Dan McTeague
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Daniel P. "Dan" McTeague, PC, MP , BA (Hons.) (born October 16, 1962 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is the Canadian Member of Parliament for the Ontario riding of Pickering—Scarborough East. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada and was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs tasked with protecting Canadians Abroad, until the Liberals lost the 2006 election.
Fluently bilingual, he studied at the University of Toronto and worked as an intern in Ottawa to Paul Cosgrove, (1982) then Minister of Public Works and Canada Mortgage and Housing. After graduation he worked as an assistant to Alvin Curling, Ontario Minister of Housing. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 federal election and was re-elected in 1997, 2004, and 2006. He served as the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry and the Chair of the Liberal Committee on Gasoline Pricing. His private members bills making it an indictable offence to evade the police by motor vehicle, changing the Competition Act, and recognizing Organ Donor Week have all been passed by the legislature.
A veteran of nearly thirty years in the Liberal Party, McTeague has demonstrated a penchant for tackling issues few MPs would dare. Big Oil, the Pharmaceutical Industry and the Cable giants have all committed significant resources to block his unrelenting pursuit to ensure a viable competitive environment for consumers and small business. His no nonsense approach to organized crime's major source of funding - drugs, explains his success in hampering his own government's attempts to decriminalze marijuana and can be credited for overturning a decision by Ontario's highest court to ban police helicopters that could detect marijuana grow operations through heat signatures.He also played a critical role in seeing the strengthening of Canada's laws against child pornography. From the social and progressive side of the political equation, it was McTeague who first championed the cause of getting accessible Aids medicines to Africa, was the first Liberal MP to challenge Prime Minister Chretien's restrictive compensation package for Hepatitis C vitims and put his prolife stance to work by assisting in the obtaining of a letter of pardon which spared the life of a condemned Canadian, Willi am Sampson, who faced execution in Saudi Arabia in 2003.
Apart from passing more Private Members Bills into law than any of his comtemporaries, McTeague is perhaps best known for his role in protecting the interests Canadians Abroad from 2003 to 2006 while serving as Parliamentary Secretary to both Ministers of Foreign Affairs under the Paul Martin Government, the Hon. Bill Graham and the Hon. Pierre Pettigrew.
McTeague's recognized accomplishments have earned him the reputation of being one of Parliament's hardest working MP's, although he has been criticized for taking what some perceive to be a hostile stance against gay rights. (Hill Times 2002)
On August 31, 2005, McTeague harshly accused Canadian oil companies of profiteering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by causing a sharp rise in the price of gasoline.
On November 22, 2005, McTeague asked Immigration Minister Joe Volpe to restrict rapper 50 Cent from entering Canada, citing the death of a constituent at the performers previous concert in Toronto in 2004. 50 Cent's tour went on as scheduled but McTeague's intervention suceeded in seeing at least half of the accompanying members of the rapper's troupe, the G-Unit, banned in Canada as a result of the objections[1].
In July 2006 he condemned Prime Minister Harper's initial failure to address the plight of Canadians in Lebanon trapped by Isreali air strikes and challenged the PM's characterization of the attack as being "a measured response".
With Canadian troops facing more casualties in Afghanistan, McTeague led charge to force the Harper Government to abandon the practice of docking injured soldier's "operational pay" once out of theatre. Oct 6, 2006
McTeague and his wife Dr. Daniela Rossi have five children.
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| Preceded by: René Soetens |
Member of Parliament for Ontario 1993-1997 |
Succeeded by: riding abolished |
| Preceded by: riding created |
Member of Parliament for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge 1997-2004 |
Succeeded by: riding abolished |
| Preceded by: riding created |
Member of Parliament for Pickering—Scarborough East 2004- |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
