Jim Prentice
Encyclopedia
James "Jim" Prentice, PC
, QC
(born July 20, 1956) is a Canadian lawyer
, and politician
. In the 2004 federal election
he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada
. He was re-elected in the 2006 federal election
and appointed to the cabinet
as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
. Prentice was appointed Minister of Industry
on August 14, 2007, and after the 2008 election became Minister of Environment
on October 30, 2008. On November 4, 2010, Prentice announced his resignation from cabinet and as MP for Calgary Centre-North
.
near Timmins
. The family then eventually moved to Alberta
. His father Eric Prentice
was a professional hockey
player in the National Hockey League
(NHL) in the 1940s. Prentice was educated at the University of Alberta
(where he became a member of the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity) and Dalhousie University
. He paid for his tuition by working as a coal miner in the summer months for seven years.
As a lawyer, he has specialized in physical property rights including relocations, environmental protection suits, and cases arising from restricted development areas. He also served as a Law Commissioner of the Indian Claims Commission of Canada.
Prentice served for seven years on the Board of Directors at the Calgary Winter Club, including stints as President and Chairman. He is an active member and volunteer leader in the Grace Presbyterian Church.
in 1976, and has been active in Tory
circles ever since. In the 1986 Alberta Provincial Election, Prentice ran for the Progressive Conservatives
in Calgary Mountain View
, being defeated by NDP candidate Bob Hawkesworth
. He was the youngest Tory candidate in that election.
During the early 1990s, Prentice served as the governing federal PC Party's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (1990–93). Prentice first ran for Parliament as the nominated Progressive Conservative candidate in a spring 2002 by-election
in the riding of Calgary Southwest
that followed the retirement of Preston Manning
as the riding's Member of Parliament
(MP). When newly elected Canadian Alliance
leader Stephen Harper
replaced nominated CA candidate Ezra Levant
in the by-election, Prentice withdrew from the race as a gesture of compromise.
He ran in the 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership election
to support the "United Alternative" proposal to merge the PC party with the Canadian Alliance. He was seen by many as an alternative to the "status quo" candidate and front runner Peter MacKay
. A basic platform of Prentice's campaign was that "no one has ever defeated the Liberals with a divided conservative family." Prentice entered the 2003 convention day with some momentum after delivering a passionate speech to the assembled delegates that encouraged Tories to be proud of their accomplishments despite recent setbacks and that recalled the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Passchendaele. He also unexpectedly received the support of fellow leadership challenger Craig Chandler
, who withdrew early. Prentice ultimately emerged in second-place on the fourth ballot to the eventual winner MacKay. Some political pundits noted that while Prentice was ultimately defeated in the final ballot, he had the ability to draw support from both the social conservative and Red Tory
candidates who contested the race, after they were officially knocked off in the first and second ballots respectively. Consistent with his positions during the leadership race, Prentice was a supporter of the merger endorsed by both the CA and PC parties in December 2003 that formed the new Conservative Party of Canada.
Prentice was the first declared candidate for the leadership of the new Conservative Party, announcing his run on December 7, 2003, the day after the new party was ratified by members of the PC Party. Prentice began his campaign in Calgary and toured parts of Ontario, specifically visiting Kingston, Ontario
, the hometown of the first Canadian Conservative Leader Sir John A. Macdonald
and also the city where one of his daughters attends Queen's University. However, he withdrew from the race on January 12, 2004, citing difficulty in raising new funds less than a year after his unsuccessful first leadership bid.
in the 2004 election for the new Conservative Party, and won the seat.
After being sworn in as the MP for Calgary Centre North on July 16, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper named Prentice to the Shadow Cabinet
as the Official Opposition Critic for Indian and Northern Affairs. In that role Prentice opposed the Tli Cho
land claim agreement, which he says will make Canadian law secondary to Tlicho local law. Prentice is also a strong supporter of the proposed and controversial Mackenzie Valley pipeline
. He criticized the Liberal
government for its treatment of aboriginal women, and its alleged costs of administering the Residential School
Claims program for aboriginal victims of abuse.
Prentice is one of the higher-profile Red Tories
in the Conservative Party, by his own admission. For example, Prentice surprised many observers when he voted in favour of Bill C-38
supporting same-sex marriage
. While the Conservative Party advocated a free vote, this put him at odds with many of his conservative constituents as well as conservative groups. In February 2005, Craig Chandler
, the CEO of Concerned Christians Canada Inc. suggested on CBC Newsworld
that he would be campaigning for the Conservative Party nomination in the next 2006 federal election in Prentice's riding of Calgary North Centre, because of Prentice's pro-choice
stance on abortion
and his support of same-sex marriage
. The March CPC Policy Convention in Montreal voted in favour of allowing sitting Tory MPs to gain their nominations uncontested in minority government scenarios where elections are less predictable.
, and was sworn in to this role on February 6, 2006 until August 13, 2007. One of his main challenges as Minister was to implement the "The Nunavut Project," a 2006 report authored by Thomas Berger
, to show tangible, measurable results to increase Inuit
representation in the Nunavut public services.
, National chief of the Assembly of First Nations
, expressed disappointment over the Conservative government's refusal to honour the Kelowna Accord
, endorsed by 14 jurisdictions (the federal government, 10 provinces, and three territories). Fontaine previously described the federal government's point person on Kelowna, Jim Prentice, as an "honourable" person sensitive to native concerns. Prior to January 2006 election, Fontaine and two vice-chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations had a meeting with Prentice. "Prentice acknowledged all the hard work that went into Kelowna and (said) that the Conservative party would not put this aside," says Fontaine. "We took him at his word." Prentice does not recall saying that: "I've always been very, very careful about what I've said about Kelowna," According to Fontaine, in their first meeting after the 2006 election, "(Prentice) wanted to apply a very focused approach to his responsibilities." In the federal budget of May 2006, Fontaine and other native leaders got a glimpse of what "focused" meant: just $450 million (over two years) was committed to implementing Kelowna, not the $1.64 billion for the first two years that Paul Martin
had agreed to.
Prentice argued that there was actually $3.7 billion in spending on native peoples in the May 2006 budget, "more than the previous four budgets in total." That figure includes $2.2 billion in compensation for victims of abuse in residential schools (another deal that was worked out with the previous government) and $300 million for off-reserve housing.
On June 11, 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
thanked Jim Prentice for his work on addressing the matter of the Indian residential schools
and providing a government apology for the residential school system. Stephen Harper's thanks to Prentice came before he made the apology to former students of the schools.
, succeeding Maxime Bernier
.
laws akin to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(DMCA) in the United States. This has been linked to pressure from the United States government and multinational media advocacy groups. Bringing "Canada into WIPO treaty compliance," has been stated as one of Prentice's goals in future copyright legislation. It has been pointed out repeatedly, however, that at the time of Prentice's statement of his rationale for introducing amendments to the Copyright Act, there was no international legal obligation to implement any provision of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) Copyright Treaty (WCT) or the WIPO Performances & Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) since neither had been ratified by Canada. Prentice has promised to "put consumers first." claiming in an editorial that "(C-61) allows the recording of webcasts and TV and radio programs to be enjoyed at different times" while ignoring the fact that if the files are protected by digital rights management
(DRM) it is illegal to break the DRM to make the recording. Michael Geist
, Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, has suggested that the core desire of the draft legislation is "to satisfy U.S. pressure by enacting something very close to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act".
Prentice has been hostile to Canadians who requested to consult with him regarding the issue. Prentice refused to discuss the issue with CBC Radio Canada despite the hundreds of questions that flooded in from concerned Canadians. He also refused to talk to a group of protesters who went to his office to express their concern, stating "When Canadian Heritage Minister Josée Verner
and I have reached a consensus and we're satisfied, we will introduce a bill." Prentice has also implied that he will not follow the Government's policy to table the WCT & WPPT 21 days prior to introducing copyright amendments designed to implement parts of these treaties contrary to the Government's policy on treaty implementation. Industry Canada announced on June 11, 2008, that Prentice "will deliver brief statements and answer media inquiries shortly after the tabling of a bill to amend the Copyright Act ... [on] Thursday, June 12, 2008". After less than two hours, hundreds of Canadians and critics panned the new Bill C-61 as nothing more than pandering to US interests at the expense of Canadians. As of July 14, 2008 more than 87000 Canadians have joined an ever-growing Facebook group to protest the proposed legislation, Bill C-61
. As of June 2, 2010 the number had fallen to 84,144.
Prentice has also been unwilling to candidly respond to questions from the public. On a 10 minute interview with the CBC's Search Engine
radio program he dismissed any question related to digital rights management
as "extremely technical" and claimed that the market will take care of copy protected CD's. Prentice then hung up mid question and refused to continue the interview at a later time. Jim Prentice’s abbreviated interview and inability to provide coherent answers places the power and direction of the bill into question. Most notably, Jim Prentice hung up before answering Jesse Brown’s final question about who, under this bill, would have the power to investigate potential copyright violations.
belonging to Industry Canada
were made to the Jim Prentice article on Wikipedia
. The edits included the removal of references to new copyright legislation (claiming that it did not exist) and the addition of two passages about Prentice's recent accomplishments as Minister of Industry. Specifically, information about the copyright controversy was deleted from Prentice's biography by someone using an Industry Canada IP address.
Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation
, said in an interview there are tens of thousands of living people with biographies on Wikipedia, "so challenges about information are not uncommon." Walsh said neutrality of language and guarding against conflicts of interest are two of the central pillars of Wikipedia. He said "The edits which should be trusted would come from people who don't possess a conflict of interest, in this case, it would be worthwhile saying that if someone is making edits from a computer within the government of Canada … if it was someone within that ministry, that would theoretically constitute a conflict of interest."
Prentice rejected the concept of direct subsidies to the auto industry, insisting that setting up a strong economic foundation is a better route to strengthen the business. Former Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion
said the Conservatives are refusing to recognize the economic challenges facing Canada despite the planned shutdown of the GM truck plant in Oshawa, Ont.
practices by national Internet Service Providers (ISPs). New Democratic Party
MP Charlie Angus
raised the issue to Prentice in the House of Commons and said the government's "hands off" approach was bad for Canadian innovation. Prentice claims the issue is being appropriately handled by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which has invited the general public to an open debate on net neutrality.
and Bell
charging 15 cents for incoming SMS text messages
despite widespread opposition by consumer groups. This decision was made after Prentice dialogued with senior Bell and Telus executives and suggested that consumers "seek alternatives", even in Canada's limited-competition cellular industry.
in the Conservative Government
.
blogroll. A posting from a person claiming to be David Higginbottom, Prentice's campaign manager in the last election, said, "It is unfortunate that at a time when Conservatives need to be working together to prevent what is a desperate power play by the opposition to seize control of our democratically elected government, that a site like this would be created."
. Soon after his announcement, both Ric McIver
and Barb Higgins
, the second and third place finishers in the 2010 municipal election
in Calgary, expressed interest in running for the Conservative Party nomination in Calgary Centre-North.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, QC
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...
(born July 20, 1956) is a Canadian lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. In the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
as a candidate of the Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
. He was re-elected in the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
and appointed to the cabinet
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)
The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads two different departments...
and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
The position of Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians was created in 1985 as a portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. As the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is officially responsible only for Status Indians and largely with those living on Indian reserves, the new...
. Prentice was appointed Minister of Industry
Minister of Industry (Canada)
The Minister of Industry is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's economic development and corporate affairs department, Industry Canada. The Minister of Industry is also the minister responsible for Statistics Canada...
on August 14, 2007, and after the 2008 election became Minister of Environment
Minister of the Environment (Canada)
The Minister of the Environment is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's environment department, Environment Canada...
on October 30, 2008. On November 4, 2010, Prentice announced his resignation from cabinet and as MP for Calgary Centre-North
Calgary Centre-North
Calgary Centre-North is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
.
Background
Prentice was born to a large, blue-collar family in South Porcupine, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
near Timmins
Timmins, Ontario
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...
. The family then eventually moved to 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...
. His father Eric Prentice
Eric Prentice
Eric Dayton "Doc, Splendid Splinter" Prentice was a professional ice hockey left winger who played a total of 5 games in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs...
was a professional 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 in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) in the 1940s. Prentice was educated at 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...
(where he became a member of the Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
fraternity) and Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
. He paid for his tuition by working as a coal miner in the summer months for seven years.
As a lawyer, he has specialized in physical property rights including relocations, environmental protection suits, and cases arising from restricted development areas. He also served as a Law Commissioner of the Indian Claims Commission of Canada.
Prentice served for seven years on the Board of Directors at the Calgary Winter Club, including stints as President and Chairman. He is an active member and volunteer leader in the Grace Presbyterian Church.
Early political career
Prentice joined the Progressive Conservative Party of CanadaProgressive 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....
in 1976, and has been active in Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
circles ever since. In the 1986 Alberta Provincial Election, Prentice ran for the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta...
in Calgary Mountain View
Calgary Mountain View
Calgary-Mountain View is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada.-Boundary history:- Members of the Legislative Assembly :-2008 general election:-2004 general election:...
, being defeated by NDP candidate Bob Hawkesworth
Bob Hawkesworth
Robert "Bob" Andrew Hawkesworth is a Canadian politician and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.Hawkesworth attended the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary before being elected in 1980 to Calgary City Council as alderman for Ward 3...
. He was the youngest Tory candidate in that election.
During the early 1990s, Prentice served as the governing federal PC Party's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (1990–93). Prentice first ran for Parliament as the nominated Progressive Conservative candidate in a spring 2002 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in the riding of Calgary Southwest
Calgary Southwest
Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. The district is in the southwest part of the City of Calgary, south of Glenmore Trail, and west of the Canadian Pacific railway.The seat is held by Prime...
that followed the retirement of Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
as the riding's Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP). When newly elected Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
leader Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
replaced nominated CA candidate Ezra Levant
Ezra Levant
Ezra Isaac Levant is a Canadian lawyer, conservative political activist and media figure. He is the founder and former publisher of the Western Standard, hosts The Source daily on Sun News Network, and has written several books on politics....
in the by-election, Prentice withdrew from the race as a gesture of compromise.
He ran in the 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership election
Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 2003
The 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on May 31, 2003 to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Peter MacKay was elected as leader to replace former Prime Minister Joe Clark who had retired as party leader. In the end, five candidates emerged as...
to support the "United Alternative" proposal to merge the PC party with the Canadian Alliance. He was seen by many as an alternative to the "status quo" candidate and front runner Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....
. A basic platform of Prentice's campaign was that "no one has ever defeated the Liberals with a divided conservative family." Prentice entered the 2003 convention day with some momentum after delivering a passionate speech to the assembled delegates that encouraged Tories to be proud of their accomplishments despite recent setbacks and that recalled the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers who fought in the Battle of Passchendaele. He also unexpectedly received the support of fellow leadership challenger Craig Chandler
Craig Chandler
Craig B. Chandler is a Canadian businessman, pundit, and political and religious activist. He is a co-founder and executive director of the Progressive Group for Independent Business...
, who withdrew early. Prentice ultimately emerged in second-place on the fourth ballot to the eventual winner MacKay. Some political pundits noted that while Prentice was ultimately defeated in the final ballot, he had the ability to draw support from both the social conservative and Red Tory
Red Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
candidates who contested the race, after they were officially knocked off in the first and second ballots respectively. Consistent with his positions during the leadership race, Prentice was a supporter of the merger endorsed by both the CA and PC parties in December 2003 that formed the new Conservative Party of Canada.
Prentice was the first declared candidate for the leadership of the new Conservative Party, announcing his run on December 7, 2003, the day after the new party was ratified by members of the PC Party. Prentice began his campaign in Calgary and toured parts of Ontario, specifically visiting Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, the hometown of the first Canadian Conservative Leader Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
and also the city where one of his daughters attends Queen's University. However, he withdrew from the race on January 12, 2004, citing difficulty in raising new funds less than a year after his unsuccessful first leadership bid.
Early parliamentary career
Prentice ran in the riding of Calgary Centre-NorthCalgary Centre-North
Calgary Centre-North is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
in the 2004 election for the new Conservative Party, and won the seat.
After being sworn in as the MP for Calgary Centre North on July 16, Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper named Prentice to the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
as the Official Opposition Critic for Indian and Northern Affairs. In that role Prentice opposed the Tli Cho
Tli Cho
The Tłįchǫ or Tåîchô First Nation, formerly known as the Dogrib, are a Dene Aboriginal Canadian people living in the Northwest Territories , Canada....
land claim agreement, which he says will make Canadian law secondary to Tlicho local law. Prentice is also a strong supporter of the proposed and controversial Mackenzie Valley pipeline
Alaskan Natural Gas Pipeline
The Alaska gas pipeline is a proposal to transport natural gas from the Alaska North Slope natural gas reserves to the U.S. Midwest. The project is developed by TransCanada Corp. and ExxonMobil. TransCanada has secured state seed money and a license from the state of Alaska to build and operate a...
. He criticized the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
government for its treatment of aboriginal women, and its alleged costs of administering the Residential School
Residential school
Residential school may refer to:* Canadian Indian residential school system* a term used to describe boarding schools*A residential treatment center for people with addictions or severe mental illnesses...
Claims program for aboriginal victims of abuse.
Prentice is one of the higher-profile Red Tories
Red Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
in the Conservative Party, by his own admission. For example, Prentice surprised many observers when he voted in favour of Bill C-38
Civil Marriage Act
The Civil Marriage Act was legislation legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada...
supporting same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. While the Conservative Party advocated a free vote, this put him at odds with many of his conservative constituents as well as conservative groups. In February 2005, Craig Chandler
Craig Chandler
Craig B. Chandler is a Canadian businessman, pundit, and political and religious activist. He is a co-founder and executive director of the Progressive Group for Independent Business...
, the CEO of Concerned Christians Canada Inc. suggested on CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
that he would be campaigning for the Conservative Party nomination in the next 2006 federal election in Prentice's riding of Calgary North Centre, because of Prentice's pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
stance on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and his support of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. The March CPC Policy Convention in Montreal voted in favour of allowing sitting Tory MPs to gain their nominations uncontested in minority government scenarios where elections are less predictable.
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Prentice had been assigned the Indian and Northern Affairs portfolio in the Conservative government39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
, and was sworn in to this role on February 6, 2006 until August 13, 2007. One of his main challenges as Minister was to implement the "The Nunavut Project," a 2006 report authored by Thomas Berger
Thomas Berger
Thomas Berger may refer to:* Thomas Berger , American author* Thomas R. Berger , Canadian politician...
, to show tangible, measurable results to increase Inuit
Inuit
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...
representation in the Nunavut public services.
Kelowna Accord and residential schools
In the fall of 2006, Phil FontainePhil Fontaine
Larry Phillip Fontaine, OM is an Aboriginal Canadian leader. He completed his third and final term as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in 2009....
, National chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Assembly of First Nations
The Assembly of First Nations , formerly known as the National Indian Brotherhood, is a body of First Nations leaders in Canada...
, expressed disappointment over the Conservative government's refusal to honour the Kelowna Accord
Kelowna Accord
The Kelowna Accord is a series of agreements between the Government of Canada, First Ministers of the Provinces, Territorial Leaders, and the leaders of five national aboriginal organizations in Canada. The Accord sought to improve the education, employment, and living conditions for Aboriginal...
, endorsed by 14 jurisdictions (the federal government, 10 provinces, and three territories). Fontaine previously described the federal government's point person on Kelowna, Jim Prentice, as an "honourable" person sensitive to native concerns. Prior to January 2006 election, Fontaine and two vice-chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations had a meeting with Prentice. "Prentice acknowledged all the hard work that went into Kelowna and (said) that the Conservative party would not put this aside," says Fontaine. "We took him at his word." Prentice does not recall saying that: "I've always been very, very careful about what I've said about Kelowna," According to Fontaine, in their first meeting after the 2006 election, "(Prentice) wanted to apply a very focused approach to his responsibilities." In the federal budget of May 2006, Fontaine and other native leaders got a glimpse of what "focused" meant: just $450 million (over two years) was committed to implementing Kelowna, not the $1.64 billion for the first two years that 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....
had agreed to.
Prentice argued that there was actually $3.7 billion in spending on native peoples in the May 2006 budget, "more than the previous four budgets in total." That figure includes $2.2 billion in compensation for victims of abuse in residential schools (another deal that was worked out with the previous government) and $300 million for off-reserve housing.
On June 11, 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
thanked Jim Prentice for his work on addressing the matter of the Indian residential schools
Canadian residential school system
-History:Founded in the 19th century, the Canadian Indian residential school system was intended to assimilate the children of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada into European-Canadian society...
and providing a government apology for the residential school system. Stephen Harper's thanks to Prentice came before he made the apology to former students of the schools.
Minister of Industry
In a cabinet shuffle on August 14, 2007, Prentice became Minister of IndustryMinister of Industry (Canada)
The Minister of Industry is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's economic development and corporate affairs department, Industry Canada. The Minister of Industry is also the minister responsible for Statistics Canada...
, succeeding Maxime Bernier
Maxime Bernier
Maxime Bernier, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
.
Copyright legislation and controversy
Prentice has been headed with changing Canadian intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
laws akin to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
(DMCA) in the United States. This has been linked to pressure from the United States government and multinational media advocacy groups. Bringing "Canada into WIPO treaty compliance," has been stated as one of Prentice's goals in future copyright legislation. It has been pointed out repeatedly, however, that at the time of Prentice's statement of his rationale for introducing amendments to the Copyright Act, there was no international legal obligation to implement any provision of the World Intellectual Property Organization
World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
(WIPO) Copyright Treaty (WCT) or the WIPO Performances & Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) since neither had been ratified by Canada. Prentice has promised to "put consumers first." claiming in an editorial that "(C-61) allows the recording of webcasts and TV and radio programs to be enjoyed at different times" while ignoring the fact that if the files are protected by digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
(DRM) it is illegal to break the DRM to make the recording. Michael Geist
Michael Geist
Michael Allen Geist is a Canadian academic, and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. Geist was educated at the University of Western Ontario where he received his Bachelors of Laws before going on to get his Masters of Laws at both Osgoode Hall Law...
, Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, has suggested that the core desire of the draft legislation is "to satisfy U.S. pressure by enacting something very close to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act".
Josée Verner
Josée Verner, PC, is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada...
and I have reached a consensus and we're satisfied, we will introduce a bill." Prentice has also implied that he will not follow the Government's policy to table the WCT & WPPT 21 days prior to introducing copyright amendments designed to implement parts of these treaties contrary to the Government's policy on treaty implementation. Industry Canada announced on June 11, 2008, that Prentice "will deliver brief statements and answer media inquiries shortly after the tabling of a bill to amend the Copyright Act ... [on] Thursday, June 12, 2008". After less than two hours, hundreds of Canadians and critics panned the new Bill C-61 as nothing more than pandering to US interests at the expense of Canadians. As of July 14, 2008 more than 87000 Canadians have joined an ever-growing Facebook group to protest the proposed legislation, Bill C-61
Bill C-61 (39th Canadian Parliament, 2nd Session)
Bill C-61, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, was a bill tabled in 2008 during the second session of the 39th Canadian Parliament by Minister of Industry Jim Prentice. The bill died on the order paper when the 39th Parliament was dissolved prematurely and an election was called by the Governor...
. As of June 2, 2010 the number had fallen to 84,144.
Prentice has also been unwilling to candidly respond to questions from the public. On a 10 minute interview with the CBC's Search Engine
Search Engine (radio show)
Search Engine was a weekly Canadian radio show that aired on CBC Radio One, then a dedicated podcast available on CBC.ca, and now a podcast on TVOntario's website, tvo.org. It is hosted by Jesse Brown, who also co-produces the show with Geoff Siskind and Andrew Parker. Cory Doctorow, novelist and...
radio program he dismissed any question related to digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
as "extremely technical" and claimed that the market will take care of copy protected CD's. Prentice then hung up mid question and refused to continue the interview at a later time. Jim Prentice’s abbreviated interview and inability to provide coherent answers places the power and direction of the bill into question. Most notably, Jim Prentice hung up before answering Jesse Brown’s final question about who, under this bill, would have the power to investigate potential copyright violations.
Wikipedia controversy
During the period of May 27, 2008 to June 4, 2008, edits originating from an IP addressIP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
belonging to Industry Canada
Industry Canada
Industry Canada is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for regional economic development, investment, and innovation/research and development. The department employs 6104 FTEs across Canada....
were made to the Jim Prentice article on Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
. The edits included the removal of references to new copyright legislation (claiming that it did not exist) and the addition of two passages about Prentice's recent accomplishments as Minister of Industry. Specifically, information about the copyright controversy was deleted from Prentice's biography by someone using an Industry Canada IP address.
Jay Walsh, spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is an American non-profit charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, and organized under the laws of the state of Florida, where it was initially based...
, said in an interview there are tens of thousands of living people with biographies on Wikipedia, "so challenges about information are not uncommon." Walsh said neutrality of language and guarding against conflicts of interest are two of the central pillars of Wikipedia. He said "The edits which should be trusted would come from people who don't possess a conflict of interest, in this case, it would be worthwhile saying that if someone is making edits from a computer within the government of Canada … if it was someone within that ministry, that would theoretically constitute a conflict of interest."
Auto industry
In a February 29, 2008 speech to the Toronto Board of TradeToronto Board of Trade
The Toronto Board of Trade is Toronto's chamber of commerce, the largest local chamber of commerce in Canada, representing more than 10,000 business and individual members with about 500,000 employees across Canada and annual revenues of more than $200 billion .It is a non-profit organization with...
Prentice rejected the concept of direct subsidies to the auto industry, insisting that setting up a strong economic foundation is a better route to strengthen the business. Former Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
said the Conservatives are refusing to recognize the economic challenges facing Canada despite the planned shutdown of the GM truck plant in Oshawa, Ont.
Net neutrality
Prentice has sidestepped the issue of Canada's net neutrality, refusing to answer questions about the government's position on internet throttlingBandwidth throttling
Bandwidth throttling is a reactive measure employed in communication networks to regulate network traffic and minimize bandwidth congestion. Bandwidth throttling can occur at different locations on the network. On a local area network , a sysadmin may employ bandwidth throttling to help limit...
practices by national Internet Service Providers (ISPs). 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...
MP Charlie Angus
Charlie Angus
Charles Joseph Angus MP is a Canadian writer, broadcaster, musician, and politician. Angus entered electoral politics in 2004 as the successful New Democratic Party candidate in the Ontario riding of Timmins—James Bay. He was the NDP parliamentary critic for Canadian Heritage from 2004 to 2007,...
raised the issue to Prentice in the House of Commons and said the government's "hands off" approach was bad for Canadian innovation. Prentice claims the issue is being appropriately handled by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which has invited the general public to an open debate on net neutrality.
Text Messaging
After initially appearing to take a stand on the issue, Prentice refused to intervene when TelusTELUS
Telus is a national telecommunications company in Canada that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, video, and satellite television. The company is based in Burnaby, British Columbia, part of Greater Vancouver...
and Bell
Bell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
charging 15 cents for incoming SMS text messages
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
despite widespread opposition by consumer groups. This decision was made after Prentice dialogued with senior Bell and Telus executives and suggested that consumers "seek alternatives", even in Canada's limited-competition cellular industry.
Minister of the Environment
On October 30, 2008 Prentice was sworn in as Minister of the EnvironmentMinister of the Environment (Canada)
The Minister of the Environment is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's environment department, Environment Canada...
in the Conservative Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
.
Draft Prentice Movement
Shortly after the Conservative government faced a possible defeat by the opposition over the Conservatives economic update, a "Conservatives for Prentice" website emerged, gaining a place on the Blogging ToriesBlogging Tories
Blogging Tories is the name of a group of Canadian bloggers who come from the centre, centre-right, right-wing and libertarian sides of the political spectrum...
blogroll. A posting from a person claiming to be David Higginbottom, Prentice's campaign manager in the last election, said, "It is unfortunate that at a time when Conservatives need to be working together to prevent what is a desperate power play by the opposition to seize control of our democratically elected government, that a site like this would be created."
Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS)
Under his leadership at the Ministry of Environment, funding for the CFCAS was not renewed leading to an important brain drain in the climate scientific community.Resignation
On November 4, 2010 Prentice announced he was resigning as Environment Minister effective immediately and that he would be resigning as Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre-North by the end of the year to take a job as vice-chairman of the Canadian Imperial Bank of CommerceCanadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....
. Soon after his announcement, both Ric McIver
Ric McIver
Ric McIver is municipal politician and businessman from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is a former alderman for Ward 12 on the Calgary City Council. McIver held his post from his election in October 2001 until his run for mayor in October 2010...
and Barb Higgins
Barb Higgins
Barbara Joan Higgins is a former newscaster and journalist for Calgary CTV outlet CFCN-TV. A news journalist for 21 years, she stepped down from her job as a CFCN news anchor to enter the Calgary mayoral race on July 23, 2010. Higgins has stated she can no longer stay neutral as a journalist and...
, the second and third place finishers in the 2010 municipal election
Calgary municipal election, 2010
The 2010 Calgary municipal election was held Monday, October 18, 2010 to elect a mayor and 14 aldermen to the city council, the seven trustees to the Calgary School District , and four of the seven trustees to the Calgary Catholic School District . Three incumbent separate school trustees had no...
in Calgary, expressed interest in running for the Conservative Party nomination in Calgary Centre-North.