Pat Pimm
Encyclopedia
Pat Pimm is a Canadian
politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
in the 2009 provincial election
, representing the riding of Peace River North
. He has lived in Fort St. John, British Columbia
and has a business background working at an instrumentation
company that specializes in the oil and gas sector. He spent 12 years on the Fort St. John city council before his election to the Legislative Assembly. In the 39th Parliament of BC
Pimm served on several committees and first became involved with the Executive Council
in October 2010 when Premier Campbell appointed Pimm as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Natural Gas Initiative under the Ministry of Energy. Once Christy Clark became Premier in March 2011, she retained Pimm at the same position as the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Gas to the Minister of Energy and Mines. On June 27, 2011, he resigned from his Parliamentary Secretary position and from the BC Liberal caucus following a domestic dispute involving his wife which resulted in the RCMP detaining him overnight. He spent over two weeks as an independent MLA but re-joined the BC Liberal Party after prosecutors announced they would not press charges against Pimm.
business, Alpha Controls Ltd., specializing in the oil and gas sector. He enjoys curling and golf and has been a volunteer coach for youth baseball and hockey. He spent 12 years on the Fort St. John city council, from 1993 to 2005. While on council he advocated for the regionalization of services and the creation of a regional municipality
. During a 2001 municipal referendum concerning a Fort St. John boundary expansion around a proposed manufacturing plant (oriented strand board
), Pimm threatened to resign his council seat if the referendum failed. While on council Pimm worked with the province and other municipalities in establishing the Fairshare grant program which redirected some oil and gas revenue to local governments in northeastern BC for use on infrastructure projects. He also supported the BC Lottery Corporation
locating a gaming centre (bingo, off-track betting, slots and other electronic games) in Fort St. John.
to the federal Senate of Canada in December 2008 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper
created an opening in the BC provincial Peace River North
riding. Such an opening was rare as Neufeld had represented the riding since 1991 and by Tony Brummet for the 12 years prior to Neufeld. There were five candidates in the race for the BC Liberal Party nomination: Chetwynd
mayor Evan Saugstad, Fort St. John councillors Lori Ackerman and Dan Davies, School District
trustee Linda Sewell, and Pat Pimm. With 1,200 BC Liberal members eligible to vote, Pimm won in the third round of preferential voting
in March. He was soon thrust into the provincial election where he faced Fort Nelson town councilor and NDP candidate Jackie Allen, former chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation
and Green Party candidate Liz Logan, Refederation Party candidate Suzanne Arntson, and one independent candidate, Baldonnel
farmer and Regional District director
Arthur Hadland. Pimm oriented his campaign around economic issues stating "The economy is the number one issue and everything else falls around the economy. You have to have a strong economy to have good health care, good education...." Pimm won the Peace River North riding with 43% of the vote and his party formed a majority government.
As the 39th Parliament of British Columbia
began, Pimm was not selected for the Executive Council
by Premier Gordon Campbell. In the first two sessions Pimm was assigned to three parliamentary committees: the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations (which did not meet), the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills (which met once), and the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives (which only met in September 2010 to deal with a petition against Harmonized Sales Tax
). Once the Harmonized Sales Tax
was introduced, Pimm became very supportive of it, arguing that it would make BC business more competitive with Alberta, and stating, "I personally think it's probably the strongest single thing for the economy of our area and the province in general." Pimm lobbied on behalf of the Peace River North to secure infrastructure grants for road construction and paving, recreation centre upgrades, and Fort St. John sewerage expansion. Pimm made headlines across the province in November when he criticized the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
during a speech in the legislature and called for a "Bill of Responsibilities" to be established.
In 2010, as the petition to repeal the HST was very successful in his riding, Pimm became one of 24 MLAs targeted for recall by Bill Vander Zalm
's FightHST group. However, several months later, his name was removed from the list as the group prioritized candidates for recall campaigns. In October, during Campbell's final cabinet shuffle before resigning, the post of Parliamentary Secretary for the Natural Gas Initiative was created for Pimm under the Ministery of Energy. In January 2011, with community opposition to a transfer move Oil and Gas Commission
engineering jobs, from Fort St. John to Kelowna
, Pimm intervened by arranging a public meeting with the Minister of Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson
, the CEO of the Commission, as well as industry and public representatives, which resulted in several positions staying in Fort St. John. During the BC Liberal Party leadership election
to replace Campbell, Pimm endorsed Kevin Falcon
in mid-December citing Falcon's performance as Minister of Transportation where he directed significant funding to improving oil and gas resource roads and the Alaska Highway
. In March 2011, after Christy Clark
won the leadership election and was named Premier, she kept Pimm as Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Gas to the Minister of Energy and Mines. On June 27, 2011, he resigned from his Parliamentary Secretary position and from the BC Liberal caucus following a domestic dispute involving his wife which resulted in the RCMP detaining him overnight. On July 13, the prosecutor assigned to his case announced they would not be pressing charges and the BC Liberal caucus allowed Pimm to re-join.
| style="width: 130px" |BC Liberal
|Pat Pimm
|align="right"|3,992
|align="right"|43%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$55,563
|Independent
|Arthur Hadland
|align="right"|2,899
|align="right"|31%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$17,962
|New Democrat
|Jackie Allen
|align="right"|1,293
|align="right"|14%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$17,855
|Green
|Liz Logan
|align="right"|1,010
|align="right"|11%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$26,218
|Refederation
|Sue Arntson
|align="right"|58
|align="right"|0.6%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$260
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes
!align="right"|9,252
!align="right"|100%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right"|52
!align="right"|0.6%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout
!align="right"|9,304
!align="right"|40%
|}
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
in the 2009 provincial election
British Columbia general election, 2009
The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...
, representing the riding of Peace River North
Peace River North
Peace River North is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created under the name North Peace River by the Constitution Amendment Act, 1955, which split the old riding of Peace River into northern and southern portions for the 1956 B.C....
. He has lived in Fort St. John, British Columbia
Fort St. John, British Columbia
The City of Fort St. John is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, the city covers an area of about 22 km² with 22,000 residents . Located at Mile 47, it is one of the largest cities along the Alaska Highway. Originally...
and has a business background working at an instrumentation
Instrumentation in petrochemical industries
Instrumentation in petrochemical industries are basically flowmeters, pressure transmitters, level meters, temperature instruments, and analysis instruments, etc.-Temperature Indicator:...
company that specializes in the oil and gas sector. He spent 12 years on the Fort St. John city council before his election to the Legislative Assembly. In the 39th Parliament of BC
39th Parliament of British Columbia
The 39th Parliament of British Columbia is the current Parliament of British Columbia and composes of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 12, 2009, and Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point...
Pimm served on several committees and first became involved with the Executive Council
Executive Council of British Columbia
The Executive Council of British Columbia is the cabinet of that Canadian province....
in October 2010 when Premier Campbell appointed Pimm as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Natural Gas Initiative under the Ministry of Energy. Once Christy Clark became Premier in March 2011, she retained Pimm at the same position as the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Gas to the Minister of Energy and Mines. On June 27, 2011, he resigned from his Parliamentary Secretary position and from the BC Liberal caucus following a domestic dispute involving his wife which resulted in the RCMP detaining him overnight. He spent over two weeks as an independent MLA but re-joined the BC Liberal Party after prosecutors announced they would not press charges against Pimm.
Background
Pat Pimm was born and raised in Fort St. John. He married at the age of 21 and raised two daughters. In 2005 he re-married to another woman, Jody, who had two grown sons. He established a career at an instrumentationInstrumentation in petrochemical industries
Instrumentation in petrochemical industries are basically flowmeters, pressure transmitters, level meters, temperature instruments, and analysis instruments, etc.-Temperature Indicator:...
business, Alpha Controls Ltd., specializing in the oil and gas sector. He enjoys curling and golf and has been a volunteer coach for youth baseball and hockey. He spent 12 years on the Fort St. John city council, from 1993 to 2005. While on council he advocated for the regionalization of services and the creation of a regional municipality
Regional municipality
A regional municipality is a type of Canadian municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place...
. During a 2001 municipal referendum concerning a Fort St. John boundary expansion around a proposed manufacturing plant (oriented strand board
Oriented strand board
Oriented strand board, also known as OSB and SmartPly , is an engineered wood product formed by layering strands of wood in specific orientations. In appearance, it may have a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips Oriented strand board, also known as OSB (UK) and SmartPly (UK &...
), Pimm threatened to resign his council seat if the referendum failed. While on council Pimm worked with the province and other municipalities in establishing the Fairshare grant program which redirected some oil and gas revenue to local governments in northeastern BC for use on infrastructure projects. He also supported the BC Lottery Corporation
British Columbia Lottery Corporation
The British Columbia Lottery Corporation is a Crown Corporation of the Province of British Columbia, Canada.It has provided government sanctioned lottery services in British Columbia since 1985...
locating a gaming centre (bingo, off-track betting, slots and other electronic games) in Fort St. John.
Provincial politics
The appointment of MLA Richard NeufeldRichard Neufeld
Richard Neufeld is a Canadian Senator for British Columbia. Before his appointment to the Senate, he was a British Columbia Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1991 to 2008, serving as Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources in the cabinet of Gordon...
to the federal Senate of Canada in December 2008 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
created an opening in the BC provincial Peace River North
Peace River North
Peace River North is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created under the name North Peace River by the Constitution Amendment Act, 1955, which split the old riding of Peace River into northern and southern portions for the 1956 B.C....
riding. Such an opening was rare as Neufeld had represented the riding since 1991 and by Tony Brummet for the 12 years prior to Neufeld. There were five candidates in the race for the BC Liberal Party nomination: Chetwynd
Chetwynd, British Columbia
The District of Chetwynd is a town located on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Situated on an ancient floodplain, it is the first town eastbound travellers encounter after emerging from the Rockies along Highway 97 and acts as the gateway to the Peace...
mayor Evan Saugstad, Fort St. John councillors Lori Ackerman and Dan Davies, School District
School District 60 Peace River North
School District 60 Peace River North is a school district in northeastern British Columbia adjacent to the Alberta border. Its board office is in Fort St. John which is also where the majority of the schools are located...
trustee Linda Sewell, and Pat Pimm. With 1,200 BC Liberal members eligible to vote, Pimm won in the third round of preferential voting
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
in March. He was soon thrust into the provincial election where he faced Fort Nelson town councilor and NDP candidate Jackie Allen, former chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation
Treaty 8 Tribal Association
Treaty 8 Tribal Association are, five of the eight, Peace River Country bands who are signatories to the Treaty 8. They have joined together in an effort to negotiate with British Columbia and Canada outside the British Columbia Treaty Process.-Members:...
and Green Party candidate Liz Logan, Refederation Party candidate Suzanne Arntson, and one independent candidate, Baldonnel
Baldonnel, British Columbia
Baldonnel is a town in the Peace River District of British Columbia, Canada, near Fort St. John. It is at an elevation of .-Climate:-References:...
farmer and Regional District director
Peace River C, British Columbia
Peace River C is a regional district electoral area in the Peace River Regional District in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The electoral covers the area around Fort St. John...
Arthur Hadland. Pimm oriented his campaign around economic issues stating "The economy is the number one issue and everything else falls around the economy. You have to have a strong economy to have good health care, good education...." Pimm won the Peace River North riding with 43% of the vote and his party formed a majority government.
As the 39th Parliament of British Columbia
39th Parliament of British Columbia
The 39th Parliament of British Columbia is the current Parliament of British Columbia and composes of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 12, 2009, and Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point...
began, Pimm was not selected for the Executive Council
Executive Council of British Columbia
The Executive Council of British Columbia is the cabinet of that Canadian province....
by Premier Gordon Campbell. In the first two sessions Pimm was assigned to three parliamentary committees: the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations (which did not meet), the Select Standing Committee on Parliamentary Reform, Ethical Conduct, Standing Orders and Private Bills (which met once), and the Select Standing Committee on Legislative Initiatives (which only met in September 2010 to deal with a petition against Harmonized Sales Tax
Harmonized Sales Tax
The Harmonized Sales Tax is the name used in Canada to describe the combination of the federal Goods and Services Tax and the regional Provincial Sales Tax into a single value added sales tax in five of the ten Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British...
). Once the Harmonized Sales Tax
Harmonized Sales Tax
The Harmonized Sales Tax is the name used in Canada to describe the combination of the federal Goods and Services Tax and the regional Provincial Sales Tax into a single value added sales tax in five of the ten Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British...
was introduced, Pimm became very supportive of it, arguing that it would make BC business more competitive with Alberta, and stating, "I personally think it's probably the strongest single thing for the economy of our area and the province in general." Pimm lobbied on behalf of the Peace River North to secure infrastructure grants for road construction and paving, recreation centre upgrades, and Fort St. John sewerage expansion. Pimm made headlines across the province in November when he criticized the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
during a speech in the legislature and called for a "Bill of Responsibilities" to be established.
In 2010, as the petition to repeal the HST was very successful in his riding, Pimm became one of 24 MLAs targeted for recall by Bill Vander Zalm
Bill Vander Zalm
Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie "Bill" Vander Zalm is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th Premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.-Early life:...
's FightHST group. However, several months later, his name was removed from the list as the group prioritized candidates for recall campaigns. In October, during Campbell's final cabinet shuffle before resigning, the post of Parliamentary Secretary for the Natural Gas Initiative was created for Pimm under the Ministery of Energy. In January 2011, with community opposition to a transfer move Oil and Gas Commission
Oil and Gas Commission
The BC Oil and Gas Commission is an independent, single-window regulatory agency with responsibilities for overseeing oil and gas operations in British Columbia, including exploration, development, pipeline transportation and reclamation....
engineering jobs, from Fort St. John to Kelowna
Kelowna
Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"...
, Pimm intervened by arranging a public meeting with the Minister of Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson
Steve Thomson (politician)
Steve Thomson is a Canadian politician, who was elected as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2009 provincial election, representing the riding of Kelowna-Mission.- References :...
, the CEO of the Commission, as well as industry and public representatives, which resulted in several positions staying in Fort St. John. During the BC Liberal Party leadership election
British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election, 2011
The British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election of 2011 was prompted by Gordon Campbell's announcement on November 3, 2010 that he would be resigning as Premier of British Columbia and had asked the BC Liberal Party to hold a leadership convention "at the earliest possible date." The...
to replace Campbell, Pimm endorsed Kevin Falcon
Kevin Falcon
Kevin Falcon is a Canadian politician and is the current Deputy Premier of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the district of Surrey-Cloverdale and is a member of the BC Liberals...
in mid-December citing Falcon's performance as Minister of Transportation where he directed significant funding to improving oil and gas resource roads and the Alaska Highway
Alaska Highway
The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II for the purpose of connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada. It begins at the junction with several Canadian highways in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and runs to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon...
. In March 2011, after Christy Clark
Christy Clark
Christina Joan "Christy" Clark, MLA is a Canadian politician, the 35th and current Premier of British Columbia, Canada...
won the leadership election and was named Premier, she kept Pimm as Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Gas to the Minister of Energy and Mines. On June 27, 2011, he resigned from his Parliamentary Secretary position and from the BC Liberal caucus following a domestic dispute involving his wife which resulted in the RCMP detaining him overnight. On July 13, the prosecutor assigned to his case announced they would not be pressing charges and the BC Liberal caucus allowed Pimm to re-join.
Electoral history
|-| style="width: 130px" |BC Liberal
British Columbia Liberal Party
The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...
|Pat Pimm
|align="right"|3,992
|align="right"|43%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$55,563
|Independent
|Arthur Hadland
|align="right"|2,899
|align="right"|31%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$17,962
|New Democrat
|Jackie Allen
|align="right"|1,293
|align="right"|14%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$17,855
|Green
Green Party of British Columbia
The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...
|Liz Logan
|align="right"|1,010
|align="right"|11%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$26,218
|Refederation
British Columbia Refederation Party
The B.C. Refederation Party is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada advocating direct democracy and reform to Canadian federalism...
|Sue Arntson
|align="right"|58
|align="right"|0.6%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$260
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes
!align="right"|9,252
!align="right"|100%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right"|52
!align="right"|0.6%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout
!align="right"|9,304
!align="right"|40%
|}
External links
- British Columbia Liberal Party - Pat Pimm (Peace River North)
- Legislative Assembly of British Columbia - Pat Pimm