Don Meredith (Canadian clergyman)

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Rev. Don Meredith 
Political party Conservative Party of Canada
Residence Richmond Hill, Ontario
Religion Pentecostal

Don Meredith (born 1964)[1] is an ordained minister[1] in Canada and chair of the GTA Faith Alliance which focuses on the issue of youth violence, particularly involving gangs and guns.[2][3][4][5]The GTA Faith Alliance has organized peace rallies in the Malvern and Rexdale communities of Toronto following incidents of violence as well as organizing town hall meetings on related community issues.[2] Meredith was the Conservative candidate in the March 17, 2008 federal by-election in Toronto Centre. He received 12.5% of the vote, a drop of 30% from the previous election, and placing fourth behind Liberal victor Bob Rae and the New Democratic and Green candidates.

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[edit] Background

Born and raised in Jamaica, Meredith immigrated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen in the early 1980s.[6] He attended Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and, while he was a student, began Donscape Landscaping Services which he still owns and operates.[1]

Meredith was ordained as a minister in 2006,[1] is a graduate of Rhema Studies of Theology Association[7] and is the volunteer Senior Pastor for a Pentecostal congregation Richmond Hill, Ontario[1] where he now lives.[8] Previously, he was a minister at Grace Christian Life Centre in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough.[5] Meredith is a member of the Chief’s Advisory Council for the Toronto Police Services and has also been a member of the York Region Community Police Liaison since 2004, as well as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Consultative Committee since 2005.[2] He is the former Co-Chair of the Black Community Police Consultative Committee an advisory group of community members who advise the police on various issues. Meredith participated in the “Black Family Summit” held in August 2006.[9]

[edit] Politics

In December 2007 he was nominated by the Conservative Party of Canada as its candidate in the downtown Toronto riding of Toronto Centre federal by-election scheduled for March 17, 2008.[10] Meredith won the Conservative nomination by acclamation several weeks after the party controversially removed Mark Warner as its standard-bearer.[11]

Meredith is a social conservative who has spoken out against pre-marital sex and in favour of traditional marriages and families.[12] He has also stated that he personally believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman and that he is opposed to same-sex marriage.[13] Meredith has also stated that he would like to see the age of sexual consent raised to 18 from 14 which is it at odds with the Conservative government's stated intention to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16.[13] Nonetheless, Meredith has indicated that he supports New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) Bill Siksay's private member's bill[14] to add gender identity to the list of distinguishable group traits protected from hate speech by the Criminal Code and to allow judges to take into account whether crimes were motivated by hatred of transgender or transsexual people when determining the offender's sentence.[15] In opposition, Stephen Harper had opposed Siksay's predecessor, former NDP MP Svend Robinson's successful private member's bill that added sexual orientation to the law in 2004.[16]

Meredith was criticized after he attended an all candidates meeting in the poor St. James Town neighbourhood and responded to a questioner complaining about bedbugs by suggesting the person practice better hygiene.[17] Former Conservative candidate Mark Warner decided, as a result, to endorse rival candidate Bob Rae, saying of Meredith that “Telling your potential constituents ‘you stink, you don’t wash, you live in filth’ probably isn’t the best way to win an election.”[18]

[edit] Awards

In 2006, Meredith received an Urban Leadership Award from the Canadian Urban Institute for being an “outspoken advocate against crime and for the advancement of a just society”.[2]

[edit] Electoral record

By-election on March 17, 2008: Toronto Centre
Party Candidate Votes %
     Liberal Bob Rae 14,187 59.2 +7.0%
     New Democrat El-Farouk Khaki 3,299 13.8 -9.9%
     Green Chris Tindal 3,263 13.6 +8.4%
     Conservative Donald Meredith 2,982 12.5 -5.7%
     Animal Alliance Liz White 123 0.5 +0.4%
     Canadian Action Doug Plumb 97 0.4 -
     Liberal hold Swing +8.5

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Toronto Centre Conservatives welcome new candidate Don Meredith, Toronto Centre Conservative EDA press release, December 21, 2007 (retrieved January 3, 2008)
  2. ^ a b c d Award Recipients - Urban Leadership Awards 2006, Canadian Urban Institute
  3. ^ Whittington, Les, "Harper calls 4 by-elections for March 17; Two former Liberal leadership candidates Rae and Hall Findlay to run in Toronto ridings", Toronto Star, December 22, 2007
  4. ^ Welsh, Moria, "Faith in ending violence; 'We are not going to sit back and let 2006 become like 2005'; City's church leaders pray, then announce extensive plan Response to gangs includes 400 mentors for at-risk youth", Toronto Star, January 3, 2006
  5. ^ a b Fowlie, Jonathan, "No more bodies on our streets", Globe and Mail, April 3, 2004
  6. ^ Elect Don Meredith Campaign website, retrieved January 31, 2008
  7. ^ Toronto Kiwanis - Don Meredith (speaker's biography), retrieved January 4, 2008
  8. ^ Grech, Caroline, "Residents express cell tower health worries", The Liberal (Richmond Hill), December 1, 2007
  9. ^ Black Family Summit, 2006 accessed December 21, 2007
  10. ^ Canadian Press, Bob Rae gears up for federal byelection in Ontario, CTV News, December 22, 2007
  11. ^ Four federal byelections offer Dion chance to solidify leadership", Canadian Press, December 21, 2007
  12. ^ "Harper annonce la tenue d'élections partielles le 17 mars", Le Devoir, December 22-23, 2007
  13. ^ a b "Candidate tackles top issues", Towncrier, January, 2008
  14. ^ Creelman, Brent Siksay introduces trans hate crimes bill, Xtra, December 13, 2007
  15. ^ Rau, Krishna Conservatives appoint new by-election candidate, Xtra, January 17, 2008
  16. ^ CTV, Toews on record for repeal, changes to hate law, CTV, June 8, 2004
  17. ^ Weisblott, Marc, "Toronto Centre RAW", Eye Weekly, March 4, 2008
  18. ^ Weisblott, Marc, "What about Bob?", Eye Weekly, March 12, 2008

[edit] External links

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