Randy Hillier (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Randy Hillier | |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 30, 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | new district |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Born | 1958 Ottawa, Ontario |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Occupation | electrician, property rights activist |
Randy Hillier (born 1958 in Ottawa) is a rural activist and politician in Ontario, Canada. He was elected MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington during the 2007 Ontario general election. Hillier currently serves as the Progressive Conservative Party's critic for rural affairs in the provincial legislature.
Hillier founded the Lanark County Landowners Association in 2003. In 2006, he was co-founder and first president of the 15,000-member Ontario Landowners Association, an umbrella group of individual landowner groups that had sprung up in various regions of the province. The OLA was formed "...to preserve and protect the rights of property owners and to enshrine property rights within the Constitution of Canada and the laws of the Province of Ontario."[1] Since 2006, Hillier has also been co-publisher and co-editor of the OLA's official organ, The Landowner magazine, which publishes bi-monthly.
Under Hillier's leadership, the Landowners groups engaged in acts of civil disobedience, including blocking highways, barricading government offices, staging illegal deer hunts, and publicly breaking laws that the Landowners regarded as unjust. This was primarily done as a tactic to draw media attention to perceived injustices, and thereby to pressure the provincial government to amend the laws or at least enforce them in a manner less injurious to the interests of rural landowners.
For example, Hillier justifies an illegal deer hunt held in 2003 in the following words:
| “ | I sent [Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty an email containing] a picture of a dead deer saying the people of Lanark County were removing nuisance deer because the Liberal government had revoked those licences [for farmers to shoot deer that were eating their crops]. I did it four years ago... and I would do it again because I will not stand for injustice and I will not stand for farmers to be put into bankruptcy."[2] | ” |
As well, the Landowners conducted demonstrations at Queen's Park and Parliament Hill. On one occasion in 2006, Hillier was arrested and detained (but not charged) for trespassing during a protest at a water quality meeting in Cornwall.
In January 2007, Hillier resigned as president of the OLA. He defeated Jay Brennan and Brent Cameron for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party nomination in Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington on May 5, 2007. On October 10, 2007 Hillier defeated Liberal candidate Ian Wilson by 924 votes, capturing just under 41% of the vote.
Hillier's ability to attract media notice through the use of attention-grabbing rhetoric and tactics tactics prompted one television commentator to describe him as "Don Cherry in plaid and rubber boots"[3]--a reference to the colourful hockey personality. His use of civil disobedience was frequently criticized in the mainstream media, but it won him some admirers as well. He is also known to be skeptical of climate change.[4] A week before the 2007 Ontario election, an Ottawa Citizen editorial advised voters to "Take a chance on Randy Hillier", stating that "[T]he landowners'-rights activist is doing the right thing by running for the legislature and trying to change the system he's been battling for so very long."[5]
In March 2008 an article in the Ottawa Citizen reported that Hillier was considering leaving the Progressive Conservative caucus and joining the small Reform Party of Ontario. Hillier responded by issuing a press release stating that the article was “void of fact” and that “I will continue to work as a dedicated member of the PC caucus and rural affairs critic for my party.” [6]
Hillier is a licensed construction electrician with a diploma in electrical engineering technology from Algonquin College and former employee of the Canadian federal government. He lives near Perth, Ontario.
[edit] References
- ^ About Rural Revolution: Ontario Landowners' Association (OLA) Founding Declaration
- ^ "Debate one last swipe before vote", Napanee Guide, Oct. 5, 2007, p. 1.
- ^ Gena Gibson, "Hillier triumphs, Perth Courier, Oct. 17, 2007, p. 1.
- ^ Greenhouse gases 'not evil:' PC candidate
- ^ "Take a chance on Randy Hillier", Ottawa Citizen, Oct. 4, 2007, p. C4.
- ^ Krista Johnston, “Hillier reaffirms allegiance to Tories”, in Smiths Falls This Week, Mar. 28, 2008, p. 1.
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||
