John Baird (Canadian politician)
Encyclopedia
John Russell Baird, PC
, MP
(born May 26, 1969) is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs
in the cabinet of Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
.
Baird had previously held the posts of Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
, Minister of the Environment
and President of the Treasury Board. Prior to entering federal politics he was a provincial politician serving in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1995 to 2005 and a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative
governments of Mike Harris
and Ernie Eves
serving as the Minister for Children, Community and Social Services, Energy and Francophone Affairs in addition to being the Government's Chief Whip.
and a graduate of Kingston
's Queen's University
, he is the member of the Canadian House of Commons
for the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean
. Baird was elected as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada
in the 2006 federal election
when his party won a minority government over Paul Martin's Liberal Party
.
Baird was sworn in as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, replacing Jay Hill
, on August 6, 2010, in the Conservative Government. Prior to this, Baird served as Transport Minister starting October 30, 2008, Environment Minister
starting January 2007, & President of the Treasury Board during the Conservatives' first year in power.
Baird also previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1995 to 2005 for the riding of Nepean-Carleton
(previously part of Nepean
until 1999), and was a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative
governments of Mike Harris
and Ernie Eves
. He served as the Minister for Children, Community and Social Services, Energy and Francophone Affairs in addition to being the Government's Chief Whip. After the Conservatives' defeat to Dalton McGuinty
's Ontario Liberal Party
, he was the party's critic for key portfolios including finance, culture and health. Baird has been a member of the Conservatives since 1985, when he was the youngest delegate at that time and was also a political aide for the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
in the late 1980s.
Since his beginning in the political ranks, Baird has been well known for being combative in many subjects in both the provincial and federal levels of government. During his tenure in the Harris Cabinet, he adopted several cost-saving measures, including cuts to social programs and a failed attempt to sell Hydro One
, the government-owned utility firm. As the federal President of the Treasury Board in the Harper Cabinet, he adopted the Federal Accountability Act
, which was put in place after the Gomery Commission
which investigated the federal sponsorship scandal
in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As Environment Minister, Baird has been opposed to the Kyoto Protocol
which Canada had previously ratified.
, the son of Marianne Collins and Gerald Baird. He became involved in politics when he backed a candidate for the local federal PC nomination in 1984. The next year, at age sixteen, Baird was the youngest delegate to attend the party's January 1985 provincial leadership convention
. as a supporter of Ontario Attorney-General Roy McMurtry
.
He was later president of the youth wing of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and aligned himself with Dennis Timbrell
during the latter's abortive campaign for the PC leadership in 1989-90. He backed Mike Harris
when Timbrell withdrew from the contest. Baird has also indicated that he was charged with trespassing during the 1988 federal election
, after he tried to question Ontario Premier
David Peterson
about free trade with the United States during a Liberal Party
campaign stop in a Kingston shopping mall. He received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Political Studies from Queen's University in 1992.
Baird worked on the political staff of Perrin Beatty
when Beatty was federal Minister of National Defence
in the early 1990s, and followed Beatty through subsequent cabinet shifts, culminating in his becoming Secretary of State for External Affairs
in the short-lived 1993 government of Kim Campbell
. After the defeat of the federal Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 federal election
, Baird worked as a lobbyist in Ottawa.
Baird claims to have been a vegetarian since 1997. However, he admits to eating fish, and he is also reported to have eaten seal meat on a trip to the Arctic in 2009.
He had a pet grey tabby cat named Thatcher; when the cat died on November 10, 2009, a message sent by Baird using his Blackberry which said "Thatcher has died" resulted in a false rumour to the effect that Margaret Thatcher
had died. In June 2008, he was selected by the Ottawa Business Journal
as a recipient of the "Forty Under 40" award.
-led Ontario PC party upon entering provincial politics. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995
, defeating Liberal
incumbent Hans Daigeler
in the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean
. The youngest member of the legislature, Baird was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour on July 13, 1995.
He became parliamentary assistant to Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet in April 1997, and was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Finance in November of the same year. As a backbencher, Baird proposed a bill officially naming Highway 416
as the "Veterans' Memorial Highway" and successfully steered its passage through the legislature. He was easily re-elected in 1999
, defeating future Ottawa councillor Gord Hunter
by a margin of almost 15,000 votes
program. As one of Harris's few bilingual ministers, he was also named as Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs
.
A September 1999 report from Baird's ministry showed that 10,600 workfare placements had been created in the first six months of 1999, a figure which the Toronto Star
observed was significantly lower than that which had been predicted by the government. Baird indicated that he would continue with the workfare program, and that the proportion of welfare recipients on workfare would be increased from 15% to 30%.
Baird came under criticism in late 1999 for refusing to cancel a five-year contract that had been signed between his department and the Bermuda
-based private firm Andersen Consulting (later Accenture
), worth up to $180 million. The contract, signed when Janet Ecker
was Community and Social Services minister, entrusted Andersen with providing technological upgrades to the province's welfare management system. The arrangement was criticized by Auditor General Erik Peters
, who observed that there was nothing in the contract to prevent Andersen from increasing its hourly rates. A published report in early 2000 indicated that Andersen was charging an average of $257 per hour for work that had previously been done by ministry staff at $51 per hour. Another report indicated that the firm had charged a total of $55 million to find roughly $66 million worth of savings. In response to opposition questions, Baird said that he would not terminate the contract but would endeavour to negotiate a lower rate. Baird opposed the Harris government's plan to amalgamate the city of Ottawa with neighboring municipalities, which was approved by the Legislature in 1999.
Baird revealed a $50 million program in May 2000 to help people with developmental disabilities become integrated into their communities. He later affirmed that the province was considering closing its remaining three institutions for the mentally handicapped as part of a larger strategy focusing on home care. Baird expressed concern about the physical condition of these institutions, saying that their residents "deserve better". Later in the year, Baird stated that his department would spend $26 million on shelters and other funding for the homeless.
Baird supported mandatory drug-testing for welfare recipients and argued that those who refused such tests should be at risk of have their assistance cut off. He introduced a policy initiative to this effect at a press conference in late 2000, in which he dramatically cast a box of syringe
s onto the floor and said that his department planned to "stop people from shooting their welfare cheque up their arm, and to help them shoot up the ladder of success". Baird acknowledged that his department did not have reliable figures on the number of welfare recipients abusing drugs, although he cited estimates of between 4% and 10%. The proposal was met with criticism from several sources, and Ontario Human Rights Commissioner Keith Norton
, himself a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, expressed concern that it could violate basic civil liberties.
Shortly after Baird's announcement, a government website operated by the Ministry of Community and Social Services launched an attack against Liberal Party leader Dalton McGuinty
for opposing the drug testing plan. The site claimed that McGuinty was "opposed to helping welfare recipients who are addicted to drugs". Baird denied that the message was partisan and initially refused to apologize. The Speaker of the Ontario Legislature subsequently ruled that the site content was inappropriate and it was removed with an apology from the government. The drug-testing plan was never fully implemented.
, died while serving a house arrest for welfare fraud. The woman had been confined to her apartment for three months and reports indicated that her pregnancy was "exacerbated by sweltering conditions in her apartment". Responding to criticism, Baird said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case until a coroner's inquest was completed. He also defended his government's general policy on welfare issues. A subsequent inquest did not assign blame to the government for the woman's death, but recommended that lifetime bans for fraud be eliminated, and that adequate food, housing and medication be provided to anyone under house arrest.
Baird was given additional responsibilities as Minister responsible for Children on February 8, 2001. His department increased funding for child services early in the year, amid a significant increase in provincial demand. In November 2001, the provincial media obtained a confidential government report recommending 40-45% cuts in provincial child-care programs. Baird initially declined to comment on the document's contents, but rejected its proposals in early 2002.
Baird was the first cabinet minister to support Jim Flaherty
's campaign to succeed Mike Harris as Progressive Conservative Party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election
. The election was won by Flaherty's rival Ernie Eves
, and early media reports suggested that Baird might be dropped from the new premier's cabinet in April 2002. He was not, but was demoted to the position of Chief Government Whip
while remaining associate minister for Francophone Affairs. His replacement in Social Services was Brenda Elliott
, who was from the more centrist wing of the Progressive Conservative Party.
in June 2003 after Chris Stockwell
was forced to resign following allegations that he had used government funds for a family vacation.
As Energy Minister, Baird was initially entrusted with implementing the government's plan to sell off part of Ontario's Hydro One
. A few months later, he became unexpectedly involved in two major and interrelated policy reversals. The Energy ministry came under intense media scrutiny in late 2002 after hydro rates increased significantly in many parts of the province. Critics argued that the Progressive Conservative government's price deregulation policy (implemented before Baird became Energy Minister) was responsible. Baird suggested that the rate increases resulted from an unusually hot summer. Rates remained high through the autumn, and the Eves government was forced to re-regulate the market in November by introducing a price cap. The government continued to support deregulation in principle, but maintained the cap for the remainder of its term in office. The second and more fundamental reversal occurred in late January 2003, when Premier Eves personally announced that Hydro One would remain under public control.
Baird was regarded as less combative as Energy Minister than he had been in Community and Social Services. The energy policies of the Eves government were controversial, but opposition criticism was often directed at the premier rather than at Baird. Eves took a prominent interest in the Energy portfolio, and sometimes relegated Baird to a secondary role in policy announcements. In November 2002, however, he was followed around the province by "Hydrozilla", a man in a giant lizard suit sent by the NDP
as a stunt to show that deregulating electricity rates would create an economic monster for consumers. In early March 2003, Baird announced that the government might be forced to implement rolling blackouts as a response to energy shortages. He encouraged conservation in late summer 2003, following a province-wide blackout caused by a generator failure in the United States.
in the 2003 election
, although Baird was comfortably re-elected in his own seat. Between 2003 and 2005, he served as Official Opposition critic for Finance, Culture, Francophone Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs and Health. He opposed the imposition of a health premium by Dalton McGuinty
's government in 2004, charging that the Liberals broke an election pledge not the raise taxes. Baird and New Democrat Peter Kormos
were vocal critics of Speaker Alvin Curling
for allegedly favouring his Liberal colleagues, saying that he sanctioned Conservative and NDP members for behaviour he would allow from Liberals. At one stage, Baird described Curling's job performance as an "absolute disgrace."
Baird co-chaired Jim Flaherty's second campaign to lead the Progressive Conservative party in the 2004
. Flaherty was again unsuccessful, losing on the second ballot to the more centrist John Tory
. Both Baird and Flaherty left provincial politics in 2005 to campaign for the federal House of Commons. Although Baird was generally on the right-wing of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party, he expressed liberal views on some social issues. He supported same-sex marriage
during the 2003 provincial election
and, in 2005, helped the McGuinty government achieve quick passage of a provincial bill granting legal recognition to same-sex couples. Some Progressive Conservative MPPs openly criticized Baird on the latter occasion.
candidate in the 2000 federal election
, and later endorsed Stephen Harper
's bid to lead the newly-formed Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership election
. He was subsequently appointed as the Conservative Party's Ontario co-chair for the 2004 federal election
. There were rumours that Baird would leave provincial politics to contest the 2004 election, but this did not happen. In 2005, he resigned his provincial seat to campaign federally for the Conservative Party.
Baird won a contested nomination battle for Ottawa West—Nepean
Conservative nomination on May 5, 2005, defeating challengers Ed Mahfouz, Margret Kopala
and Ade Olumide. John Pacheco, a leader in the social conservative movement against same-sex marriage
, had also sought the nomination but was disqualified due to past comments he had made alleging that homosexual practices posed a health risk. Pacheco later campaigned in the election as an "Independent conservative," with the specific intent of being a spoiler
against Baird. He argued that if his campaign caused Baird to lose, the Conservatives would "get the message that social conservatives are serious about their politics." Baird chose to ignore Pacheco entirely in at least one all-candidates debate.
Baird was elected, defeating Liberal candidate Lee Farnworth by about 5,000 votes. The Ottawa Citizen endorsed Baird in this campaign, and argued that his political judgment had improved considerably since his tenure as a Harris cabinet minister. In December 2006, Baird was one of thirteen Conservative MPs who voted against reopening the national debate on same-sex marriage.
Baird has played an aggressive role in Question Period
since his appointment to cabinet, leading MP Garth Turner
to describe him as Stephen Harper's "Commons
pit bull".
, a former New Democratic Party of Ontario cabinet minister.
promised significant reform to the structure of Canadian politics and government. Prime Minister Harper said that it would "put an end to the influence of money" in the Canadian government. The Accountability Act restricted the ability of former politicians and bureaucrats to become lobbyists, provided protection to whistle-blowers in the civil service and gave the Auditor General of Canada
new powers of oversight. It also limited individual donations to political parties and candidates to $1,100 per year (down from $5,200), created nine new or revised positions to oversee the activities of public officials and placed crown corporations such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
under access-to-information legislation
.
Opposition MPs complained that several recommendations for access-to-information reform were left out of the bill, and were instead sent to committee for further review. New Democratic Party
MP Pat Martin
initially suggested that this deferral could delay meaningful reform for the foreseeable future. Martin later made a deal with Baird to give the bill an easy passage through committee, in return for the Conservatives accepting some NDP amendments.
Information Commissioner John Reid has criticized the new proposed powers for his department under the legislation, arguing that they will create unnecessary bureaucracy. Shortly after the Accountability Act was introduced to parliament, Reid issued an emergency report saying that the legislation would "increase the government's ability to cover up wrongdoing, shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to Canadians". He added that no government had ever put forward "a more retrograde and dangerous" set of proposals for dealing with access to information laws. Baird described Reid's criticisms as "excessive," saying that most of the commissioner's specific concerns were minor in nature. Representatives of Canada's business community also expressed concern about changes to disclosure laws, arguing that their commercial secrets could be exposed to competitors.
The bill passed the House of Commons on division in June 2006. The Canadian Senate
approved it in December 2006, with several amendments, and sent it back to the Commons for further consideration. The amended act was approved by the Commons without debate on 8 December, and was signed into law four days later.
Shortly after the bill first passed the Commons, Baird acknowledged that the Conservatives may have unintentionally broken political financing laws by failing to report convention fees collected in 2005. He told a Senate committee that $1.7 million was left unreported and that he did not realize it was an issue at the time. The matter is currently under review by the Chief Electoral Officer. The Conservatives quietly tabled an amendment to the Accountability Act in November 2006, stipulating that convention fees will not be counted as political contributions.
, which provided funding for Canadians to pursue rights cases in the Canadian court system. Baird argued that government funding would be redirected in a way that "reflects the priorities of working families" and that he "just [didn't] think it made sense for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge the government's own laws in court." In justifying cuts to adult literacy programs, Baird referenced his government's support for youth literacy and said, "We've got to fix the ground level problem and not be trying to do repair work after the fact."
. As a result, the rail program became a focal issue in the 2006 Ottawa mayoral election
and Baird's opponents accused him of trying to influence the outcome. Baird and Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli
accused one another of lying about details of the project, and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains
asked the Federal Ethics Commissioner to investigate Baird's decision to release details of the private contract. Chiarelli was defeated in the election and the light-rail expansion was stopped by the new council.
An Ottawa Citizen
report in January 2007 revealed that federal officials had not posed any objections to the light-rail project before Baird's intervention, and suggested that his involvement was political in nature. Green Party
leader Elizabeth May
speculated that Ottawa may have been deprived of light-rail service because of an apparent "personal vendetta" from Baird against Chiarelli. Baird denied this charge, saying that his intervention was not political. Opponents of the light-rail project have argued that it was undertaken without sufficient consultation with the public. In February 2008, it was reported that the House of Commons committee on government operations will be looking into his involvement over the case. MP and committee member Mark Holland
mentioned a concern that Baird leaked information on the contract. Baird mentioned that he made the right decision and dismissed the investigation saying "there is no evidence of anything". Speaking to reporters he added following the announcement of the investigation: "If you want to avert a billion-dollar boondoggle, you have to make some difficult decisions".
has described Baird as a champion of waterfront renewal and David Miller has described him as an ally of the city. Baird spent Christmas
2006 meeting with Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan
.
in a cabinet shuffle
, replacing previous Minister Rona Ambrose
. In making the appointment, Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged that his government needed to do more to make the environment a priority. Some commentators remarked favourably on Baird's appointment, describing him as a strong communicator and negotiator. Columnist Andrew Coyne
, however, described Baird as "the man sent to kill the issue," suggesting that Baird's appointment was meant to neutralize the environment as an election issue rather than to initiate any meaningful reforms. Baird is a vocal opponent of the Kyoto Protocol
, which he argues will bring about an "economic collapse". Later in 2007, he added that any new environmental agreements must include reduction targets for major greenhouse emitters such as China, India and the United States who have not signed the Protocol or does not have any mandatory reductions set by the Protocol. Baird met with renowned Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki
following his appointment. At the time, Suzuki said he was encouraged by Baird's approach, but remained skeptical of the Harper government's environmental plans. However, when Baird unveiled the Conservative government's plan in April, 2007, Suzuki confronted Baird, calling the plan "a disappointment".
In April 2007, Baird produced a federal study supported by five independent economists to support his approach to the Kyoto Protocol. Among the five economists was Toronto-Dominion Bank
chief economist Don Drummond, who also wrote a private letter to Baird arguing that the "economic cost [of implementing Kyoto] would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s." Opposition parliamentarians dismissed the report as a scare tactic, while Liberal Environment Critic David McGuinty
argued that the study was misleading, saying that it did not properly examine international emission trading and ignored jobs to be created through the "green economy". The report misrepresented Canada's ability to invest in developing nations to meet emissions targets through CDM by misquoting the amount of credit to be 85 million instead of the real approximation of 3 billion. Soon after, a United Nations
report also contradicted the study mentioning that "steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can be accomplished at a cost of only 0.12 per cent of the world's annual economic output" but Baird responded that Canada will have its gas emissions levels peaked in 2012 three years before the UN's set target of 2015.
report on climate change in Paris
in February 2007. He described the report as a "turning point in the battle against climate change," while indicating his surprise that human activity was found to be a major cause of the phenomenon.
Baird released his government's targets for greenhouse gas emissions in late April 2007. The plan calls for Canada to begin cutting its existing rate of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 and for cuts to reach 20% by 2020. Under this plan, Canada will reach its Kyoto targets between 2020 and 2025, taking an additional eight to thirteen years longer than Kyoto. The government plan uses production intensity targets instead of hard caps. Baird said that the "plan strikes a balance between the perfection some environmentalists may be seeking and the status quo that some in industry seek to protect." Later in December 2007, Baird revealed in a plan that over 700 big-polluter companies, including oil and gas, pulp and paper, electricity and iron and steel companies, must cut greenhouse emissions by six percent from 2008 to 2010 The companies would also have to produce an annual report every May 31 that would include data regarding the level of greenhouses emissions produced each year.
Baird's proposal has been met with approval from Canada's oilpatch executives, who described them as the toughest emission regulations in the world, and who feared that more stringent standards would stifle oil sands exploration. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
has been considerably less critical than his brother, having earlier written to Prime Minister Harper on the environmental policy. The Premier had stressed the importance of a policy that considered the North American market as a whole, due to the automotive industry's importance to his province. McGuinty said the Conservatives' environmental plan could have gone further but described the auto emissions part of the plan as "very sensible".
Members of opposition parties have criticized the government's abandonment of Kyoto goals, while David Suzuki
described the proposal as a "sham" with "weak targets". Former US vice president Al Gore
said Baird's plan was a "complete and total fraud" that was "designed to mislead the Canadian people". Baird responded by defending his plan and by criticizing Gore's environmental record, noting that no similarly stringent measures were passed during Gore's tenure in office and that the Kyoto Treaty was never submitted to the US Senate for ratification. The Liberal Party, led by MP Pablo Rodriguez, introduced to the House of Commons a private bill that would have forced Canada to comply to the Kyoto Treaty in response to the government's plan. While the bill passed Baird mentioned that, even though that the government wouldn't dismiss it, there was no new environmental measures planned. All three opposition parties demanded that the environment become one of the main points of the government's Throne Speech in the 2007 fall session.
and Natural Resources
Minister Gary Lunn
announced $1.5 billion for clean-energy initiatives over the next decade. Baird and Lunn also announced a $230 million program for clean energy technology. Lunn said that "there were literally hundreds of programs but there was no focus" when the Conservatives took office. Critics argued that the new Conservative measures were similar to measures introduced by the Liberals in their 2005 budget. Former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion
has argued that the Conservative Party's strategy is too strongly focused on nuclear energy
.
On 12 February 2007, Baird appeared at a press conference with Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier
Jean Charest
to announce a $1.5 billion environmental fund for the provinces. Journalist Frances Russell criticized that as a reduction from the $3 billion promised by the previous Liberal government.
Canada is a signatory to the Kyoto protocol
which legally requires signatory countries to set up compatible carbon trading markets. In direct defiance of this international legal obligation, in March 2007, Baird indicated that he wanted Canadian companies to be banned, or at least severely restricted, from participating in the international carbon market. Several European countries had already set up a trading system to allow companies that reduce their emission levels below government targets to sell "credits" on an international market. Many industry leaders argued that Canada should adopt a similar policy. Then opposition leader Stéphane Dion
argued that participation will allow Canadian firms to make "megatonnes of money". Baird however described some carbon markets as "shaky," and argued that trade should be restricted to within Canada, or perhaps within North America. In April, he indicated that Canadian businesses would soon gain the right to earn credits by investing in overseas environmental projects. Baird's attitudes to carbon markets confused (and later directly contradicted) the government's own stated position to support the development of markets that were compatible with all its trading partners.
Baird defended another Conservative government decision to cut funds for climate science research, arguing that further studies are largely superfluous in light of recent United Nations reports. Gordon McBean of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences has disagreed, claiming that further research is the best way to adapt to a changing climate.
Baird said in a House of Commons Committee that his government would not consider the implementation of a carbon tax
. He told that the government's approach "will be to provide regulation for industry to ensure we reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air pollutants"
Baird's performance overall was profoundly criticized, including receiving a "fossil award" from attending NGOs, and prompting an unusually angry condemnation by the representative from Bangladesh
, a nation very threatened by climate change related disease and flooding. He did not mention Baird by name but clearly implied that Canada, the US and Australia conspired to cause immense harm to his people and country by inaction, inexcusable in richer countries.
Canadian NGOs also uniformly condemned Baird's position, that of the government, that serious limitations on greenhouse gases would have to include China, India and other emerging nations before the richer nations that had already undergone most of their development would begin to reduce greenhouse gases. This condition directly contradicted Kyoto's explicit condition that developed nations should be willing to start first and pay up to fifteen times more per person to prevent climate change, given that they had benefitted from centuries of free atmospheric access and could not impose charges for dumping in that same atmosphere on emerging countries.
Baird was heavily criticized by parties and observers for obstructing progress on what was to become 'the Bali Action Plan'. Baird skipped out on a meeting in which he was scheduled to explain Canada's controversial climate change policies, after quickly glancing into the room and seeing many unhappy young Canadians sitting among an international audience of media and government officials. The Bali Action Plan, a key step towards a global international climate agreement to be negotiated in Copenhagen in 2009, was obstructed during final negotiations by Canada and the U.S. the final Saturday. "This particular government has been a government of skeptics," said Mr. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
In November 2008 Baird was replaced in the Environment portfolio by Jim Prentice
and moved to Minister of Transport
. When Prentice departed federal politics in November 2010, Baird resumed his prior role (see below under Environment Minister 2010-11).
The draft group allegedly comprised over 100 party members from across the country — including two MPs and one Senator (who, reportedly, had requested anonymity). In its only contact with the media, the campaign claimed it had nearly 3,000 visitors and 237 new supporters in less than ten hours.
Baird has since indicated not only that he is loyal to Harper, but that he is uninterested in ever becoming party leader. In 2011 he told a newspaper, "Some people may have when growing up, always harboured leadership ambitions. I've never harboured leadership ambitions. It is the honest-to-God truth."
prorogue parliament. In that context, Baird announced that the Cabinet wanted to exercise a more extreme option, to "... go over the heads of the members of Parliament; go over the heads, frankly, of the Governor General; go right to the Canadian people." The interviewer, Don Newman, countered Baird's views with the view that "... in a British parliamentary system
, it is only legitimate for the government to be the government if it can sustain support in the House of Commons." In the end, on December 4, 2008, the Governor General granted Prime Minister Harper's request for prorogation; Parliament was prorogued until January 26, 2009.
At the previous (2009) climate conference in Copenhagen, Canada was awarded the Colossal Fossil award as the country that made the least constructive contribution to negotiations, under then-minister Prentice. Following Copenhagen, the Harper government was the only country that signed the Accord to file new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that were weaker than its targets before the conference. http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/canada-sweeps-up-three-fossil-awards-at-the-c/blog/29190
's proposed pipeline to bring oil from the Alberta oil sands to the BC coast despite certain opposition from some First Nations bands.
ed by Israeli forces and that "If minister Baird wants to put the interests of a far-right Israeli government before Canadians, he should apply for the job of Israel's ambassador".
All electoral information taken from Elections Canada
and Elections Ontario
. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.
The 1999 and 2003 expenditure entries are taken from official candidate reports as listed by Elections Ontario. The figures cited are the Total Candidate's Campaign Expenses Subject to Limitation, and include transfers from constituency associations.
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* Elliott led a restructured Ministry of Community, Family and Children's Services.
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,...
, MP
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...
(born May 26, 1969) is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations section of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada....
in the cabinet of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
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...
.
Baird had previously held the posts of Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
Minister of Transport (Canada)
The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...
, Minister of the 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...
and President of the Treasury Board. Prior to entering federal politics he was a provincial politician serving in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
from 1995 to 2005 and a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
governments of Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
and Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
serving as the Minister for Children, Community and Social Services, Energy and Francophone Affairs in addition to being the Government's Chief Whip.
Overview
A long-time resident of the former city of NepeanNepean, Ontario
- Recent quantity of snow :- History :Nepean Township, originally known as Township D, was established in 1792 and originally included what is now the central area of Ottawa west of the Rideau River. Jehiel Collins, from Vermont, is believed to have been the first person to settle in Nepean...
and a graduate of Kingston
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...
's Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, he is the member of 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...
for the riding of Ottawa West—Nepean
Ottawa West—Nepean
Ottawa West—Nepean is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 112,509.-Geography:...
. Baird was elected as a candidate for 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...
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:...
when his party won a minority government over Paul Martin's Liberal Party
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...
.
Baird was sworn in as Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, replacing Jay Hill
Jay Hill
Jay D. Hill PC is a former Canadian politician and member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was the Member of Parliament for the riding of Prince George—Peace River from 1993 until his retirement in 2010. He also served as Government House Leader in the Canadian House of Commons during his...
, on August 6, 2010, in the Conservative Government. Prior to this, Baird served as Transport Minister starting October 30, 2008, Environment Minister
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...
starting January 2007, & President of the Treasury Board during the Conservatives' first year in power.
Baird also previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
from 1995 to 2005 for the riding of Nepean-Carleton
Nepean—Carleton (provincial electoral district)
Nepean-Carleton is a provincial electoral district in eastern Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.The riding was represented in the Ontario legislature by Progressive Conservative John Baird since it became a provincial riding in 1999 until he resigned in...
(previously part of Nepean
Nepean (electoral district)
Nepean was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997. It was also the name of an overlapping district represented in the Ontario legislature from 1987 to 1999....
until 1999), and was a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
governments of Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
and Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
. He served as the Minister for Children, Community and Social Services, Energy and Francophone Affairs in addition to being the Government's Chief Whip. After the Conservatives' defeat to Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
's Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
, he was the party's critic for key portfolios including finance, culture and health. Baird has been a member of the Conservatives since 1985, when he was the youngest delegate at that time and was also a political aide for the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
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....
in the late 1980s.
Since his beginning in the political ranks, Baird has been well known for being combative in many subjects in both the provincial and federal levels of government. During his tenure in the Harris Cabinet, he adopted several cost-saving measures, including cuts to social programs and a failed attempt to sell Hydro One
Hydro One
Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
, the government-owned utility firm. As the federal President of the Treasury Board in the Harper Cabinet, he adopted the Federal Accountability Act
Federal Accountability Act
The Federal Accountability Act is a statute introduced as Bill C-2 in the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament on April 11, 2006, by the President of the Treasury Board, John Baird...
, which was put in place after the Gomery Commission
Gomery Commission
The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
which investigated the federal sponsorship scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As Environment Minister, Baird has been opposed to the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
which Canada had previously ratified.
Early life and career
Baird was born in NepeanNepean, Ontario
- Recent quantity of snow :- History :Nepean Township, originally known as Township D, was established in 1792 and originally included what is now the central area of Ottawa west of the Rideau River. Jehiel Collins, from Vermont, is believed to have been the first person to settle in Nepean...
, the son of Marianne Collins and Gerald Baird. He became involved in politics when he backed a candidate for the local federal PC nomination in 1984. The next year, at age sixteen, Baird was the youngest delegate to attend the party's January 1985 provincial leadership convention
Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership conventions, 1985
In 1985, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party held two leadership elections: one in January, and one in November.-The January Convention:The January convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to choose a replacement for William Davis, who had served as Ontario PC leader and Premier...
. as a supporter of Ontario Attorney-General Roy McMurtry
Roy McMurtry
Roland "Roy" McMurtry, OC, OOnt is a judge and former politician in Ontario, Canada and the current Chancellor of York University.-Early life:McMurtry was born in Toronto and educated at St. Andrew's College, graduating in 1950...
.
He was later president of the youth wing of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and aligned himself with Dennis Timbrell
Dennis Timbrell
Dennis Roy Timbrell is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1987, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of William Davis and Frank Miller.-Early life and career:...
during the latter's abortive campaign for the PC leadership in 1989-90. He backed Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
when Timbrell withdrew from the contest. Baird has also indicated that he was charged with trespassing during the 1988 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, after he tried to question Ontario Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
about free trade with the United States during a Liberal Party
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...
campaign stop in a Kingston shopping mall. He received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Political Studies from Queen's University in 1992.
Baird worked on the political staff of Perrin Beatty
Perrin Beatty
Henry Perrin Beatty, PC is a corporate executive and former Canadian politician.Perrin Beatty first won election to the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative at the age of 22 in the 1972 election....
when Beatty was federal Minister of National Defence
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
in the early 1990s, and followed Beatty through subsequent cabinet shifts, culminating in his becoming Secretary of State for External Affairs
Secretary of State for External Affairs (Canada)
Canada's Secretary of State for External Affairs was, from 1909 to 1993, the member of the Cabinet of Canada responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations and the former Department of External Affairs...
in the short-lived 1993 government of Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
. After the defeat of the federal Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, Baird worked as a lobbyist in Ottawa.
Baird claims to have been a vegetarian since 1997. However, he admits to eating fish, and he is also reported to have eaten seal meat on a trip to the Arctic in 2009.
He had a pet grey tabby cat named Thatcher; when the cat died on November 10, 2009, a message sent by Baird using his Blackberry which said "Thatcher has died" resulted in a false rumour to the effect that Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
had died. In June 2008, he was selected by the Ottawa Business Journal
Ottawa Business Journal
The Ottawa Business Journal is a regional business publication serving Canada's National Capital Region. Founded in 1995, it is owned by Great River Mediaand published on a biweekly basis with a circulation of 20,000 copies. Over its first decade, the Ottawa Business Journal has been recognized as...
as a recipient of the "Forty Under 40" award.
Government backbencher
While Baird had previously been associated with moderate Tories such as Timbrell and Beatty, he became associated with the more right-wing ideology of the Mike HarrisMike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
-led Ontario PC party upon entering provincial politics. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995
Ontario general election, 1995
The Ontario general election of 1995 was held on June 8, 1995, to elect members of the 36th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada...
, defeating Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
incumbent Hans Daigeler
Hans Daigeler
Hans Wolfgang Daigeler was a politician in Ontario, Canada...
in the Ottawa-area riding of Nepean
Nepean (electoral district)
Nepean was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 1997. It was also the name of an overlapping district represented in the Ontario legislature from 1987 to 1999....
. The youngest member of the legislature, Baird was appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour on July 13, 1995.
He became parliamentary assistant to Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet in April 1997, and was promoted to parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Finance in November of the same year. As a backbencher, Baird proposed a bill officially naming Highway 416
Highway 416 (Ontario)
King's Highway 416, commonly referred to as Highway 416 and as the Veterans Memorial Highway, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which connects Highway 417 in Ottawa with Highway 401 between Brockville and Cornwall...
as the "Veterans' Memorial Highway" and successfully steered its passage through the legislature. He was easily re-elected in 1999
Ontario general election, 1999
An Ontario general election was held on June 3, 1999, to elect members of the 37th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, defeating future Ottawa councillor Gord Hunter
Gord Hunter
Gordon Hunter was an Ottawa City Councillor. He represented Knoxdale-Merivale Ward. On January 31, 2010, he announced that he would not be running re-election to city council in 2010....
by a margin of almost 15,000 votes
Community and Social Services minister
Baird joined Premier Harris's cabinet on June 17, 1999 as Minister of Community and Social Services, where he became responsible for implementing and expanding Ontario's workfareWorkfare
Workfare is an alternative model to conventional social welfare systems. The term was first introduced by civil rights leader James Charles Evers in 1968; however, it was popularized by Richard Nixon in a televised speech August 1969...
program. As one of Harris's few bilingual ministers, he was also named as Minister responsible for Francophone Affairs
Office of Francophone Affairs
The Office of Francophone Affairs in the Canadian province of Ontario is responsible for the provision of government services to Franco-Ontarian citizens and communities....
.
1999
Baird's first press conference as a cabinet minister was held in July 1999, and was intended to highlight the Harris government's record in reducing the provincial welfare rolls. Baird told reporters that 15,000 people had left the system since the introduction of workfare, and used this figure to argue that the government's policy was a success. At the time, he lacked information on the number of workfare recipients who actually found jobs, and he also did not account for 40% of the welfare recipients who had been cut from the list. A number of media reports subsequently criticized both the principle and the implementation of workfare in Ontario.A September 1999 report from Baird's ministry showed that 10,600 workfare placements had been created in the first six months of 1999, a figure which the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
observed was significantly lower than that which had been predicted by the government. Baird indicated that he would continue with the workfare program, and that the proportion of welfare recipients on workfare would be increased from 15% to 30%.
Baird came under criticism in late 1999 for refusing to cancel a five-year contract that had been signed between his department and the Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
-based private firm Andersen Consulting (later Accenture
Accenture
Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...
), worth up to $180 million. The contract, signed when Janet Ecker
Janet Ecker
Janet Ecker is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and was a senior cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves.-Background:...
was Community and Social Services minister, entrusted Andersen with providing technological upgrades to the province's welfare management system. The arrangement was criticized by Auditor General Erik Peters
Erik Peters
Erik Peters, F.C.A., served as Auditor General of Ontario between 1993 and 2003.-References:* *...
, who observed that there was nothing in the contract to prevent Andersen from increasing its hourly rates. A published report in early 2000 indicated that Andersen was charging an average of $257 per hour for work that had previously been done by ministry staff at $51 per hour. Another report indicated that the firm had charged a total of $55 million to find roughly $66 million worth of savings. In response to opposition questions, Baird said that he would not terminate the contract but would endeavour to negotiate a lower rate. Baird opposed the Harris government's plan to amalgamate the city of Ottawa with neighboring municipalities, which was approved by the Legislature in 1999.
2000
In January 2000, Baird unveiled a series of initiatives designed to reduce fraud and misuse in the welfare system. This was highlighted by the establishment of a welfare fraud hotline. Three months later, he added that anyone convicted of welfare fraud would run the risk of being given a lifetime ban from the program. Critics of this approach suggested that the Harris government was overstating the extent of fraud in order to undermine public confidence in welfare programs. In mid-year, Baird announced that workfare placements had reached departmental quotas for most of the province.Baird revealed a $50 million program in May 2000 to help people with developmental disabilities become integrated into their communities. He later affirmed that the province was considering closing its remaining three institutions for the mentally handicapped as part of a larger strategy focusing on home care. Baird expressed concern about the physical condition of these institutions, saying that their residents "deserve better". Later in the year, Baird stated that his department would spend $26 million on shelters and other funding for the homeless.
Baird supported mandatory drug-testing for welfare recipients and argued that those who refused such tests should be at risk of have their assistance cut off. He introduced a policy initiative to this effect at a press conference in late 2000, in which he dramatically cast a box of syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
s onto the floor and said that his department planned to "stop people from shooting their welfare cheque up their arm, and to help them shoot up the ladder of success". Baird acknowledged that his department did not have reliable figures on the number of welfare recipients abusing drugs, although he cited estimates of between 4% and 10%. The proposal was met with criticism from several sources, and Ontario Human Rights Commissioner Keith Norton
Keith Norton
Keith Calder Norton was a Canadian politician and public servant. He served as a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, and was until 2005 the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.-Education and early career:Norton was...
, himself a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, expressed concern that it could violate basic civil liberties.
Shortly after Baird's announcement, a government website operated by the Ministry of Community and Social Services launched an attack against Liberal Party leader Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
for opposing the drug testing plan. The site claimed that McGuinty was "opposed to helping welfare recipients who are addicted to drugs". Baird denied that the message was partisan and initially refused to apologize. The Speaker of the Ontario Legislature subsequently ruled that the site content was inappropriate and it was removed with an apology from the government. The drug-testing plan was never fully implemented.
2001-02
In early 2001, Baird announced that his government's proposed drug-testing plan would be extended to identify welfare recipients addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol. He later announced that provincial welfare applicants would be required to pass a literacy test. The Harris government's welfare policies were put under scrutiny in August 2001 after a pregnant woman in Sudbury, Kimberly RogersKimberly Rogers
Kimberly Rogers was a Canadian whose death in 2001, while under house arrest for welfare fraud, caused extensive controversy around Ontario Works...
, died while serving a house arrest for welfare fraud. The woman had been confined to her apartment for three months and reports indicated that her pregnancy was "exacerbated by sweltering conditions in her apartment". Responding to criticism, Baird said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case until a coroner's inquest was completed. He also defended his government's general policy on welfare issues. A subsequent inquest did not assign blame to the government for the woman's death, but recommended that lifetime bans for fraud be eliminated, and that adequate food, housing and medication be provided to anyone under house arrest.
Baird was given additional responsibilities as Minister responsible for Children on February 8, 2001. His department increased funding for child services early in the year, amid a significant increase in provincial demand. In November 2001, the provincial media obtained a confidential government report recommending 40-45% cuts in provincial child-care programs. Baird initially declined to comment on the document's contents, but rejected its proposals in early 2002.
Baird was the first cabinet minister to support Jim Flaherty
Jim Flaherty
James Michael "Jim" Flaherty, PC, MP is Canada's Minister of Finance and he has also served as Ontario's Minister of Finance. From 1995 until 2005, he was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Whitby—Ajax, and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party caucus...
's campaign to succeed Mike Harris as Progressive Conservative Party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election
Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2002
The 2002 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election was a leadership election called in the fall of 2001 when Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Premier Mike Harris announced his intention to resign....
. The election was won by Flaherty's rival Ernie Eves
Ernie Eves
Ernest Lawrence "Ernie" Eves was the 23rd Premier of the province of Ontario, Canada, from April 15, 2002, to October 23, 2003.-Beginnings:...
, and early media reports suggested that Baird might be dropped from the new premier's cabinet in April 2002. He was not, but was demoted to the position of Chief Government Whip
Chief Government Whip (Ontario)
The Chief Government Whip of Ontario is the member of the government responsible for ensuring that members of the governing party attend and vote in the provincial Legislature as the party leadership desires....
while remaining associate minister for Francophone Affairs. His replacement in Social Services was Brenda Elliott
Brenda Elliott
Brenda Elliott is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative from 1995 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves....
, who was from the more centrist wing of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Energy Minister and Government House Leader
Baird was returned to a more prominent cabinet position in August 2002 after Eves separated the ministries of Environment and Energy and appointed Baird to head the latter department. Baird was given additional responsibilities as Government House LeaderGovernment House Leader (Ontario)
The Ontario Government House Leader is the provincial cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario...
in June 2003 after Chris Stockwell
Chris Stockwell
Chris Stockwell is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Before entering provincial politics, he had been a...
was forced to resign following allegations that he had used government funds for a family vacation.
As Energy Minister, Baird was initially entrusted with implementing the government's plan to sell off part of Ontario's Hydro One
Hydro One
Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
. A few months later, he became unexpectedly involved in two major and interrelated policy reversals. The Energy ministry came under intense media scrutiny in late 2002 after hydro rates increased significantly in many parts of the province. Critics argued that the Progressive Conservative government's price deregulation policy (implemented before Baird became Energy Minister) was responsible. Baird suggested that the rate increases resulted from an unusually hot summer. Rates remained high through the autumn, and the Eves government was forced to re-regulate the market in November by introducing a price cap. The government continued to support deregulation in principle, but maintained the cap for the remainder of its term in office. The second and more fundamental reversal occurred in late January 2003, when Premier Eves personally announced that Hydro One would remain under public control.
Baird was regarded as less combative as Energy Minister than he had been in Community and Social Services. The energy policies of the Eves government were controversial, but opposition criticism was often directed at the premier rather than at Baird. Eves took a prominent interest in the Energy portfolio, and sometimes relegated Baird to a secondary role in policy announcements. In November 2002, however, he was followed around the province by "Hydrozilla", a man in a giant lizard suit sent by the NDP
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
as a stunt to show that deregulating electricity rates would create an economic monster for consumers. In early March 2003, Baird announced that the government might be forced to implement rolling blackouts as a response to energy shortages. He encouraged conservation in late summer 2003, following a province-wide blackout caused by a generator failure in the United States.
Opposition member
The Ontario Liberal Party 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 2003 election
Ontario general election, 2003
The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, although Baird was comfortably re-elected in his own seat. Between 2003 and 2005, he served as Official Opposition critic for Finance, Culture, Francophone Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs and Health. He opposed the imposition of a health premium by Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
's government in 2004, charging that the Liberals broke an election pledge not the raise taxes. Baird and New Democrat Peter Kormos
Peter Kormos
Peter Kormos is a politician in Ontario, Canada. A former lawyer, he was first elected as an Ontario New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the Welland constituency in a 1988 provincial by-election. He replaced veteran NDP legislator Mel...
were vocal critics of Speaker Alvin Curling
Alvin Curling
Alvin Curling is a prominent Black Canadian. He was Canada's envoy to the Dominican Republic from 2005-2006. A former politician in Ontario, Canada, he was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario until he resigned on August 19, 2005 to accept his diplomatic appointment...
for allegedly favouring his Liberal colleagues, saying that he sanctioned Conservative and NDP members for behaviour he would allow from Liberals. At one stage, Baird described Curling's job performance as an "absolute disgrace."
Baird co-chaired Jim Flaherty's second campaign to lead the Progressive Conservative party in the 2004
Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership election, 2004
On January 23, 2004, the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Ernie Eves announced his intention to step down as leader before the fall of 2004. Eves was elected party leader in the party's 2002 leadership election, and became Premier of Ontario...
. Flaherty was again unsuccessful, losing on the second ballot to the more centrist John Tory
John Tory
John Howard Tory is a Canadian businessman, political activist, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, former Member of Provincial Parliament and broadcaster...
. Both Baird and Flaherty left provincial politics in 2005 to campaign for the federal House of Commons. Although Baird was generally on the right-wing of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party, he expressed liberal views on some social issues. He supported same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
during the 2003 provincial election
Ontario general election, 2003
The Ontario general election of 2003 was held on October 2, 2003, to elect the 103 members of the 38th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
and, in 2005, helped the McGuinty government achieve quick passage of a provincial bill granting legal recognition to same-sex couples. Some Progressive Conservative MPPs openly criticized Baird on the latter occasion.
Federal politics
Baird supported a Canadian AllianceCanadian 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...
candidate in the 2000 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2000
The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....
, and later endorsed 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...
's bid to lead the newly-formed Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership election
Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, 2004
The 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election took place on March 20, 2004 in Toronto, Ontario, and resulted in the election of Stephen Harper as the first leader of the new Canadian Conservative Party...
. He was subsequently appointed as the Conservative Party's Ontario co-chair for 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...
. There were rumours that Baird would leave provincial politics to contest the 2004 election, but this did not happen. In 2005, he resigned his provincial seat to campaign federally for the Conservative Party.
Baird won a contested nomination battle for Ottawa West—Nepean
Ottawa West—Nepean
Ottawa West—Nepean is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 112,509.-Geography:...
Conservative nomination on May 5, 2005, defeating challengers Ed Mahfouz, Margret Kopala
Margret Kopala
Margret Kopala is a journalist and political activist in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She currently writes a column for the Ottawa Citizen newspaper....
and Ade Olumide. John Pacheco, a leader in the social conservative movement against same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
, had also sought the nomination but was disqualified due to past comments he had made alleging that homosexual practices posed a health risk. Pacheco later campaigned in the election as an "Independent conservative," with the specific intent of being a spoiler
Spoiler effect
The spoiler effect describes the effect a minor party candidate with little chance of winning has in a close election, when that candidate's presence in the election draws votes from a major candidate similar to them, thereby causing a candidate dissimilar to them to win the election...
against Baird. He argued that if his campaign caused Baird to lose, the Conservatives would "get the message that social conservatives are serious about their politics." Baird chose to ignore Pacheco entirely in at least one all-candidates debate.
Baird was elected, defeating Liberal candidate Lee Farnworth by about 5,000 votes. The Ottawa Citizen endorsed Baird in this campaign, and argued that his political judgment had improved considerably since his tenure as a Harris cabinet minister. In December 2006, Baird was one of thirteen Conservative MPs who voted against reopening the national debate on same-sex marriage.
Baird has played an aggressive role in Question Period
Question Period
Question Period, known officially as Oral Questions occurs each sitting day in the Canadian House of Commons. According to the House of Commons Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”-History:The...
since his appointment to cabinet, leading MP Garth Turner
Garth Turner
John Garth Turner, PC is a Canadian business journalist, best-selling author, entrepreneur, broadcaster, financial advisor and politician, twice elected as a Member of the House of Commons, former Minister of National Revenue and leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada...
to describe him as Stephen Harper's "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...
pit bull".
President of the Treasury Board
Baird was appointed President of the Treasury Board on February 6, 2006. Following his appointment, Baird said that one of his priorities would be to prevent government jobs from being relocated from Ottawa to other regions for political purposes. He also indicated that his government was not planning to introduce job cuts or initiate a radical reduction in the size of government. In June 2006, Baird announced the creation of a three-member panel to advise the federal government on grant and contribution programs and accountability issues. One of the members was Frances LankinFrances Lankin
Frances Lankin, PC is a former president and CEO of United Way Toronto, and a former Ontario MPP and cabinet minister. On November 30, 2010, Frances Lankin was appointed by the province to co-chair, along with Dr. Munir Sheikh, a comprehensive review of social assistance in Ontario...
, a former New Democratic Party of Ontario cabinet minister.
Accountability Act
Baird introduced the Conservative government's first piece of legislation in April 2006. The Accountability ActFederal Accountability Act
The Federal Accountability Act is a statute introduced as Bill C-2 in the first session of the 39th Canadian Parliament on April 11, 2006, by the President of the Treasury Board, John Baird...
promised significant reform to the structure of Canadian politics and government. Prime Minister Harper said that it would "put an end to the influence of money" in the Canadian government. The Accountability Act restricted the ability of former politicians and bureaucrats to become lobbyists, provided protection to whistle-blowers in the civil service and gave the Auditor General of Canada
Auditor General of Canada
The role of the Auditor General of Canada is to aid accountability by conducting independent audits of federal government operations. The Auditor General reports to the House of Commons, not to the government...
new powers of oversight. It also limited individual donations to political parties and candidates to $1,100 per year (down from $5,200), created nine new or revised positions to oversee the activities of public officials and placed crown corporations such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
under access-to-information legislation
Access to Information Act
Access to Information Act or Information Act is a Canadian act providing the right of access to information under the control of a government institution...
.
Opposition MPs complained that several recommendations for access-to-information reform were left out of the bill, and were instead sent to committee for further review. 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 Pat Martin
Pat Martin
Patrick "Pat" Martin is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Canadian House of Commons since 1997, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party.-Career:...
initially suggested that this deferral could delay meaningful reform for the foreseeable future. Martin later made a deal with Baird to give the bill an easy passage through committee, in return for the Conservatives accepting some NDP amendments.
Information Commissioner John Reid has criticized the new proposed powers for his department under the legislation, arguing that they will create unnecessary bureaucracy. Shortly after the Accountability Act was introduced to parliament, Reid issued an emergency report saying that the legislation would "increase the government's ability to cover up wrongdoing, shield itself from embarrassment and control the flow of information to Canadians". He added that no government had ever put forward "a more retrograde and dangerous" set of proposals for dealing with access to information laws. Baird described Reid's criticisms as "excessive," saying that most of the commissioner's specific concerns were minor in nature. Representatives of Canada's business community also expressed concern about changes to disclosure laws, arguing that their commercial secrets could be exposed to competitors.
The bill passed the House of Commons on division in June 2006. The Canadian Senate
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...
approved it in December 2006, with several amendments, and sent it back to the Commons for further consideration. The amended act was approved by the Commons without debate on 8 December, and was signed into law four days later.
Shortly after the bill first passed the Commons, Baird acknowledged that the Conservatives may have unintentionally broken political financing laws by failing to report convention fees collected in 2005. He told a Senate committee that $1.7 million was left unreported and that he did not realize it was an issue at the time. The matter is currently under review by the Chief Electoral Officer. The Conservatives quietly tabled an amendment to the Accountability Act in November 2006, stipulating that convention fees will not be counted as political contributions.
Program cuts
In May 2006, Baird was asked to find $1 billion in cuts for 2006 and 2007. On September 25, on the same day that the government announced a $13.2 billion surplus, Baird announced cuts to sixty-six federal programs, including Status of Women, medicinal marijuana research, Canadian museums, adult literacy, youth employment and social development and the British Columbia pine beetle program. One of the most controversial cuts was to the federal Court Challenges ProgramCourt Challenges Program of Canada
The Court Challenges Program of Canada is a non-profit organization whose stated purpose is "to provide financial assistance for important court cases that advance language and equality rights guaranteed under Canada's Constitution"....
, which provided funding for Canadians to pursue rights cases in the Canadian court system. Baird argued that government funding would be redirected in a way that "reflects the priorities of working families" and that he "just [didn't] think it made sense for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge the government's own laws in court." In justifying cuts to adult literacy programs, Baird referenced his government's support for youth literacy and said, "We've got to fix the ground level problem and not be trying to do repair work after the fact."
2006 Ottawa municipal election
In early October 2006, Baird's department reviewed a promised $200 million grant to the City of Ottawa's light-rail expansion project. Baird indicated that the government would keep the funding at least until the November election, but added that the Council elected in November will have the final say on the issue. He also leaked details of the city's contact with the German firm SiemensSiemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
. As a result, the rail program became a focal issue in the 2006 Ottawa mayoral election
Ottawa municipal election, 2006
The 2006 Ottawa municipal election was held on November 13, 2006, in Ottawa, Canada, to elect the mayor of Ottawa, Ottawa City Council and the Ottawa-Carleton Public and Catholic School Boards. The election was one of many races across the province of Ontario...
and Baird's opponents accused him of trying to influence the outcome. Baird and Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli
Bob Chiarelli
Robert "Bob" Chiarelli is a Canadian politician. He served in the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 1997, and was subsequently re-elected to the legislature in 2010 after serving as regional chair and mayor of Ottawa from 1997 to 2006...
accused one another of lying about details of the project, and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains
Navdeep Bains
Navdeep Singh Bains, PC is a Canadian politician from Ontario, Canada. He is the former Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Mississauga—Brampton South.-Early life:...
asked the Federal Ethics Commissioner to investigate Baird's decision to release details of the private contract. Chiarelli was defeated in the election and the light-rail expansion was stopped by the new council.
An Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
report in January 2007 revealed that federal officials had not posed any objections to the light-rail project before Baird's intervention, and suggested that his involvement was political in nature. Green Party
Green Party of Canada
The Green Party of Canada is a Canadian federal political party founded in 1983 with 10,000–12,000 registered members as of October 2008. The Greens advance a broad multi-issue political platform that reflects its core values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and...
leader Elizabeth May
Elizabeth May
Elizabeth Evans May, OC, MP is an American-born Canadian Member of Parliament, environmentalist, writer, activist, lawyer, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada. She was the executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1989 to 2006. She became a Canadian citizen in 1978.May's...
speculated that Ottawa may have been deprived of light-rail service because of an apparent "personal vendetta" from Baird against Chiarelli. Baird denied this charge, saying that his intervention was not political. Opponents of the light-rail project have argued that it was undertaken without sufficient consultation with the public. In February 2008, it was reported that the House of Commons committee on government operations will be looking into his involvement over the case. MP and committee member Mark Holland
Mark Holland
Mark Holland is a Canadian politician. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate of the Liberal Party in the Ontario riding of Ajax-Pickering. Holland was subsequently re-elected in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections...
mentioned a concern that Baird leaked information on the contract. Baird mentioned that he made the right decision and dismissed the investigation saying "there is no evidence of anything". Speaking to reporters he added following the announcement of the investigation: "If you want to avert a billion-dollar boondoggle, you have to make some difficult decisions".
Other responsibilities
Baird holds ministerial responsibilities for the Toronto Harbourfront Centre and the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation. He developed a working relationship with Toronto Mayor David Miller soon after his appointment, and was present for the announcement of a comprehensive new waterfront strategy in June 2006. Ontario cabinet minister David CaplanDavid Caplan
David Caplan is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty...
has described Baird as a champion of waterfront renewal and David Miller has described him as an ally of the city. Baird spent Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2006 meeting with Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Environment Minister 2007-08
On January 4, 2007, Baird was appointed as Environment MinisterMinister 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 a cabinet shuffle
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
, replacing previous Minister Rona Ambrose
Rona Ambrose
Ronalee "Rona" Ambrose, PC, MP is the Minister of Public Works and Government Services for Canada, Vice-Chair of the Treasury Board Cabinet committee, Minister of State for Status of Women Canada and Minister of Western Economic Diversification.In the previous Parliament, she was Canada's Minister...
. In making the appointment, Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged that his government needed to do more to make the environment a priority. Some commentators remarked favourably on Baird's appointment, describing him as a strong communicator and negotiator. Columnist Andrew Coyne
Andrew Coyne
James Andrew Coyne is the national editor for Maclean's, a weekly national newsmagazine in Canada. Previously, he was a columnist with the National Post and an editor-in-chief of the University of Manitoba's newspaper, The Manitoban.-Background:Coyne was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Hope...
, however, described Baird as "the man sent to kill the issue," suggesting that Baird's appointment was meant to neutralize the environment as an election issue rather than to initiate any meaningful reforms. Baird is a vocal opponent of the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
, which he argues will bring about an "economic collapse". Later in 2007, he added that any new environmental agreements must include reduction targets for major greenhouse emitters such as China, India and the United States who have not signed the Protocol or does not have any mandatory reductions set by the Protocol. Baird met with renowned Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...
following his appointment. At the time, Suzuki said he was encouraged by Baird's approach, but remained skeptical of the Harper government's environmental plans. However, when Baird unveiled the Conservative government's plan in April, 2007, Suzuki confronted Baird, calling the plan "a disappointment".
Approach to the Kyoto Protocol
In February 2007, the Liberal opposition brought forward a non-binding motion for Canada to renew its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. All Conservative MPs who were present in the House, including Baird, voted against the motion, which passed with the support of the three opposition parties. The following month, opposition members on a special Commons committee used their majority to bring forward sweeping changes to the government's Clean Air Act. Among other things, the revised act called for participation in international carbon markets and the fulfillment of Kyoto targets. Baird indicated that the opposition's changes would not be included in federal targets or regulations.In April 2007, Baird produced a federal study supported by five independent economists to support his approach to the Kyoto Protocol. Among the five economists was Toronto-Dominion Bank
Toronto-Dominion Bank
The Toronto-Dominion Bank , is the second-largest bank in Canada by market capitalization and based on assets. It is also the sixth largest bank in North America. Commonly known as TD and operating as TD Bank Group, the bank was created in 1955 through the merger of the Bank of Toronto and the...
chief economist Don Drummond, who also wrote a private letter to Baird arguing that the "economic cost [of implementing Kyoto] would be at least as deep as the recession in the early 1980s." Opposition parliamentarians dismissed the report as a scare tactic, while Liberal Environment Critic David McGuinty
David McGuinty
David Joseph McGuinty, MP is a Canadian lawyer politician from Ontario, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Ottawa South and sits in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Party of Canada's Critic for Natural Resources...
argued that the study was misleading, saying that it did not properly examine international emission trading and ignored jobs to be created through the "green economy". The report misrepresented Canada's ability to invest in developing nations to meet emissions targets through CDM by misquoting the amount of credit to be 85 million instead of the real approximation of 3 billion. Soon after, a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
report also contradicted the study mentioning that "steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can be accomplished at a cost of only 0.12 per cent of the world's annual economic output" but Baird responded that Canada will have its gas emissions levels peaked in 2012 three years before the UN's set target of 2015.
Environmental strategy
Baird was the Harper government's representative at the release of a major United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
report on climate change in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in February 2007. He described the report as a "turning point in the battle against climate change," while indicating his surprise that human activity was found to be a major cause of the phenomenon.
Baird released his government's targets for greenhouse gas emissions in late April 2007. The plan calls for Canada to begin cutting its existing rate of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 and for cuts to reach 20% by 2020. Under this plan, Canada will reach its Kyoto targets between 2020 and 2025, taking an additional eight to thirteen years longer than Kyoto. The government plan uses production intensity targets instead of hard caps. Baird said that the "plan strikes a balance between the perfection some environmentalists may be seeking and the status quo that some in industry seek to protect." Later in December 2007, Baird revealed in a plan that over 700 big-polluter companies, including oil and gas, pulp and paper, electricity and iron and steel companies, must cut greenhouse emissions by six percent from 2008 to 2010 The companies would also have to produce an annual report every May 31 that would include data regarding the level of greenhouses emissions produced each year.
Baird's proposal has been met with approval from Canada's oilpatch executives, who described them as the toughest emission regulations in the world, and who feared that more stringent standards would stifle oil sands exploration. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty
Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty, Jr., MPP is a Canadian lawyer, politician and, since October 23, 2003, the 24th and current Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario....
has been considerably less critical than his brother, having earlier written to Prime Minister Harper on the environmental policy. The Premier had stressed the importance of a policy that considered the North American market as a whole, due to the automotive industry's importance to his province. McGuinty said the Conservatives' environmental plan could have gone further but described the auto emissions part of the plan as "very sensible".
Members of opposition parties have criticized the government's abandonment of Kyoto goals, while David Suzuki
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...
described the proposal as a "sham" with "weak targets". Former US vice president Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
said Baird's plan was a "complete and total fraud" that was "designed to mislead the Canadian people". Baird responded by defending his plan and by criticizing Gore's environmental record, noting that no similarly stringent measures were passed during Gore's tenure in office and that the Kyoto Treaty was never submitted to the US Senate for ratification. The Liberal Party, led by MP Pablo Rodriguez, introduced to the House of Commons a private bill that would have forced Canada to comply to the Kyoto Treaty in response to the government's plan. While the bill passed Baird mentioned that, even though that the government wouldn't dismiss it, there was no new environmental measures planned. All three opposition parties demanded that the environment become one of the main points of the government's Throne Speech in the 2007 fall session.
Environmental record
Shortly after his appointment, Baird, Stephen HarperStephen 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...
and Natural Resources
Minister of Natural Resources (Canada)
The Minister of Natural Resources is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada. As of January 19, 2010, the Minister of Natural Resources is Joe Oliver.-Ministers:Key:...
Minister Gary Lunn
Gary Lunn
Gary Vincent Lunn, PC, MP is the former Canadian Member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. He served in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2011, first as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and subsequently as a member of the Canadian Alliance and the...
announced $1.5 billion for clean-energy initiatives over the next decade. Baird and Lunn also announced a $230 million program for clean energy technology. Lunn said that "there were literally hundreds of programs but there was no focus" when the Conservatives took office. Critics argued that the new Conservative measures were similar to measures introduced by the Liberals in their 2005 budget. 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...
has argued that the Conservative Party's strategy is too strongly focused on nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
.
On 12 February 2007, Baird appeared at a press conference with Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier
Premier of Quebec
The Premier of Quebec is the first minister of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Premier is the province's head of government and his title is Premier and President of the Executive Council....
Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
to announce a $1.5 billion environmental fund for the provinces. Journalist Frances Russell criticized that as a reduction from the $3 billion promised by the previous Liberal government.
Canada is a signatory to the Kyoto protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
which legally requires signatory countries to set up compatible carbon trading markets. In direct defiance of this international legal obligation, in March 2007, Baird indicated that he wanted Canadian companies to be banned, or at least severely restricted, from participating in the international carbon market. Several European countries had already set up a trading system to allow companies that reduce their emission levels below government targets to sell "credits" on an international market. Many industry leaders argued that Canada should adopt a similar policy. Then opposition 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...
argued that participation will allow Canadian firms to make "megatonnes of money". Baird however described some carbon markets as "shaky," and argued that trade should be restricted to within Canada, or perhaps within North America. In April, he indicated that Canadian businesses would soon gain the right to earn credits by investing in overseas environmental projects. Baird's attitudes to carbon markets confused (and later directly contradicted) the government's own stated position to support the development of markets that were compatible with all its trading partners.
Baird defended another Conservative government decision to cut funds for climate science research, arguing that further studies are largely superfluous in light of recent United Nations reports. Gordon McBean of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences has disagreed, claiming that further research is the best way to adapt to a changing climate.
Baird said in a House of Commons Committee that his government would not consider the implementation of a carbon tax
Carbon tax
A carbon tax is an environmental tax levied on the carbon content of fuels. It is a form of carbon pricing. Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel and is released as carbon dioxide when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion energy sources—wind, sunlight, hydropower, and nuclear—do not...
. He told that the government's approach "will be to provide regulation for industry to ensure we reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air pollutants"
Bali
While participating at the United Nations Summit On Climate Changes in Bali, Indonesia, Baird announced a $86 million funding to help Canadian communities notably coping with the lost of forests due to pine beetles in the west and infrastructures in the north due to softer soil. The 4-year plan included $56 million on several projects and $29 million for researches.Baird's performance overall was profoundly criticized, including receiving a "fossil award" from attending NGOs, and prompting an unusually angry condemnation by the representative from Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, a nation very threatened by climate change related disease and flooding. He did not mention Baird by name but clearly implied that Canada, the US and Australia conspired to cause immense harm to his people and country by inaction, inexcusable in richer countries.
Canadian NGOs also uniformly condemned Baird's position, that of the government, that serious limitations on greenhouse gases would have to include China, India and other emerging nations before the richer nations that had already undergone most of their development would begin to reduce greenhouse gases. This condition directly contradicted Kyoto's explicit condition that developed nations should be willing to start first and pay up to fifteen times more per person to prevent climate change, given that they had benefitted from centuries of free atmospheric access and could not impose charges for dumping in that same atmosphere on emerging countries.
Baird was heavily criticized by parties and observers for obstructing progress on what was to become 'the Bali Action Plan'. Baird skipped out on a meeting in which he was scheduled to explain Canada's controversial climate change policies, after quickly glancing into the room and seeing many unhappy young Canadians sitting among an international audience of media and government officials. The Bali Action Plan, a key step towards a global international climate agreement to be negotiated in Copenhagen in 2009, was obstructed during final negotiations by Canada and the U.S. the final Saturday. "This particular government has been a government of skeptics," said Mr. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
In November 2008 Baird was replaced in the Environment portfolio by Jim Prentice
Jim Prentice
James "Jim" Prentice, PC, QC 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...
and moved to Minister of Transport
Minister of Transport (Canada)
The Minister of Transport is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's transportation regulatory and development department, Transport Canada...
. When Prentice departed federal politics in November 2010, Baird resumed his prior role (see below under Environment Minister 2010-11).
Draft Baird Movement
In late November and early December 2008, a website went online allegedly representing a movement to draft Baird for leader of the Conservative Party, in the face of Stephen Harper facing possible defeat by an opposition coalition.The draft group allegedly comprised over 100 party members from across the country — including two MPs and one Senator (who, reportedly, had requested anonymity). In its only contact with the media, the campaign claimed it had nearly 3,000 visitors and 237 new supporters in less than ten hours.
Baird has since indicated not only that he is loyal to Harper, but that he is uninterested in ever becoming party leader. In 2011 he told a newspaper, "Some people may have when growing up, always harboured leadership ambitions. I've never harboured leadership ambitions. It is the honest-to-God truth."
Comments on the 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
In December, 2008, the Cabinet faced the probability that the opposition parties would vote against the financial update that included the repeal of political party subsidies. Failure to pass the financial update would constitute a lack of confidence in the government since, all money bills are considered confidence measures. To save itself from defeat, one option was for the Prime Minister to request that the Governor GeneralGovernor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
prorogue parliament. In that context, Baird announced that the Cabinet wanted to exercise a more extreme option, to "... go over the heads of the members of Parliament; go over the heads, frankly, of the Governor General; go right to the Canadian people." The interviewer, Don Newman, countered Baird's views with the view that "... in a British parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
, it is only legitimate for the government to be the government if it can sustain support in the House of Commons." In the end, on December 4, 2008, the Governor General granted Prime Minister Harper's request for prorogation; Parliament was prorogued until January 26, 2009.
Cancun climate 'fossil awards'
Baird resumed this position from November 2010 until January 2011 and was the Harper government's main representative to the United Nations climate conference in Cancun in December 2010. On the first day of which, "Canada “won” three Fossil of the Day awards — a first, a second and a third place — and swept the awards. More than 400 leading international organizations, including Greenpeace, vote on the Fossil of the Day awards which go to countries that do the most to disrupt or undermine UN climate talks." http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/canada-sweeps-up-three-fossil-awards-at-the-c/blog/29190 Canada under Baird was accused of "working against progressive legislation to address climate change", cited for "cancelling support for clean energy and for failing to have any plan to meet its very weak target for reducing [Canada]'s greenhouse gas emissions."At the previous (2009) climate conference in Copenhagen, Canada was awarded the Colossal Fossil award as the country that made the least constructive contribution to negotiations, under then-minister Prentice. Following Copenhagen, the Harper government was the only country that signed the Accord to file new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that were weaker than its targets before the conference. http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/canada-sweeps-up-three-fossil-awards-at-the-c/blog/29190
Support for oil sands pipeline
Baird has also refused to cancel federal support for EnbridgeEnbridge
Enbridge Inc. is a Calgary, Alberta based company focused on three core businesses: crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transportation and distribution, and green energy. The company has approximately 6,000 employees, mostly in Canada and the United States...
's proposed pipeline to bring oil from the Alberta oil sands to the BC coast despite certain opposition from some First Nations bands.
Foreign Affairs Minister 2011-present
Activists on board the Canadian Boat to Gaza in November 2011 urged Baird to resign as foreign minister for "failing to do his job". They said they had been roughed up and TaserTaser
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
ed by Israeli forces and that "If minister Baird wants to put the interests of a far-right Israeli government before Canadians, he should apply for the job of Israel's ambassador".
Electoral record
Source: Elections CanadaAll electoral information taken from Elections Canada
Elections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...
and Elections Ontario
Elections Ontario
Elections Ontario is a non-partisan Agency of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. They work under the Chief Electoral Officer, an officer of the Legislative Assembly. responsible for the conduct of provincial elections.-External links:*...
. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.
The 1999 and 2003 expenditure entries are taken from official candidate reports as listed by Elections Ontario. The figures cited are the Total Candidate's Campaign Expenses Subject to Limitation, and include transfers from constituency associations.
External links
- John Baird MP official site
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