Diane Ablonczy

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Hon. Diane Ablonczy
Diane Ablonczy
Member of Parliament
for Calgary North (1993-1997); Calgary—Nose Hill (1997-present)
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1993 election
Preceded by Al Johnson
Born May 6, 1949 (1949-05-06) (age 59)
Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Conservative
Spouse Ron Sauer
Residence Calgary
Profession farmer, lawyer, teacher
Cabinet Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)

Diane Ablonczy, PC, MP (pronounced /əˈblɒnsi/ a-blon-see) (born May 6, 1949) is a Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the riding of Calgary-Nose Hill in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She was appointed to the position of Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism) on August 14, 2007. She became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance in February 2006. Previously, Ablonczy served as Chief Opposition Critic for Citizenship and Immigration, Health, and Human Resources Development.

Ablonczy was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993 as the Reform Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Calgary North. In the riding redistribution of 1996 the riding of Calgary North ceased to exist and Ablonczy was re-elected as MP for Calgary-Nose Hill in 1997 (Reform Party), 2000 (Canadian Alliance), 2004 and 2006 (Conservative Party).

Contents

[edit] Background

Diane Ablonczy (maiden name Broadway) was born in 1949 in Peoria, Illinois, United States, as the oldest of six children. A year later the family moved to Three Hills, Alberta and Ablonczy grew up in a variety of places in rural Alberta. In 1967 she graduated from High School in Lac la Biche. In 1973 she received her Education degree from the University of Calgary and subsequently taught English, creative writing and other subjects.[1]

She married Tom Ablonczy, a well site engineer and refugee of the 1956 Hungarian revolution. They had one daughter. They ran a barley-growing operation, and in 1980 Diane earned her Law degree from the University of Calgary. The family moved to Calgary where she had her own general law practice from 1981 – 1991. She was widowed in 1984, and is now married to Ron Sauer. She has one daughter, four stepchildren and three grandchildren.

[edit] Political background

Ablonczy's first political involvement was in 1982, when she briefly belonged to the Western Canada Concept party, but left to join the Provincial Rights Association (PRA) a few months later. Since the PRA was formed too late to gain official political party status, she ran as an independent candidate in Calgary Mountain View in the 1982 Alberta provincial election.[2]

In early 1987 Ablonczy joined the Reform Association of Canada, and later that year became a founding member of the Reform Party of Canada. She was elected as the first Party Chairman, and served two terms in this role. [3] As Chair she was active in developing the Party's organization, administration and communications structure, acting as a senior Party spokesperson and encouraging growth of the Party’s membership. In 1991 she set aside her law practice and went on staff for the Party as a special assistant to Reform Party Leader Preston Manning, with responsibility for Party communications and strategic planning. [4]

In the 1993 federal election Ablonczy was elected to Parliament as the Reform Party candidate for the federal riding of Calgary North. In the following years she continued to participate in Party affairs as a member of the Reform Party Strategy Committee. She also was a member of the Reform Party Expansion Committee, and she chaired the Reform Party Task Force on the Reform of Social Programs. [5]

In 1998 and 1999 Ablonczy promoted the United Alternative process to create a new federal political party on the political right. As co-chair of the UA policy committee,[6] she took part in developing a comprehensive draft policy document and guiding it through a series of public consultations across the country. The resulting Declaration of Policy was approved as official Party Policy by members at the Founding Convention of the Canadian Alliance on March 25, 2000. The Reform Party was dissolved, and the Canadian Alliance created. Ablonczy was re-elected under the new party's banner in the 2000 federal election.

In December 2001, Ablonczy entered the 2002 Canadian Alliance leadership contest on a platform of promoting “a process to combine the Canadian Alliance, the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and other interested partners into an effective, unified opposition party before the next election.”[7] She placed third with 3.8% of the vote. In late 2003, the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the Canadian Alliance to create the new Conservative Party of Canada.

On November 18, 2002, Ablonczy posed a question in the House of Commons concerning the government’s system of “screening and security checks” as related to Maher Arar, a dual Canadian and Syrian citizen who had recently been deported from the United States to Syria as a terror suspect. Based on newly released information[8] [9] Ablonczy asked what the government “is doing to protect Canadian security” and why “the U.S. could uncover this man's background so quickly when the (Canadian) government's screening system failed to find his al-Qaeda links” suggesting instead the government was “chastising the U.S. for sending Arar back to Syria, where he is also a citizen" [1]. Arar was imprisoned for over a year in Syria, and has indicated that he was repeatedly tortured by Syrian authorities. The RCMP later confirmed that Arar has no ties to any terrorist organizations.

[edit] Parliamentary career

[edit] 35th Parliament (1993 – 1997)

Diane Ablonczy was first elected to the House of Commons on October 25, 1993. She won as candidate for the Reform Party in Calgary North, with a 52.5% majority. The Reform Party catapulted from 1 to 52 seats. Ablonczy served in the following positions:

  • Whip for the Reform Caucus (elected by her colleagues and the first woman of any party to hold that position.)
  • Member of the Reform Caucus Committee on Immigration.
  • Critic for Atlantic Issues
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

From 1995-1997 she hosted a Calgary Cable bi-weekly live, phone-in TV show called Dial Your MP, which provided Calgarians with an opportunity to ask questions on a variety of federal government issues.

[edit] 36th Parliament (1997 – 2000)

On June 2,1997, after a riding redistribution in 1996 in which Calgary North was dissolved, Ablonczy was re-elected as the MP for Calgary-Nose Hill, with a 51.5% majority. The Reform Party won 60 seats and became the Official Opposition. Ablonczy served in the following positions:

  • Member of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities .

[edit] 37th Parliament (2000 – 2004)

On November 27, 2000, Ablonczy was re-elected as the Calgary-Nose Hill MP for the Canadian Alliance, this time with a 60.1% majority. The Alliance won 66 seats and became Official Opposition. Ablonczy served in the following positions:

  • Chief Official Opposition Critic for Health
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Health. In the spring of 2001 she embarked on a self-financed fact-finding mission to study health care systems in France, Sweden and the Netherlands. [10] She resigned her Critic position on December 17, 2001 to become a candidate in the Canadian Alliance Leadership Election.
  • Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
  • Associate Member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that investigated the sponsorship scandal.

[edit] 38th Parliament (2004 – 2006)

On June 28, 2004 Ablonczy was once more elected as the MP for Calgary-Nose Hill, this time for the new Conservative Party. She won with an increased majority of 64.4%. The Conservative Party won 99 seats, making it the Official Opposition. Ablonczy held the following positions:

  • Member of the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet
  • Chief Official Opposition Critic for Citizenship & Immigration.
  • Member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

In 2005 she chaired a series of National Consultations on Canada’s Immigration System and developed the Conservative Party’s immigration policies.

[edit] 39th Parliament (2006 - )

On January 23, 2006 Ablonczy was re-elected with her largest majority ever: 68.5%. The Conservatives won 124 seats and formed a minority Conservative government. In the first 18 months of the Harper government Ablonczy served in the following positions:

  • Member of the Standing Committee on Finance.

In August 2007 Ablonczy was named to the Federal Cabinet as junior Minister holding the following positions:

  • Member of the Cabinet Operations Committee
  • Member of the Cabinet Committee for Economic Growth and Long Term Prosperity.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Phyllis Brinkerhoff, "Speaking Out – A Profile of Diane Ablonczy, Reform Member of Parliament for Calgary North", Women’s Voice, Summer 1994, p. 6-9.
  2. ^ Daniel Schwartz, "Diane Ablonczy", "The National, CBC Television website, Updated March 13, 2002, retrieved March 30, 2002
  3. ^ Daniel Schwartz, "Diane Ablonczy", "The National, CBC Television website, Updated March 13, 2002, retrieved March 30, 2002
  4. ^ Phyllis Brinkerhoff, "Speaking Out - A Profile of Diane Ablonczy, Reform Member of Parliament for Calgary North", Women's Voice, Summer 1994, pages 6-9
  5. ^ Daniel Schwartz, "Diane Ablonczy", "The National, CBC Television website, Updated March 13, 2002, retrieved March 30, 2002
  6. ^ Licia Corbella, "Ablonczy has what it takes to lead Alliance", Edmonton Sun", February 2002
  7. ^ Ablonczy, Diane, "Building the Conservative Coalition – a Blueprint for a Better Canada”, Communication piece for the Canadian Alliance Leadership Contest, January 2002
  8. ^ Trickey, Mike, “FBI told RCMP Ottawa man had terror link”, The Ottawa Citizen, November 18, 2002 page A1.
  9. ^ “Foreign Affairs distances itself from Maher Arar”, CTV News, November 18, 2002 PM
  10. ^ Riley, Susan, "Too bad Alliance won’t pick Ablonczy”, "Ottawa Citizen, September 3, 2001
  11. ^ AD HOC COMMITTEE TO REVIEW A NOMINEE FOR THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA, “TRANSCRIPT”, (http://www.canada-justice.ca/en/news/sp/2006/doc_31772_3.html), February 27, 2006. Retrieved on August 30, 2007.

[edit] External links

28th Ministry - Government of Stephen Harper
Sub-Cabinet Post
Predecessor Title Successor
Gerry Ritz Secretary of State (Small Business & Tourism)
(from 14-Aug-2007)
 incumbent
Parliament of Canada
Preceded by
Al Johnson		 Member of Parliament Calgary North
1993-1997		 Succeeded by
District Abolished
Preceded by
New District		 Member of Parliament Calgary—Nose Hill
1997-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Languages