Thomas Dang

Thomas Dang
MLA

Dang in 2015
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Edmonton-South West
Assumed office
May 5, 2015
Preceded by Matt Jeneroux
Personal details
Born (1995-04-07) April 7, 1995
Edmonton, Alberta
Political party Alberta New Democratic Party
Residence Edmonton, Alberta
Occupation Student

Thomas Kyle Dang (born April 7, 1995) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-South West.[1] Dang is the youngest MLA to ever be elected in Alberta.[2]

Dang was a computer science student at the University of Alberta. He also writes a blog on provincial politics. He defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative MLA Matt Jeneroux on the May 5, 2015 election that saw the Alberta NDP sweep the city of Edmonton and win a majority government, the first switch of governing parties in the province since the 1971 election.[3] As of 2014–15, he is a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity at the University of Alberta,[2][4] of which former Premier Peter Lougheed was also a member.

Political career

Dang entered politics as a candidate for the New Democratic Party of Alberta. He currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship. He previously served as a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills.[5]

Bills and Motions

Fall 2015 Session

Motion 503

In his first session as an MLA, Dang moved Motion 503, urging the Government to consult with school boards and youth to encourage student participation on boards. This was aimed to increasing dialogue and student engagement on democratic governance. The motion was passed unanimously with bi-partisan support in the assembly.[6] The motion read as follows:

Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly urge the Government to consult with school boards and youth to encourage senior high school student participation on boards with a view to increasing dialogue, increasing student engagement in board policy and planning, and educating students about democratic governance.

Spring 2016 Session

Dang gave notice of Motion 507 and sponsored Bill 204 in the Spring 2016 session of the Legislature.

Bill 204

Dang tabled Bill 204, The Alberta Tourism Week Act. This bill would create a tourism week in legislation that would occur in the first week of June starting 2017. The Bill has currently passed first and second reading in the Legislature.[7]

Motion 507

Notice of Motion 507 was given on Day 2 of the second session on the order paper. This motion was aimed at ensuring that students and parents were ready to deal with all facets of bullying in an ever evolving technological world. The notice of motion reads as follows:[8]

Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly urge the Government to take steps to increase awareness in Alberta's schools of the effects of cyberbullying.

Motion 507 was passed unanimously with bi-partisan support in the assembly.[9]

Spring 2017 Session

Daylight Saving Time

In late 2016, Dang announced that he planned to table a bill to abolish Daylight Saving Time in Alberta. Dang said he had been working on this file since it had been brought up at an NDP policy convention. He has stated that he intends to lead a public consultation on the issue in advance of his bill in 2017. [10] [11] [12]

On February 13, 2017, Dang announced an online consultation process that would take place until the end of February. He received widespread support from young families and members of the agricultural industry. Egg farmers have cheered the proposal, because the time change “plays havoc with the natural rhythm of poultry.” Dang also announced that he hoped to have a bill ready to be tabled in mid-March.[13]

Dang tabled Bill 203, the Alberta Standard Time Act on March 14, 2017. [14] The bill would set the Alberta Standard Time to UTC-6. This was done after his online consultation showed that 82% of respondents prefer not changing their clocks twice a year, and 59% of respondents prefer to have daylight in the late afternoon. [15]

Personal life

Dang played competitive table tennis as a junior for many years, competing across Canada and in the United States of America. He was a member of the Edmonton Table Tennis Club.[16]

He also plays the Alternate Reality Game, Ingress created by Niantic.[17]

Electoral history

2015 general election

Alberta general election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticThomas Dang 11,729 53.0%
Progressive ConservativeMatt Jeneroux 6,319 28.6%
WildroseCole Kander 2,291 10.4%
LiberalRudy Arcilla 1,202 5.4%
Alberta PartyKrishna Tailor 575 2.6%

References

  1. ↑ "Riding results: Edmonton — South West". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Five questions with Thomas Dang, The Alberta NDP's 20-year-old MLA". Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ Jen Gerson (4 May 2015). "A yoga teacher, a Hugo Chavez fan and students: What an NDP government might look like in Alberta". National Post.
  4. ↑ "Undergraduate Chapter Officers". Delta Upsilon Alberta Chapter. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  5. ↑ "MLA Biography". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  6. ↑ Jones, Braeden (2015-11-03). "Motion for student involvement on Alberta school boards passes". Metro News. Edmonton. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  7. ↑ "Bill 204: Alberta Tourism Week Act (Dang)". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  8. ↑ "29th Legislature Day 2 Order Paper". Alberta Hansard. Legislative Assembly of Alberta. 2016-03-09. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  9. ↑ "Legislative Assembly House Records" (PDF).
  10. ↑ Stephanie Wiebe (16 December 2016). "About time: Alberta's youngest MLA to table bill aimed at ending daylight saving time". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  11. ↑ Josie Lukey (15 December 2016). "NDP MLA Thomas Dang to table bill abolishing daylight savings time | Metro Calgary". metronews.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  12. ↑ Johnston, Scott (15 December 2016). "Get rid of daylight saving time switch? Alberta MLA pushing for referendum". Global News. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  13. ↑ "Edmonton MLA asks for input into plan to scrap daylight savings time". Edmonton Journal. 2017-02-14. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  14. ↑ Thomson, Stuart. "NDP private member's bill calls for Alberta standard time, no more clock changes". Edmonton Journal.
  15. ↑ Thomas, Brodie. "Bill to keep Alberta on daylight saving time year-round coming: MLA". Metro News.
  16. ↑ "ETTC Member Thomas Dang Elected To Alberta Government". ETTC Blog. 2015-05-08. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
  17. ↑ Neuman, Doug (2015-11-21). "A secret war rages on". St. Albert Gazette. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
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