Ted Menzies
Encyclopedia
Ted Menzies, PC
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 February 18, 1952 in Claresholm, Alberta
Claresholm, Alberta
Claresholm is a town located within southern Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2, approximately northwest of the City of Lethbridge and south of the City of Calgary. The town is the seat of the Municipal District of Willow Creek No...

) is a Canadian
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. He currently represents the electoral district of Macleod
Macleod (electoral district)
Macleod is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1908 to 1968 and since 1988...

 in 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...

 and serves as Minister of State for Finance
Minister of state (Canada)
A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....

.

In opposition

A farmer, Menzies was elected into the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 as a Conservative
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 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...

 in the riding of Macleod
Macleod (electoral district)
Macleod is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1908 to 1968 and since 1988...

. He was elected by over 27,000 votes more than the Liberal candidate, Chris Shade. During the 38th Canadian Parliament
38th Canadian Parliament
The 38th Canadian Parliament was in session from October 4, 2004 until November 29, 2005. The membership was set by the 2004 federal election on June 28, 2004, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections, but due to the seat distribution, those few changes significantly...

 he served as the opposition critic for International Cooperation and the Canadian International Development Agency
Canadian International Development Agency
The Canadian International Development Agency was formed in 1968 by the Canadian government. CIDA administers foreign aid programs in developing countries, and operates in partnership with other Canadian organizations in the public and private sectors as well as other international organizations...

 (CIDA) and the opposition critic for International Trade and Internal Trade.

Portfolio in Conservative government

After the Conservative victory 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:...

, he was appointed as parliamentary secretary to Josée Verner
Josée Verner
Josée Verner, PC, is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada...

, who is presently the Minister for International Cooperation
Minister for International Cooperation (Canada)
The Minister for International Cooperation is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing Canadian international development strategy, including responsibility for the Canadian International Development Agency . The current Minister is Bev Oda.-Ministers:Key:...

, Minister responsible for Official Languages, and Minister responsible for La Francophonie
Minister responsible for La Francophonie (Canada)
The Minister responsible for La Francophonie is a member of the Canadian Cabinet who handles relations with the Francophonie, an international community of francophone nations. Roughly speaking it is the French equivalent of the Commonwealth of Nations....

.

On February 10, 2006, Menzies received some news coverage when it was revealed that despite being the parliamentary secretary responsible for La Francophonie, he did not speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

. His appointment was criticized by New Democrat
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...

 Yvon Godin
Yvon Godin
Yvon Godin is a Canadian politician.Godin is currently a New Democratic Party Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Acadie—Bathurst since 1997. Previously, Godin was a labour representative for the United Steelworkers...

 (an Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...

n).

In his defence, Menzies replied that "we have two official languages in this country. Not just French. Not just English. We have two official languages." He argued that the best means of representing both languages was with a Francophone minister with an Anglophone parliamentary secretary.

It was subsequently specified that he was appointed parliamentary secretary to Josée Verner "exclusively to support the Minister in her foreign aid files only."

On October 10, 2007 Menzies was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to 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...

, Minister of Finance. On January 4, 2011, Menzies was promoted to Minister of State with the finance portfolio and was sworn of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
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,...

.

Opposition to McTeague RESP bill

Supported by the three opposition parties, Dan McTeague
Dan McTeague
Daniel P. "Dan" McTeague, PC is a former Canadian Member of Parliament for the Ontario riding of Pickering—Scarborough East.-Background:He was born to a devoutly Catholic family, one of three children...

's private member bill passed through the Commons on March 5, 2008. The bill would give parents substantial tax breaks for saving education money. Under McTeague's bill, taxpayers who deposit $5,000 into a registered education savings plan
Registered Education Savings Plan
A Registered Education Savings Plan, or RESP, is an investment vehicle used by parents to save for their children's post-secondary education in Canada. The principal advantages of RESPs are the access to the Canada Education Savings Grant and a source of tax-deferred income.-Tax Benefits:An RESP...

 (RESP) for their children's post-secondary education will earn a $5,000 tax deduction, similar to the deduction allowed for contributions to an RRSP. Under the Conservative
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...

 savings plan
Tax-Free Savings Account
The Tax-Free Savings Account is an account that provides tax benefits for saving in Canada. Contributions to a TFSA are not deductible for income tax purposes. Investment income, including capital gains, earned in a TFSA is not taxed, even when withdrawn.-History:It was introduced by Jim...

, introduced in Finance Minister 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 February 26, 2008 budget, there is no deduction for annual contributions.

Ted Menzies lashed out at the proposal and suggested Mr. McTeague explain how the government will pay for it. "I'm going to suggest to the senators that this is an uncosted $900-million proposal that the Liberals have put forward," Mr. Menzies said. The paradox of the Tories approaching the Senate wasn't lost on the bill's sponsor, Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who said he was "disappointed but not surprised" that the Conservatives were thinking of stalling the bill in the upper house. However other MP's such as 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...

 strongly support McTeague's bill and call it “the greatest financial tool in a generation.”

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