Elaine McCoy
Encyclopedia
Elaine McCoy, QC
, BA, LL.B (born March 7, 1946 in Brandon, Manitoba) is a Canadian senator
from Alberta
. She has been the last remaining member of the Canadian Senate to sit as a Progressive Conservative
since the retirement of Senator Lowell Murray
on September 26, 2011.
Adrienne Clarkson
, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin
, on March 24, 2005. She sits in the Upper House
representing Alberta as an Independent Progressive Conservative
. Unless she resigns or passes away, Senator McCoy will continue to sit in the Senate until 2021. She currently sits on the Senate Committee for Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, and the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
Since being appointed to the Senate, Senator McCoy has been an influential voice for the role of the individual Senator, for effective Senate reform,, for an inclusive federation and the role of Alberta in Canada. Senator McCoy broke new ground with her website, www.albertasenator.ca, and is the only member of the Senate of Canada who regularly blogs and tweets on her experiences in Ottawa and the political issues of the day. She sits as a Progressive Conservative Senator which ensures her independence and acknowledges her political heritage.
A feature article on Senator McCoy in Maclean's magazine calls her a "symbol of defiance" as one of only two Progressive Conservative Senators then remaining in federal politics and someone who "defines herself as socially progressive and fiscally conservative."
Senator McCoy is an important part of Calgary's environmental and charitable communities. She currently has or has had held memberships and leadership positions in many organizations, including:
, which is known for its expertise on program evaluations and environmental management. In this position, she authored the influential Bow Corridor Regional Mobility Strategy. Other highlighted achievements while at the Macleod Institute include:
The JRC ultimately did not recommend RTW legislation for Alberta, as it found no evidence of economic advantage to it, and that it may well disrupt Alberta’s strong and stable labour relations of the time.
(MLA) for Calgary West
in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
.
In 1986, she was named to the Alberta Cabinet as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Minister responsible for Women’s Issues by Premier Don Getty
. As Minister, Senator McCoy was responsible for creating the Insurance Council of Alberta, restructuring the Alberta Securities Commission, and for introducing a variety of new policies to protect consumers. She was also involved in developing foreign credentials recognition for immigrant professionals.
In 1989, Senator McCoy was appointed as Alberta’s Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Human Rights, in which portfolio she was responsible for Alberta’s personnel administration office. She set up an Alberta Human Rights commission inquiry into the Aryan Nations which was responsible for investigating and eliminating supremacist activity in the province. Senator McCoy also shed light on violence against women and spearheaded the Lake Louise Declaration, which was Alberta’s first action plan designed to fight violence against women, and the first all-Canada declaration on the subject.
Key points of the McCoy Plan:
Prior to entering provincial politics, Senator McCoy pursued a career in law as senior legal counsel for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and as counsel for TransAlta Utilities Corporation.
Senator McCoy is an alumna of the University of Alberta
, and holds an LLB (1969) and Bachelor of Arts in English (1968). She is married to Miles Patterson, QC (recently deceased, January 2011).
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, BA, LL.B (born March 7, 1946 in Brandon, Manitoba) is a Canadian senator
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
from Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. She has been the last remaining member of the Canadian Senate to sit as a Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
since the retirement of Senator Lowell Murray
Lowell Murray
Lowell Murray, PC is a former Canadian senator and long-time activist with the federal Progressive Conservative Party.-Education:...
on September 26, 2011.
Senate of Canada
Senator McCoy was appointed to the Senate by Governor GeneralGovernor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, on March 24, 2005. She sits in the Upper House
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
representing Alberta as an Independent Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
. Unless she resigns or passes away, Senator McCoy will continue to sit in the Senate until 2021. She currently sits on the Senate Committee for Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, and the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
Since being appointed to the Senate, Senator McCoy has been an influential voice for the role of the individual Senator, for effective Senate reform,, for an inclusive federation and the role of Alberta in Canada. Senator McCoy broke new ground with her website, www.albertasenator.ca, and is the only member of the Senate of Canada who regularly blogs and tweets on her experiences in Ottawa and the political issues of the day. She sits as a Progressive Conservative Senator which ensures her independence and acknowledges her political heritage.
A feature article on Senator McCoy in Maclean's magazine calls her a "symbol of defiance" as one of only two Progressive Conservative Senators then remaining in federal politics and someone who "defines herself as socially progressive and fiscally conservative."
Senator McCoy is an important part of Calgary's environmental and charitable communities. She currently has or has had held memberships and leadership positions in many organizations, including:
- Vice-Chair, Alberta Climate Change Central
- Governor, Calgary Centre for Innovative Technology
- Chair, Joint Review Committee, Right-to-Work Study (Alberta Economic Development Authority and Alberta Government - 1995)
- President, Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
Society - Committee Chair, Alberta Economic Development Authority
- Founding Director, Famous 5 Foundation
- Founding Director, Angela Cheng Foundation
- Senior Member, Alberta Ministerial Advisory Committee for Environmental Protection
- Director and life-long honourary member, Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta
- Member, Law Society of AlbertaLaw Society of AlbertaThe Law Society of Alberta is the self-regulating body for lawyers in Alberta, Canada.-Purpose:The Law Society is created and governed by the . As a law society, the Law Society is much more than a professional association and every lawyer who practices in Alberta must belong to it...
- Member, Canadian Evaluation Society
- Member, Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society
Macleod Institute
A lawyer by profession, McCoy is President of the Macleod Institute, affiliated with the University of CalgaryUniversity of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
, which is known for its expertise on program evaluations and environmental management. In this position, she authored the influential Bow Corridor Regional Mobility Strategy. Other highlighted achievements while at the Macleod Institute include:
- Action Plan for the Government of the Northwest Territories for the purpose of achieving long-term benefits from oil and gas development in the NWT.
- Comprehensive report on micro-power distributed generationDistributed generationDistributed generation, also called on-site generation, dispersed generation, embedded generation, decentralized generation, decentralized energy or distributed energy, generates electricity from many small energy sources....
for Alberta Economic Development (Barriers and Options for Improving Electricity Supply), and delivered results from a multi-stakeholder workshop that was instrumental in launching the New Energy Resources Alliance, a Canadian micro-power distributed generation industry cluster. - Governance Case Study of the Vancouver Agreement, an urban development agreement between Canada, British Columbia and the City of Vancouver. The Case Study explores intergovernmental partnerships and recommends that Vancouver partners increase the effectiveness of their collaboration by systematizing operating paradigms.
- Canada-wide evaluation of Post-Secondary Education programs and Band-Operated and Federal Schools (BOFS) for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada that resulted in recommendations for improved resources and a broader vision for the department’s education secretariat.
- Alberta’s first Aviation Strategy and Action Plan which detailed 40 action items to be implemented by the newly formed, industry-led Aviation Strategy Action Group (now called Aviation Alberta).
- Method to integrate thresholds into cumulative effects assessment and management in Canada’s North.
- Evaluations and strategic reviews of the Western Diversification Program and all Canada Business Service Centres in Western Canada for Western Economic Diversification.
- Evaluation of the West Kitikmeot/Slave Study (WKSS). The WKSS comprises a partnership of three federal and territorial governments, together with several First Nations, industry and NGO organizations.
- Evaluation of accountability practices among more than 100 boards, agencies and crown corporations reporting to both the Government of the Northwest Territories and their own constituencies.
- Evaluation of Alberta Environment’s lab analysis and accreditation policies and programs, based on extensive interviews and a comparative review of Canadian and US practices. An analytical framework was developed as a first critical step in preparing recommendations which were subsequently adopted by the Government of Alberta.
- Analytical model which predicts the cost of regulatory delay for Alberta Environment. The report contributed to finalizing an agreement on harmonization entered into by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
Alberta Right-to-Work Joint Review Committee
In 1995, Senator McCoy was asked by the Alberta Government to Chair a Joint Review Committee (JRC) into whether or not Right-to-Work (RTW) legislation would be beneficial to the province. The study defined RTW legislation as ‘legislation that would prohibit employers and employees from agreeing to any form of union shop, closed shop or dues check-off arrangement.’ The Committee was formed on March 14, 1995 and had both labour and management representatives. It delivered its unanimous report in November of the same year. It received 225 written submissions from Albertans on the issue.The JRC ultimately did not recommend RTW legislation for Alberta, as it found no evidence of economic advantage to it, and that it may well disrupt Alberta’s strong and stable labour relations of the time.
Alberta Government
From 1986 to 1993, Senator McCoy was the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party Member of the Legislative AssemblyMember of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
(MLA) for Calgary West
Calgary West
Calgary West is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1953, and since 1979. It is located in the western part of the City of Calgary....
in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...
.
In 1986, she was named to the Alberta Cabinet as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Minister responsible for Women’s Issues by Premier Don Getty
Don Getty
Donald Ross Getty, OC, AOE is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before...
. As Minister, Senator McCoy was responsible for creating the Insurance Council of Alberta, restructuring the Alberta Securities Commission, and for introducing a variety of new policies to protect consumers. She was also involved in developing foreign credentials recognition for immigrant professionals.
In 1989, Senator McCoy was appointed as Alberta’s Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Human Rights, in which portfolio she was responsible for Alberta’s personnel administration office. She set up an Alberta Human Rights commission inquiry into the Aryan Nations which was responsible for investigating and eliminating supremacist activity in the province. Senator McCoy also shed light on violence against women and spearheaded the Lake Louise Declaration, which was Alberta’s first action plan designed to fight violence against women, and the first all-Canada declaration on the subject.
The McCoy Plan
At the 1992 Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta leadership convention, McCoy ran for the leadership of the party against the eventual winner, Ralph Klein. She ran on a platform known as the McCoy Plan, points of which were eventually co-opted by the Klein government.Key points of the McCoy Plan:
- five-year business plans for all government departments and agencies
- zero-based budgeting; accrual accounting
- management and administrative costs cut in half
- rationalization of the tax burden on people and companies
- “one-window” co-ordinated service delivery throughout Alberta
- more training, skills development and educational opportunities for people across Alberta
- support for local communities so that they can do things their way
Prior to entering provincial politics, Senator McCoy pursued a career in law as senior legal counsel for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board and as counsel for TransAlta Utilities Corporation.
Senator McCoy is an alumna of the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, and holds an LLB (1969) and Bachelor of Arts in English (1968). She is married to Miles Patterson, QC (recently deceased, January 2011).