Marxist-Leninist Party candidates, 2006 Canadian federal election

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The Communist Party of Canada - Marxist-Leninist (CPC-ML) fielded 71 candidates in the 2006 federal election. Some of these candidates have their own biography pages. Information about others may be found here.

Contents

[edit] British Columbia

[edit] Dorothy Jean O'Donnell (Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon)

O'Donnell is a lawyer and a perennial candidate for the CPC-ML.[1] She has also campaigned provincially in British Columbia, as a candidate of the People's Front. She wrote a party editorial for the National Post newspaper in 2004, criticizing Canada's election financing laws and denouncing military actions taken by the United States of America in Iraq and by Israel against the Palestinian people.[2] In the same year, she testified before the British Columbia Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform.[3]

O'Donnell graduated from law school in 1990, was called to the bar in 1991, and completed a Master's Degree in 1995 reviewing the history of the foster care system. She is primarily active in family law.[4]

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1979 federal Broadview—Greenwood Marxist-Leninist 57 0.17 7/7 Bob Rae, New Democratic Party
1980 federal Broadview—Greenwood Marxist-Leninist 53 0.17 7/9 Bob Rae, New Democratic Party
1986 provincial Vancouver Little Mountain People's Front 128 7/8 Grace McCarthy and Doug Mowat, Social Credit
1988 federal Vancouver Centre N/A (Marxist-Leninist) 58 9/9 Kim Campbell, Progressive Conservative
1993 federal Vancouver Quadra Marxist-Leninist 80 12/13 Ted McWhinney, Liberal
1997 federal Richmond Marxist-Leninist 90 8/8 Raymond Chan, Liberal
2000 federal Okanagan—Coquihalla Marxist-Leninist 99 9/10 Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance
2001 provincial Yale—Lillooet People's Front 136 6/6 Dave Chutter, Liberal
2004 federal Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon Marxist-Leninist 95 7/7 Chuck Strahl, Conservative
2005 provincial Yale—Lillooet People's Front 112 5/5 Harry Lali, New Democratic Party
2006 federal Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon Marxist-Leninist 114 6/6 Chuck Strahl, Conservative

[edit] Ontario

[edit] Jamilé Ghaddar (Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot)

Ghaddar was born in Lebanon to a Palestinian family, and raised in Montreal.[1] She is a linguistics student at McMaster University in Hamilton, and was twenty-two years old at the time of election (Hamilton Spectator, 9 January 2006). She helped create "Students 4 Steel" in 2004 to build support for the city's steel industry among McMaster students (Spectator, 30 March 2004). She is also a leading member of the McMaster Socialist Movement, and has been involved with Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights and Citizens Against Racism and Military Aggression[2][3]

Ghaddar's first name is sometimes spelled as "Jamila". Her official party biography can be found here.

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
2003 provincial Hamilton West Ind. (Independent Renewal) 303 6/6 Judy Marsales, Liberal
2004 federal Hamilton Centre Marxist-Leninist 91 0.21 7/7 David Christopherson, New Democratic Party
2006 federal Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot Marxist-Leninist 112 6/6 David Sweet, Conservative

[edit] Roger Carter (Beaches—East York)

Carter was born on June 9, 1941 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He joined the CPC-ML in 1975, and has campaigned for the party five times since then. He is a postal worker,[4] and has been a Canadian Union of Postal Workers shop steward.[5]

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1980 federal York—Scarborough Marxist-Leninist 75 6/6 Paul J. Cosgrove, Liberal
1993 federal Don Valley East Marxist-Leninist 90 8/9 David Collenette, Liberal
2000 federal Willowdale Marxist-Leninist 145 5/5 Jim Peterson, Liberal
2004 federal Beaches—East York Marxist-Leninist 46 8/8 Maria Minna, Liberal
2006 federal Beaches—East York Marxist-Leninist 91 0.18 6/6 Maria Minna, Liberal

[edit] Francesco (Frank) Chilelli (Bramalea—Gore—Malton)

Chilelli joined the Marxist-Leninist Party in 1996, when he was a graduate student at the University of Toronto. His thesis, published in 1998, examined liberal and communist concepts of distributive justice.[5] He was thirty-eight years old in 2006, and was listed as a philosophy teacher for the Peel District School Board.[6] He is a founder of the Bramalea-Gore-Malton Citizens Committee, and a past volunteer with the CARE Connection.[7] Chilelli has called for Canadian soldiers to be brought home from Afghanistan.

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1997 federal Davenport Marxist-Leninist 250 6/8 Charles Caccia, Liberal
2000 federal Eglinton—Lawrence Marxist-Leninist 164 0.40 6/7 Joe Volpe, Liberal
2003 provincial Bramalea—Gore—Malton—Springdale Ind. (Independent Renewal) 868 5/6 Kuldip Kular, Liberal
2004 federal Bramalea—Gore—Malton Marxist-Leninist 237 5/5 Gurbax Malhi, Liberal
2006 federal Bramalea—Gore—Malton Marxist-Leninist 233 5/5 Gurbax Malhi, Liberal

[edit] Stephen Rutchinski (Nickel Belt)

Rutchinski was raised in Capreol, Ontario, and was 53 years old during the 2004 election. He is a perennial candidate for the CPC-ML, which he joined in 1973 (Sudbury Star, 10 June 2004). Formerly a steelworker, shipping supervisor and truck driver, Rutchinski works at the University of Toronto as of 2005.[6] He is also a shop steward with United Steelworkers of America Local 1998 ([7], Sudbury Star, 24 June 2004). He was a member of Toronto's Civil Rights and Privacy Committee during the 1990s, and opposed provisions for biometric identification in the provincial government's Social Assistance Reform Act of 1997.[8]

He has stood for federal and provincial office seven times. He appeared on the ballot as a non-affiliated candidate in 1980 and as an independent candidate in 1999, in both cases because the CPC-ML was not a registered party.

Rutchinski wrote a piece entitled "Crisis in the Party-Run Parliament Reveals the Necessity for Change" for the CPC-ML's newspaper late 2005, calling for a "new democratic process" to replace Canada's "crisis-ridden party-run Parliamentary democracy".[9]

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1980 federal Oshawa Marxist-Leninist 29 6/6 Ed Broadbent, New Democratic Party
1988 federal Toronto Centre—Rosedale Non-affiliated (M-L) 141 4/5 Sheila Copps, Liberal
1993 federal Rosedale Marxist-Leninist 61 9/10 Bill Graham, Liberal
1997 federal Toronto Centre—Rosedale Marxist-Leninist 166 0.36 8/9 Bill Graham, Liberal
1999 provincial Beaches—East York Independent (M-L) 164 7/7 Frances Lankin, New Democratic Party
2000 federal Beaches—East York Marxist-Leninist 53 10/10 Maria Minna, Liberal
2004 federal Nickel Belt Marxist-Leninist 51 7/7 Raymond Bonin, Liberal
2006 federal Nickel Belt Marxist-Leninist 42 7/7 Raymond Bonin, Liberal

[edit] David Gershuny (Oshawa)

Gershuny is a shipper and heavy vehicle operator, and is a perennial candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party. During the 1993 election, he announced that his party would bring forward voter recall as part of an electoral reform package (Toronto Star, 22 October 1993).

His brother, Lorne Gershuny, has also been a candidate of the CPC-ML.

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1993 federal St. Paul's Marxist-Leninist 75 0.15 10/12 Barry Campbell, Liberal
1999 provincial Beaches—East York Independent (M-L) 486 5/8 Joseph Cordiano, Liberal
2000 federal Oshawa Marxist-Leninist 97 6/6 Ivan Grose, Liberal
2004 federal Mississauga—Brampton South Marxist-Leninist 185 5/5 Navdeep Bains, Liberal
2006 federal Oshawa Marxist-Leninist 91 5/5 Colin Carrie, Conservative

[edit] Elaine Couto (St. Catharines)

Couto is a perennial candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party. She first campaigned for public office in the 1993 federal election as a candidate of the Canadian Party for Renewal (CPR), an unregistered party affiliated with the CPC-ML (Hamilton Spectator, 21 October 1993). In every federal election since then, she has campaigned as an official CPC-ML candidate. She also campaigned for provincial office in 1999, and appeared on the ballot as an independent candidate as the CPC-ML is not registered at the provincial level.

Couto worked on the New Hamilton Weekly journal in the early 1990s, along with fellow CPC-ML member Rolf Gerstenberger (Hamilton Spectator, 11 September 1992). In her private life, she has worked as a receptionist and sales manager.

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1993 federal Hamilton West N/A (Renewal) 134 7/7 Stan Keyes, Liberal
1997 federal Trinity—Spadina Marxist-Leninist 146 7/7 Brenda Chamberlain, Liberal
1999 provincial Etobicoke Centre Ind. (Marxist-Leninist) 209 7/7 Chris Stockwell, Progressive Conservative
2000 federal St. Catharines Marxist-Leninist 93 0.20 7/7 Walt Lastewka, Liberal
2004 federal St. Catharines Marxist-Leninist 61 0.12 7/7 Walt Lastewka, Liberal
2006 federal St. Catharines Marxist-Leninist 101 0.17 6/6 Rick Dykstra, Conservative

[edit] David Starbuck (Sudbury)

David A. Starbuck is a math teacher at Cambrian College, and a perennial candidate of the CPC-ML. He has been the Communication Officer of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 655, served on the Sudbury District and Labour Council, and been active in groups such as the Sudbury Coalition for Social Justice and the Sudbury Anti-War Mobilization. Starbuck has campaigned for part-time workers at Ontario community colleges to win the right of collective bargaining.[8]

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1972 federal Rosedale N/A (Marxist-Leninist) 95 0.26 5/5 Donald S. Macdonald, Liberal
1974 federal Mississauga Marxist-Leninist 113 0.13 5/5 Tony Abbott, Liberal
1979 federal Nickel Belt Marxist-Leninist 103 0.25 4/4 John Rodriguez, New Democratic Party
1980 federal Nickel Belt Marxist-Leninist 89 0.21 4/4 Judy Erola, Liberal
2004 federal Sudbury Marxist-Leninist 100 0.23 5/5 Diane Marleau, Liberal
2006 federal Sudbury Marxist-Leninist 77 0.16 6/8 Diane Marleau, Liberal

[edit] Marcell Rodden (Toronto—Danforth)

Rodden (born 1980) is a political activist in Toronto, Ontario and student in Equity Studies at the University of Toronto. His candidacy in the 2004 and 2006 federal elections was managed by Shane Ruttle Martinez. He is the former general co-ordinator of Young Left, a revolutionary youth group in Toronto founded by former youth members of the Communist Party of Canada who left the party over organizational and political disagreements.[9] Rodden himself was never a member of the Communist Party of Canada, and describes his politics as neo-Maoist. He is active with Anti-Racist Action in Toronto, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, and the Canadian Friends of Soviet People, an organization which supports the re-establishment of the former Soviet Union and publishes the magazine Northstar Compass. Rodden was a delegate at the Second World Congress of Friends of Soviet People, which was held in Canada.[10]

In 2005, he helped coordinate a campaign by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty to allow Ontario Works recipients to receive an extra $250 per month in dietary funding from the provincial government.[11] The province tightened its regulations for use of the fund later in the year by changing the legislation. He was portrayed by actor Dave Healey during the 2006 federal election in an improvisational comedy show called "Mock the Vote" [12].

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
2004 federal Toronto—Danforth Marxist-Leninist 84 0.18 6/6 Jack Layton, New Democratic Party
2006 federal Toronto—Danforth Marxist-Leninist 172 5/5 Jack Layton, New Democratic Party

[edit] S. Nicholas C. (Nick) Lin (Trinity—Spadina)

Lin is a worker in the healthcare sector, and a frequent candidate for public office. He has been a member of the Communist Youth Union of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), the Toronto Student Project and the Youth Organizing Movement, as well as the Student Christian Movement of Canada.[10] Lin has emphasized youth and education issues in his campaigns.[11] He was 31 years old at the time of the 2003 provincial election.

He has campaigned as an independent candidate in two provincial elections, as the CPC-ML is not registered at the provincial level.

Electoral record
Election Division Party Votes  % Place Winner
1999 provincial York West Ind. (Marxist-Leninist) 194 6/7 Mario Sergio, Liberal
2000 federal Trinity—Spadina Marxist-Leninist 102 7/9 Tony Ianno, Liberal
2003 provincial Trinity—Spadina Ind. (Independent Renewal) 256 0.63 6/6 Rosario Marchese, New Democratic Party
2004 federal Trinity—Spadina Marxist-Leninist 102 6/8 Tony Ianno, Liberal
2006 federal Trinity—Spadina Marxist-Leninist

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ People's Front Fields Eleven Candidates, Marxist-Leninist Daily, 14 May 2001, accessed 22 November 2006.
  2. ^ Dorothy Jean O'Donnell, "Marxist-Leninists will empower Canadians" [editorial], National Post, 29 May 2004, A23.
  3. ^ Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform: Presentation Summary, Lillooet Public Hearing, 16 June 2004, accessed 22 November 2006.
  4. ^ Mike Chouinard, "Communist throws her hat into the fray", Chilliwack Times, 11 May 2004, accessed 22 November 2006.
  5. ^ Frank Chilelli, "The World as it is versus the World as it ought to be", University of Toronto, 1998.
  6. ^ Nicolaas Van Rijn and Patty Winsa, "Davenport", Toronto Star, 30 May 1997, A14; Heather Ennis, "Bringing a message to Canadians", Brampton Guardian, 11 January 2006.
  7. ^ Bramalea—Gore—Malton riding summary, Brampton Guardian, online edition, accessed 13 July 2006.
  8. ^ "Vote for Mike Taffarel in Sault Ste. Marie! Vote Marxist-Leninist!", TML Daily, 3 December 2005, accessed 18 March 2008; David Starbuck, "Let Us Together Take a Bold Step in Defence of the Rights of All!" (interview), TML Daily, 28 November 2007, accessed 18 March 2008.
  9. ^ Marxism message, [Marxism] Young Left - Liberation School: MARXISM: LIFE IN SOC
  10. ^ Delegates to the Second World Congress
  11. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/04/08/welfare-food050408.html
  12. ^ Mock the Vote - Bad Dog Theatre - Toronto improv comedy club - shows, classes, teambuilding