Herschel Hardin
Encyclopedia
Herschel Hardin is a British Columbia
-based writer, playwright, commentator and political activist and consultant best known for having contested the leadership of the New Democratic Party
of Canada
in 1995.
Hardin grew up in Vegreville
, Alberta
and attended university at Queen's University
in Kingston
, Ontario
.
He started his professional career as a playwright following his graduation. His best known play is Esker Mike and His Wife, Agiluk.
Hardin worked as a freelance radio broadcaster for both CBC Radio and Radio-Canada (the CBC's French-language network). In the 1970s, he established the Association for Public Broadcasting in British Columbia and the Capital Cable Co-operative in Victoria
to lobby for the expansion of public, non-commercial broadcasting. He was also active as a consumer advocate opposing cable rate increases.
In the late 1970s, he worked as a Vancouver
-based editorial page columnist for The Toronto Star writing on politics and economics.
He also wrote a number of non-fiction books, his first being A Nation Unaware: The Canadian Economic Culture (1974), which explored the key role of public enterprise in the development of Canada's economy and the country's distinctive interregional redistribution. This was followed by Closed Circuits: The Sellout of Canadian Television (1985), an exposé of television politics and how power works in Canada, and The Privatization Putsch (1989), a debunking of the privatization movement. A subsequent major work, The New Bureaucracy: Waste and Folly in the Private Sector, detailed the bureaucratic character and excesses of the corporate world (including finance and marketing) and how this "new bureaucracy" had become entrenched behind what he called an "ideological screen," in this instance, the ideology of free enterprise. Also of note: Working Dollars: The VanCity Story (1996), a history of Vancity Savings Credit Union, the large credit union in Vancouver and now also in Victoria.
Hardin contested the leadership
of the federal New Democratic Party in 1995 following the resignation of Audrey McLaughlin
. The only candidate in the four person race who had never been an elected politician, Hardin ran a grassroots campaign that emphasized democratic socialist themes. He received 4.78% of the vote in the One Member One Vote national party primaries which was insufficient to allow him to proceed to the delegated NDP leadership convention.
He subsequently was an NDP candidate in Vancouver South—Burnaby
placing third in the 1997 general election
and again in the 2000 federal election
.
Hardin served on the board of the publicly-run Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
in the 1990s and was chair of the board's Road Safety Committee and then its Product Committee.
In the 1990s he returned briefly to playwriting with The New World Order, a political play about what the United States had in store for the world following the first Gulf War.
Hardin is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada. He has been a longtime environmentalist and is a member of SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation). Other memberships include the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Amnesty International, the North Shore Schizophrenia Society, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Co-op Radio, Theatre in the Raw, and the Council of Canadians. His commitment to the North Shore Schizophrenia Society has become particularly significant for him in the last couple of decades and has involved everything from major advocacy work to playing Santa Claus at the society's annual Christmas banquet.
He lives with his wife Marguerite in West Vancouver.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
-based writer, playwright, commentator and political activist and consultant best known for having contested the leadership of the 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...
of Canada
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...
in 1995.
Hardin grew up in Vegreville
Vegreville, Alberta
-Notable Vegrevillans :*Brent Severyn, former NHL defenseman*Cam Cole, Canadian sports writer*Laurence Decore, lawyer, former mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, and former leader of the Alberta Liberal Party*Roderick Fraser, former president of the University of Alberta...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and attended university at 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...
in 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...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
He started his professional career as a playwright following his graduation. His best known play is Esker Mike and His Wife, Agiluk.
Hardin worked as a freelance radio broadcaster for both CBC Radio and Radio-Canada (the CBC's French-language network). In the 1970s, he established the Association for Public Broadcasting in British Columbia and the Capital Cable Co-operative in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
to lobby for the expansion of public, non-commercial broadcasting. He was also active as a consumer advocate opposing cable rate increases.
In the late 1970s, he worked as a Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
-based editorial page columnist for The Toronto Star writing on politics and economics.
He also wrote a number of non-fiction books, his first being A Nation Unaware: The Canadian Economic Culture (1974), which explored the key role of public enterprise in the development of Canada's economy and the country's distinctive interregional redistribution. This was followed by Closed Circuits: The Sellout of Canadian Television (1985), an exposé of television politics and how power works in Canada, and The Privatization Putsch (1989), a debunking of the privatization movement. A subsequent major work, The New Bureaucracy: Waste and Folly in the Private Sector, detailed the bureaucratic character and excesses of the corporate world (including finance and marketing) and how this "new bureaucracy" had become entrenched behind what he called an "ideological screen," in this instance, the ideology of free enterprise. Also of note: Working Dollars: The VanCity Story (1996), a history of Vancity Savings Credit Union, the large credit union in Vancouver and now also in Victoria.
Hardin contested the leadership
Leadership convention
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.- Overview :...
of the federal New Democratic Party in 1995 following the resignation of Audrey McLaughlin
Audrey McLaughlin
Audrey McLaughlin, PC, OC was leader of Canada's New Democratic Party from 1989 to 1995. She was the first female leader of a political party with representation in the Canadian House of Commons, as well as the first federal political party leader to represent an electoral district in a Canadian...
. The only candidate in the four person race who had never been an elected politician, Hardin ran a grassroots campaign that emphasized democratic socialist themes. He received 4.78% of the vote in the One Member One Vote national party primaries which was insufficient to allow him to proceed to the delegated NDP leadership convention.
He subsequently was an NDP candidate in Vancouver South—Burnaby
Vancouver South—Burnaby
Vancouver South was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2004.- Demographics :-History:...
placing third in the 1997 general election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
and again 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....
.
Hardin served on the board of the publicly-run Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia is a provincial crown corporation in British Columbia created in 1973 by the NDP government of British Columbia. The original purpose of ICBC was to provide universal public auto insurance in British Columbia...
in the 1990s and was chair of the board's Road Safety Committee and then its Product Committee.
In the 1990s he returned briefly to playwriting with The New World Order, a political play about what the United States had in store for the world following the first Gulf War.
Hardin is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada. He has been a longtime environmentalist and is a member of SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation). Other memberships include the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Amnesty International, the North Shore Schizophrenia Society, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Co-op Radio, Theatre in the Raw, and the Council of Canadians. His commitment to the North Shore Schizophrenia Society has become particularly significant for him in the last couple of decades and has involved everything from major advocacy work to playing Santa Claus at the society's annual Christmas banquet.
He lives with his wife Marguerite in West Vancouver.
External links
- herschelhardin.ca
- Herschel Hardin, playwright, doollee.com Playwright Database of Modern Plays
- Writers Union biography