents diversity in Parliament". Comox Valley Record. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Meet the new head of the multicultural association". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia. August 15, 2007. p. A3.
  3. 1 2 Douglas, Kristen (November 25, 2014). "Blaney to carry NDP banner into federal election". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia.
  4. ↑ Cassidy, Olivier (October 13, 2015). "Group urges anti-Tory vote to go NDP in five ridings". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. A6.
  5. ↑ Cleverley, Bill (October 20, 2015). "Island's largest riding votes orange, Blaney maintains early lead". Times - Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. A5.
  6. ↑ "Candidates outline their strengths". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia. October 13, 2015.
  7. ↑ Doll, Jocelyn (October 25, 2016). "After one year in office Blaney inspired and determined". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia.
  8. ↑ Doll, Jocelyn (September 14, 2016). "Aboriginal affairs critic tours to gather support for C-262". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia.
  9. ↑ Doll, Jocelyn (July 28, 2016). "Blaney hosts anti-TPP info session". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia.
  10. ↑ "Blaney takes on critic role for seniors issues". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia. February 16, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Blaney introduces right to housing bill". Campbell River Mirror. Campbell River, British Columbia. December 8, 2016.
  12. ↑ "MPs fighting for Coast Guard station". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. December 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Sun sets on communications centre". The Courtenay Comox Valley Record. Courtenay, British Columbia. May 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ Smyth, Mike (August 6, 2017). "Sacked LNG advocate threatens to sue B.C. premier". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. A9.
  15. ↑ Dhillon, Sunny (September 11, 2017). "Horgan files defence in defamation case: Premier cites responsible communication, fair comment and qualified privilege in disputing former LNG advocate's accusation". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.