New Democratic Party candidates, 1997 Canadian federal election

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The New Democratic Party of Canada ran a full slate of candidates in the 1997 federal election, and won 21 seats out of 301 to emerge as the fourth-largest party in the Canadian House of Commons. Many of the party's candidates have their own biography pages; information about others may be found here.

Contents

[edit] Manitoba

[edit] Glen Hallick (Portage—Lisgar)

Hallick graduated from Sanford Collegiate in 1983, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba shortly after the 1997 election. He was a part-time employee of the Rural Municipality of MacDonald at during the campaign.[1] Hallick supported Lorne Nystrom's bid for the federal NDP leadership in 1996.

Hallick had previously been a candidate of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba in the 1995 provincial election, in the rural constituency of Morris. He finished third with 1,158 votes, against Frank Pitura of the Progressive Conservative Party. In the 1997 federal election, he received 2,420 votes (7.20%) to finish fourth against Jake Hoeppner of the Reform Party.

At the 2001 Manitoba NDP convention, Hallick was one of the most vocal advocates of a return to the monopoly hog marketing board system removed by the previous PC government (Winnipeg Free Press, 11 February 2001). The motion was defeated.

Hallick is a freelance writer who has written for the Morris, MB. based Crow Wing Warrior and Scrathing River Post, the Headingley Headliner (then owned by Transcontinental Media) and currently the Carman-based Valley Leader.

[edit] Ontario

[edit] Sam Savona (Eglinton—Lawrence)

Savona is a veteran political organizer on issues relating to disabled Canadians. In 1986, he criticized the federal government of Brian Mulroney for taking insufficient steps to promote job equity for women, the disabled, visible minorities and native Canadians.[1] Two years later, as spokesperson for the group People Using Self-Help, he criticized the Toronto Transit Commission for taking insufficient steps to address the needs of the disabled.[2] He served as co-chair of the Trans-Action Coalition in the early 1990s, fighting for better access to transportation services.[3] He was also a prominent member of the Tenants' Rights Advocacy Project, established in 1992.[4] Savona himself suffers from cerebral palsy, and has spent his lifetime confined to a wheelchair.[5] In 1996, he opposed plans by the Ontario government of Mike Harris to introduce fingerprinting for welfare recipients.[6]

He campaigned for New Democratic Party in Eglinton—Lawrence in 1997, after unsuccessfully seeking its nomination in St. Paul's.[7] He received 3,955 votes (9.02%), finishing third against Liberal incumbent Joe Volpe. He was thirty-eight years old, and is believed to have been the first person with cerebral palsy to seek election in Canada.[8] His campaign focused on jobs, health services and education.[9]

Savona has written against Saskatchewan farmer Robert Latimer's decision to kill his severely disabled daughter, an act that some in the Canadian media described as a mercy killing. He has noted that doctors once told his own parents he would suffer from intellectual disabilities as an adult, and that this did not occur. Savona has written, "What Robert Latimer did is simple: He murdered his daughter. I am living proof that you can't say what tomorrow will bring."[10]

As of 2006, Savona is a member of the TTC's disability advisory committee.[11]

[edit] Ed Gould (St. Catharines)

Gould was educated at Niagara College, and worked as a millwright for General Motors. A veteran of the labour movement, he served as acting president of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 199 (Buffalo News, 26 February 1999) and participated in "Days of Action" protests against the provincial government of Mike Harris in the late 1990s (Canada NewsWire, 7 April 1998). Gould has also served as recording secretary of the Niagara Falls Regional Skilled Trades Council and president of the St. Catharines labour council.[2]

He received 4,657 votes (9.60%) in 1997, finishing fourth against Liberal incumbent Walt Lastewka.

[edit] Dave Gracey (Scarborough Southwest)

Gracey began his professional career as a foreign service officer, and later worked as a high school teacher and principal. He had retired by the time of the 1997 election (Toronto Star, 30 May 1997). During the 1980s, he served as chair of the Scarborough Peace Association (Toronto Star, 23 June 1987).

He sought election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Scarborough Centre in the 1975 and 1977 Ontario elections, as a candidate of the provincial New Democratic Party. He came close to winning in 1975, but lost to Progressive Conservative candidate Frank Drea on both occasions.

Gracey campaigned for the federal NDP in Scarborough West in 1984 and 1988, and in Scarborough Southwest in 1997. He lost to Progressive Conservative Reg Stackhouse on the first occasion, and to Liberal Tom Wappel on the latter two. In 1988, he defeated Judy Rebick for the Scarborough West NDP nomination (Toronto Star, 19 April 1988).

Following his defeat in 1988, he said that the NDP had made a serious mistake by not focusing more of its attention on opposition to the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (Toronto Star, 24 November 1988). Gracey was 48 years old at the time of this election (Toronto Star, 16 November 1988).

He wrote an article in 2004 arguing that temporary deficits, while not desirable, can be appropriate for some economic situations. He has also proposed that the Bank of Canada be given more authority in Canada's economic system.[3]

Gracey continues to serve on the executive of the Scarborough Southwest NDP association as of 2005,[4] and has endorsed Dan Harris as the party's candidate in the 39th Canadian federal election.[5]

There is a different politician named Dave Gracey in British Columbia.

[edit] Bela Trebics (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex)

Bela "Bill" Trebics was a Wallaceburg labourer and an instructor on workplace health and safety issues for his union, UAW local 251. He ran for the first and only time in 1997, improving the NDP's standing in his riding from fifth to fourth place and increasing their share of the vote to 5.44%.

[edit] Saskatchewan

[edit] Walter Kyliuk (Wanuskewin)

Kyliuk was a school principal in the small town of Radisson before running for office. In 1988, he took part in a civic mission to Toronto to solicit funding for an hockey arena and community hall to save the community from destitution (Toronto Star, 21 July 1988). The efforts were eventually successful. Kyliuk was awarded a "laurel" by the Toronto Star newspaper for his actions (23 July), and Ken Dryden mentioned the initiative in his book, The Game (6 January 1990).

He received 8,793 votes (26.79%) in the 1997 election, finishing second against Reform Party candidate Maurice Vellacott.

In 2004, Kyliuk took part in protests to preserve Radisson's public school (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 20 July 2004).

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Paula Todd, "Job equity bill 'has no teeth' disabled say", Toronto Star, 15 April 1986, A4.
  2. ^ "TTC failing to aid disabled alderman says", Toronto Star, 13 January 1988, A27.
  3. ^ John Feld and Sam Savona, "Government turns its back on disabled", Toronto Star, 21 May 1992, A25.
  4. ^ Helen Henderson, "Special-care tenants need to be protected, too", Toronto Star, 26 February 1994, K9.
  5. ^ Susan Reid, "When the transit system rules your life", Toronto Star, 5 June 1989, A20.
  6. ^ Margaret Philp, "Metro to debate welfare ID technology", Globe and Mail, 30 April 1996, A6.
  7. ^ John Feld, "Sam Savona: What a candidate! What a campaign!", Abilities, Issue 32 pp. 13-14, Fall 1997.
  8. ^ Laurie Monsebraaten, "Disabled candidate's tough race", Toronto Star, 21 May 1997, A16.
  9. ^ Nicolaas Van Rijn and Patty Winsa, "Eglinton-Lawrence", Toronto Star, 30 May 1997, A15.
  10. ^ Sam Savona, "Thank God my parents let me live", Toronto Star, 8 November 1997, p. 1.
  11. ^ Helen Henderson, "City still debating Segways", Toronto Star, 15 April 2006, L07.
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