John Alexander Frances MacDougall
Encyclopedia
John Alexander Frances MacDougall (born April 20, 1947 in Port Hood, Nova Scotia
) is a former Canadian
politician. He represented the riding
of Timiskaming
in the Canadian House of Commons
from 1982 to 1993, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party
.
He first entered Parliament in 1982, in a byelection following the death of the riding's prior MP, Bruce Lonsdale
.
On April 23, 1993, MacDougall became the centre of controversy when he made comments in the House of Commons attacking Sunera Thobani, the new head of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women
:
Thobani, in fact, had just received her landed immigrant status, and MacDougall's comments were widely criticized as racist
.
MacDougall did not run for reelection in the 1993 election
.
Port Hood, Nova Scotia
Port Hood is a seaside community on the west coast of Cape Breton Island and the shire town of Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Local residents are predominantly English-speaking Roman Catholics, the population core having Highland Scottish ancestry; MacDonalds/MacDonnells mostly...
) is a former 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 represented the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Timiskaming
Timiskaming (electoral district)
Timiskaming was a federal electoral district in the northeastern part of Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1925, and from 1935 to 1997....
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...
from 1982 to 1993, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party
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....
.
He first entered Parliament in 1982, in a byelection following the death of the riding's prior MP, Bruce Lonsdale
Bruce Lonsdale
Bruce Lonsdale was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Timiskaming in the Canadian House of Commons from 1980 to 1982...
.
On April 23, 1993, MacDougall became the centre of controversy when he made comments in the House of Commons attacking Sunera Thobani, the new head of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women
National Action Committee on the Status of Women
The National Action Committee on the Status of Women is a Canadian feminist activist organization. NAC was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations made in the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada's 1970 report on matters such as...
:
Thobani, in fact, had just received her landed immigrant status, and MacDougall's comments were widely criticized as racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
MacDougall did not run for reelection in the 1993 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...
.