Dennis Drainville
Encyclopedia
Dennis Paul Drainville is a Canadian
bishop
an educator and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
from 1990 to 1993; later taught Humanities and History for 12 years at the Cegep College de la Gaspésie et des Îles, and is now Anglican Bishop of Quebec.
. Drainville was a member of the Liberal Party
at the time, and campaigned in the downtown Toronto riding of Riverdale. He finished a distant third against the winner, Jim Renwick of the New Democratic Party
.
Drainville himself later joined the NDP, and in 1989 was arrested for protesting the province's clearcutting
practices in the Northern Ontario
forest
s around Temagami. He also stood with Chief Gary Potts and the Teme-Augami-Anishinabai people in their 60 year legal battle to claim their lands in Temagami. He was fined and sent to jail in North Bay for a week in March 1991. Drainville was NDP candidate in the riding of Victoria—Haliburton
in the 1990 provincial election
. This east-central Ontario seat was not regarded as winnable – indeed, no NDP candidate in the riding had ever finished higher than third place, behind the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives
. However, the NDP under Bob Rae
won an unexpected majority government in the election, and Drainville won the riding by 6,520 votes over his nearest opponent.
Drainville served as a parliamentary assistant from 1990 to 1992, and as a Deputy Speaker
from 1992 to 1993. Drainville's most high profile role in the NDP Government was as Chair of the Select Committee on Ontario in Confederation. He oversaw a massive constitutional consultation process during the Charlottetown Accord negotiations. Eventually his loyalty to the Rae government became increasingly tenuous. Drainville emerged as an ally of Peter Kormos
in the NDP caucus, and frequently opposed the policies of the Rae government from a left-wing perspective. On April 28, 1993, he resigned from NDP caucus to protest the Rae government's decision to bring casino
s into the province. He continued to sit in the legislature as an independent. Later in the year, he voted against the Rae government's Social Contract
legislation.
. He finished a distant fourth against Liberal
John O'Reilly in the federal Victoria—Haliburton riding, though he did outpoll the official NDP candidate by over a thousand votes.
Drainville later realigned himself with the federal NDP, and worked within the Quebec wing. He ran as an official NDP candidate in the 1997 election in the Quebec riding of Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok, but again finished a distant fourth with only 649 votes. Until the election of 2011when the NDP won 58 seats in the province of Quebec, the NDP had been relatively weak in the province because of the power of the Bloc Québécois, and such a finish was not uncommon. Despite losing the election, he continued to speak and write publicly about social issues and electoral reform.
for two four year terms representing sector 7 of that municipality from 1994-2002. He also served as President of Seacoast Publications which publishes the only English Newspaper East of Quebec City from 1994 to 1995. In 2004 he founded and became a Trustee of the Gaspé Ecumenical Chaplaincy Foundation established to respond to the social health and spiritual needs of seniors on the Gaspé coast.
, in 2009.http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/100/article/drainville-elected-in-quebec/
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...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
an educator and politician. He was a member of 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 1990 to 1993; later taught Humanities and History for 12 years at the Cegep College de la Gaspésie et des Îles, and is now Anglican Bishop of Quebec.
Ontario politics
He first ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial electionOntario general election, 1977
The Ontario general election of 1977 was held on June 9, 1977, to elect the 125 members of the 31st Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
. Drainville was a member of the 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...
at the time, and campaigned in the downtown Toronto riding of Riverdale. He finished a distant third against the winner, Jim Renwick of the New Democratic Party
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...
.
Drainville himself later joined the NDP, and in 1989 was arrested for protesting the province's clearcutting
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
practices in the Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s around Temagami. He also stood with Chief Gary Potts and the Teme-Augami-Anishinabai people in their 60 year legal battle to claim their lands in Temagami. He was fined and sent to jail in North Bay for a week in March 1991. Drainville was NDP candidate in the riding of Victoria—Haliburton
Victoria—Haliburton (provincial electoral district)
Victoria—Haliburton was a provincial electoral district in central Ontario, Canada which elected members to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It was created in 1967 and abolished in 1999 into Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock and Parry Sound—Muskoka....
in the 1990 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1990
The Ontario general election of 1990 was held on September 6, 1990, to elect members of the 35th Legislative Assembly of the province of Ontario, Canada....
. This east-central Ontario seat was not regarded as winnable – indeed, no NDP candidate in the riding had ever finished higher than third place, behind the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives
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...
. However, the NDP under Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
won an unexpected majority government in the election, and Drainville won the riding by 6,520 votes over his nearest opponent.
Drainville served as a parliamentary assistant from 1990 to 1992, and as a Deputy Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
from 1992 to 1993. Drainville's most high profile role in the NDP Government was as Chair of the Select Committee on Ontario in Confederation. He oversaw a massive constitutional consultation process during the Charlottetown Accord negotiations. Eventually his loyalty to the Rae government became increasingly tenuous. Drainville emerged as an ally of 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...
in the NDP caucus, and frequently opposed the policies of the Rae government from a left-wing perspective. On April 28, 1993, he resigned from NDP caucus to protest the Rae government's decision to bring casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s into the province. He continued to sit in the legislature as an independent. Later in the year, he voted against the Rae government's Social Contract
Social contract
The social contract is an intellectual device intended to explain the appropriate relationship between individuals and their governments. Social contract arguments assert that individuals unite into political societies by a process of mutual consent, agreeing to abide by common rules and accept...
legislation.
Federal politics
Drainville resigned from the legislature on September 27, 1993, and declared himself an independent candidate in the 1993 federal electionCanadian 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...
. He finished a distant fourth against Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
John O'Reilly in the federal Victoria—Haliburton riding, though he did outpoll the official NDP candidate by over a thousand votes.
Drainville later realigned himself with the federal NDP, and worked within the Quebec wing. He ran as an official NDP candidate in the 1997 election in the Quebec riding of Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok, but again finished a distant fourth with only 649 votes. Until the election of 2011when the NDP won 58 seats in the province of Quebec, the NDP had been relatively weak in the province because of the power of the Bloc Québécois, and such a finish was not uncommon. Despite losing the election, he continued to speak and write publicly about social issues and electoral reform.
Quebec politics
Drainville was elected to the City Council of the Ville de PercéPercé, Quebec
Percé is a small village near the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec. As a municipality, it is 432.39 square km in area. It has a long history of being an important seasonal fishing centre under the French...
for two four year terms representing sector 7 of that municipality from 1994-2002. He also served as President of Seacoast Publications which publishes the only English Newspaper East of Quebec City from 1994 to 1995. In 2004 he founded and became a Trustee of the Gaspé Ecumenical Chaplaincy Foundation established to respond to the social health and spiritual needs of seniors on the Gaspé coast.
Church work
Ordained in 1982 to the diaconate and 1983 to the priesthood Drainville, served as the priest of Land O’Lakes parish in the Diocese of Ontario, and as Executive Director of STOP 103 a non profit multi-service agency responding to the needs of the poor and marginalized in the downtown core of Toronto. He was appointed as associate priest at Christ Church Cathedral and Anglican Chaplain of McGill University in Montreal and afterward, became the priest of the Parish of Fenelon Falls and Coboconk in the Diocese of Toronto. He left that position and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1990.Work in education
Drainville began teaching in the CEGEP system in September 1994 at the College de la Gaspésie et des Îles. Over a 12-year period he taught English, Drama, History and Humanities. He became the tenured teacher of Humanities in 2002. He also served on the executive of the teachers' union the Federation Autonome Collegial 1995-1996.Anglican bishop
On October 12, 2007, while he was serving as Archbishop's Missioner in the Diocese of Quebec, Drainville was elected Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese at a special Electoral Synod. He was ordained to the episcopate on January 18, 2008. http://www.qctonline.com/dennis-p-drainville-ordination He became diocesan bishop on the retirement of Archbishop Bruce StavertBruce Stavert
Bruce Stavert was Anglican Archbishop of Quebec and Metropolitan of Canada. He served as bishop of Quebec from 1990 to 2004; and Archbishop until 2009....
, in 2009.http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/100/article/drainville-elected-in-quebec/