Bruce Haines

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John Bruce Mackenzie-Haines (born March 11, 1962 in Alma, Quebec) is a former Metro Toronto Police Officer, an independent business owner and aspiring politician in Ontario, Canada. As of 2007, he is running for office in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, to represent the riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton for the Green Party of Ontario.

[edit] Biography

Haines's Canadian roots date back to the 18th century, when one branch of his Irish/Scottish maternal ancestors immigrated to Cape Breton from Scotland, and were known as the "Highland Scots of Cape Breton". The other branch came from Dutch and Scottish forebears, and immigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick, where they were among the first Loyalists to arrive in Canada. His father’s family came to Canada in the 1930s and settled in Isle-Maligne, Quebec (now part of Alma, Quebec), where the French/English/Judeo-Russian family made a home for themselves for many years.

Haines lived all over Canada while growing up, befitting someone with such a multi-cultural background. His father, John Haines, worked in the construction industry, so the family made homes in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, New Brunswick and Newfoundland while his father helped to build, among others, the Winnipeg Airport, the Welland Canal, part of the Trans-Canada Highway and housing developments in Calgary. He then turned his efforts to becoming a correctional officer for the province of Ontario.

After graduating from Milton District High School (Milton, Ontario) in 1980, he became a cadet with the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force, graduating to full officer in 1983. During his time at the 31 Division of the Force, he worked with the Area Foot Patrol Unit, the Major Crime Unit, the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and at the Morality Bureau (Drug Enforcement Project) outside of the division. After ten years with the Metro Police Force holding the ranks of Constable and Detective Constable, he left to begin a business career in the private corporate investigation industry.

Since 1990, Haines has been the President and CEO of one of Canada’s largest private investigative firms, and currently maintains a staff of more than 100 employees and investigators, throughout Ontario. His firm’s specialties include surveillance, retail loss prevention, and workplace investigations related to both criminal and civil matters for a variety of businesses and private individuals, including the Ontario Workplace Safety Insurance Board. He served on the board of a publicly traded company, Counterforce, from 1990-91, and also served on the advisory committee for first year of Sheridan College's Private and Public Investigation Program.

Haines was the campaign manager for Vicky Dhillon's successful bid to become the City Councillor for Wards 9 and 10 of Brampton in 2006, and during the same year took over leadership for the Save Castlemore Committee. "Save Castlemore" was a group of citizens working to preserve green space in the North East corner of Brampton, Ontario; specifically, Ward 10. The committee worked closely with the Sierra Club of Canada, and later evolved to become Greenvisions Citizens for Brampton Conservation, of which Haines is currently the Chairman. These experiences galvanized Haines's attitude towards the need for environmentally-minded political leadership, and in 2007 he successfully sought the Green Party of Ontario candidacy for the Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding.

Currently, Haines resides in Brampton, in the same riding for which he is running. He divides his time between running his investigative business, community volunteer work, fundraising and preparing his campaign, fly fishing and his wife, Dianne. They have two children and are expecting a third at the end of 2007.