George Hickes (politician)
Encyclopedia
George Hickes, MLA
(born 26 June 1946) is a politician in Manitoba
, Canada
. He has served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
since 1990, and has been the Speaker of the Assembly
since 1999. He is a member of the New Democratic Party
.
Hickes is the uncle of Nunavut politician Hunter Tootoo
, and of hockey
player Jordin Tootoo
.
family near Ports Point in the Northwest Territories
(now Nunavut
), and was raised in Churchill
, Manitoba. His early years alternated between traditional Inuit life and modern Canadian society. He caught beluga whales in his youth (a long-standing tradition in Inuit culture), and earned the nickname "coldwater cowboy" for working without the aid of nets. The descendants of whales caught by Hickes can still be seen in several aquariums throughout the world.
Hickes worked as a heavy equipment operator at the Tar Sands Project in Fort McMurray
, Alberta
in the early 1970s, and held a variety of jobs in Churchill during the same period. He joined Manitoba's New Careers
program in 1976, and later acknowledged that this decision saved him from a life of poverty. After graduating in 1978, Hickes became a trainer and coordinator for New Careers in Winnipeg until 1984. He later worked as executive director of the Limestone Training and Employment Agency near Gillam
, Manitoba, and assisted in designing an education program for the Yukon
.
for the NDP nomination in Rupertsland before the 1990 provincial election
, but withdrew when Harper attained national prominence for blocking the Meech Lake Accord
. He was instead elected for the north-end Winnipeg constituency of Point Douglas
, which has a large aboriginal community. He has been returned in every election since then, and received almost 75% support in the 2003 election
.
The NDP formed the Official Opposition in the Manitoba legislature from 1990 to 1999, and Hickes served as his party's whip
in this period. He played a prominent role in having November 8 designated as a day to recognize Manitoba's aboriginal veterans, and successfully called for legislation requiring that cooking liqueurs sold in the province have no more than 25% alcohol content. The latter measure followed a series of deaths in Winnipeg involving Chinese cooking wine with a higher alcohol content. Hickes supported Lorne Nystrom
's bid to lead the federal New Democratic Party
in 1995.
He spoke against plans to create an aboriginal political party
in 1994, arguing that such a party could not effectively represent multicultural communities. Referring to his own Point Douglas riding, he said, "You have Ukrainians
, Filipinos
, Chinese
. What happens to them . . . if you're running to represent only one group of people?".
Manitoba's electoral boundaries were redistributed in 1999. Hickes was challenged for the Point Douglas NDP nomination by fellow legislator Conrad Santos
, whose Broadway constituency had been eliminated. He won the challenge, and Santos subsequently ran and was elected in the new division of Wellington.
in the 1999 election, and Hickes defeated Santos, Denis Rocan
and Marcel Laurendeau
in a free vote of the assembly to become its new speaker
. He was the first speaker to be chosen in this manner, previous speakers having been appointed by the premier
. He was re-elected speaker in 2003.
Hickes was re-elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 2007 provincial election
. Shortly after, he was re-elected as speaker without opposition. Opposition party leaders Hugh McFadyen
and Jon Gerrard
both indicated that they regarded Hickes as fair and even-handed.
On February 10, 2011, Hickes announced that he would not seek re-election in the next provincial election
.
. Expenditure entries refer to individual candidate expenses.
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...
(born 26 June 1946) is a politician in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He has served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...
since 1990, and has been the Speaker of the Assembly
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature.-List of Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba:-References:* *...
since 1999. He is a member of the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party of Manitoba
The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
.
Hickes is the uncle of Nunavut politician Hunter Tootoo
Hunter Tootoo
Hunter Tootoo is a politician in Nunavut, Canada. He is a current member of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, and has also sought election to the Canadian House of Commons....
, and of hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player Jordin Tootoo
Jordin Tootoo
Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo is a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League . He is both the first Inuk player and the first player who grew up in Nunavut to participate in an NHL game....
.
Early life and career
Hickes was born to an InuitInuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
family near Ports Point in the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
(now Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
), and was raised in Churchill
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...
, Manitoba. His early years alternated between traditional Inuit life and modern Canadian society. He caught beluga whales in his youth (a long-standing tradition in Inuit culture), and earned the nickname "coldwater cowboy" for working without the aid of nets. The descendants of whales caught by Hickes can still be seen in several aquariums throughout the world.
Hickes worked as a heavy equipment operator at the Tar Sands Project in Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray, Alberta
Fort McMurray is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It was previously incorporated as a city on September 1, 1980. It became an urban service area when it amalgamated with Improvement District No. 143 on April 1, 1995 to create the Municipality...
, 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...
in the early 1970s, and held a variety of jobs in Churchill during the same period. He joined Manitoba's New Careers
New Careers
New Careers is a former education and training program in Manitoba, Canada. It was established in 1971 by the provincial government of Edward Schreyer....
program in 1976, and later acknowledged that this decision saved him from a life of poverty. After graduating in 1978, Hickes became a trainer and coordinator for New Careers in Winnipeg until 1984. He later worked as executive director of the Limestone Training and Employment Agency near Gillam
Gillam, Manitoba
Gillam, Manitoba, Canada, is a community between Thompson and Churchill on the Hudson Bay Railway line. Gillam is a significant community because of the nearby Nelson River Bipole converter station on the Nelson River...
, Manitoba, and assisted in designing an education program for the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
.
Opposition member
Hickes planned to challenge Elijah HarperElijah Harper
Elijah Harper is an Aboriginal Cree Canadian politician and band chief. He was a key player in the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord, an attempt at Canadian constitutional reform.- Early life :...
for the NDP nomination in Rupertsland before the 1990 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1990
The Manitoba general election of September 11, 1990 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative Party, which took 30 out of 57 seats...
, but withdrew when Harper attained national prominence for blocking the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
. He was instead elected for the north-end Winnipeg constituency of Point Douglas
Point Douglas
Point Douglas is a part of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, surrounded by a bend in the Red River. It is the namesake of a larger city ward, represented by a member of Winnipeg City Council...
, which has a large aboriginal community. He has been returned in every election since then, and received almost 75% support in the 2003 election
Manitoba general election, 2003
The Manitoba general election held on June 3, 2003 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 35 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with twenty seats...
.
The NDP formed the Official Opposition in the Manitoba legislature from 1990 to 1999, and Hickes served as his party's whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
in this period. He played a prominent role in having November 8 designated as a day to recognize Manitoba's aboriginal veterans, and successfully called for legislation requiring that cooking liqueurs sold in the province have no more than 25% alcohol content. The latter measure followed a series of deaths in Winnipeg involving Chinese cooking wine with a higher alcohol content. Hickes supported Lorne Nystrom
Lorne Nystrom
Lorne Edmund Nystrom, PC a Canadian politician, was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1968 to 1993 when he lost his reelection bid. He returned to parliament in 1997 and served until 2004...
's bid to lead the federal New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
in 1995.
He spoke against plans to create an aboriginal political party
First Peoples Party
-History:The FPP was created following a 1993 resolution by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, endorsing a political party to focus on aboriginal issues. The party was officially founded in November 1994, and fielded three candidates in the 1995 provincial election...
in 1994, arguing that such a party could not effectively represent multicultural communities. Referring to his own Point Douglas riding, he said, "You have Ukrainians
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Filipinos
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. What happens to them . . . if you're running to represent only one group of people?".
Manitoba's electoral boundaries were redistributed in 1999. Hickes was challenged for the Point Douglas NDP nomination by fellow legislator Conrad Santos
Conrad Santos
Conrad Santos is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988, and again from 1990 to 2007....
, whose Broadway constituency had been eliminated. He won the challenge, and Santos subsequently ran and was elected in the new division of Wellington.
Speaker
The NDP won a majority governmentMajority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
in the 1999 election, and Hickes defeated Santos, Denis Rocan
Denis Rocan
Denis Rocan is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1986 to 2007, and served as speaker of the assembly from 1988 to 1995...
and Marcel Laurendeau
Marcel Laurendeau
Marcel Laurendeau is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Manitoba legislature from 1990 to 2003, representing the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in the south-end Winnipeg riding of St...
in a free vote of the assembly to become its new speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
. He was the first speaker to be chosen in this manner, previous speakers having been appointed by the premier
Premier of Manitoba
The Premier of Manitoba is the first minister for the Canadian province of Manitoba. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. Until the early 1970s, the title "Prime Minister of Manitoba" was used frequently. Afterwards, the word Premier, derived from the French...
. He was re-elected speaker in 2003.
Hickes was re-elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 2007 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 2007
The Manitoba general election held on May 22, 2007 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which won 36 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party finished second with nineteen seats. The Liberal...
. Shortly after, he was re-elected as speaker without opposition. Opposition party leaders Hugh McFadyen
Hugh McFadyen
Hugh Daniel McFadyen is a lawyer and politician in Manitoba, Canada. Since 2006, he has been leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and Leader of the Opposition in the Manitoba legislature. Following his party's loss in the 2011 election he announced that he would resign as...
and Jon Gerrard
Jon Gerrard
Jon Gerrard, PC, MLA is a politician and medical doctor in Manitoba, Canada. He was a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 1997, and was a secretary of state in the government of Jean Chrétien...
both indicated that they regarded Hickes as fair and even-handed.
On February 10, 2011, Hickes announced that he would not seek re-election in the next provincial election
Manitoba general election, 2011
The 40th general election of Manitoba was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. It took place on October 4, 2011, due to the new fixed-date election laws...
.
Electoral record
All electoral information is taken from Elections ManitobaElections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba, responsible for the conduct of provincial elections....
. Expenditure entries refer to individual candidate expenses.