Lisa Raitt
Encyclopedia
Lisa Raitt, PC
, MP (born May 7, 1968) is a Canadian
politician, who is the Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
for the riding of Halton
. She is the current Minister of Labour
in the Cabinet of Canada
.
as the youngest of seven children. Her father, Colin A. MacCormack, worked for a local coal mine, loading coal onto ships, and later served as city alderman, and secretary-treasurer and a lead negotiator for the Cape Breton Railway Transportation and General Workers. Her mother, Tootsie, worked as a businesswoman. Raitt is married to Second City
alumnus, playwright and stay-at-home dad David Raitt and has two sons, John Colin (b. 2002) and Billy (b. 2005).
Raitt graduated from St. Francis Xavier University
in Nova Scotia with a bachelor of science degree. She went on to do a Masters degree in chemistry, specializing in environmental biochemical toxicology, from the University of Guelph
. Raitt possesses an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School
, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. That year, she was granted a Dr. Harold G. Fox Scholarship. As a result, she trained with barristers of the Middle Temple
in London
, United Kingdom
, which specialized in international trade, commerce, transportation and arbitration.
(TPA), a Canadian federal corporation that manages commerce, transportation (including the Toronto City Centre Airport) and recreation in the Toronto Harbour. She also served as the TPA’s Corporate Secretary and General Counsel, and harbourmaster (she was the first female harbourmaster of a Canadian port).
called on Sheila Fraser
, the federal auditor general, to conduct an audit of the port authority to investigate why Baird increased the membership of the board of directors from seven to nine - and why Raitt, while CEO of the authority, was allowed to run up almost $80,000 in travel and other expenses over two years when the organization was running a deficit.
A November 2009 report by the Toronto Star
detailed that Raitt signed off on her own expenses, at least on one occasion when the TPA board chair wouldn't do so. This followed the finding that a staffer in Raitt's office at the TPA used TPA resources on Raitt's election campaign. After an independent forensic review conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Toronto Port Authority released the results on September 14, 2010. These results showed that "all but one of the 15 complaints lodged by the former Directors were groundless".
Raitt also initiated a 2006 political libel
action against Community Air
, a citizen group that had criticized her. The suit was eventually settled out of court when Community Air agreed to retract its statements and apologize.
.
Turner was formerly a Conservative member but was suspended from the Conservative caucus in 2006 for breaching confidentiality. He later joined the Liberals after briefly sitting as an independent member. A bitter campaign between Turner and Raitt ensued. Turner made public accusations of dirty tricks by the local Conservative association and Raitt, calling Raitt a "master of deceit." Raitt made controversial comments about the North and global warming. At an October 6 meeting of the Oakville, Ontario
, Chamber of Commerce, Raitt was on record cheering about the possibilities of increased tourism and shipping opportunities in the North, thanks to the melting polar ice cap.
On October 14, 2008, Raitt defeated Turner by over 7,000 votes. Raitt was named to the Cabinet of Canada
on October 30, 2008 as Minister of Natural Resources
, one of eleven women named to the Cabinet.
nuclear reactor which had recently shut down, causing a shortage of medical radioisotopes
. On June 3, the opposition parties demanded that the government fire Raitt or accept her resignation. Raitt claimed to have offered her resignation and that the offer was rejected by the Prime Minister. A ministerial aide, Raitt's 26-year-old director of communications, Jasmine MacDonnell, offered her resignation which was accepted.
Some critics attempted to draw parallels to a similar occurrence in 2008 involving Maxime Bernier
, who ultimately was forced to resign his cabinet post as Minister of Foreign Affairs
after leaving sensitive documents pertaining to a NATO conference at the home of an ex-girlfriend. Speaking to reporters, the Prime Minister said that "Minister Raitt was working at the time. She was undertaking employment activity, ministerial activity in the company of her staff who were responsible for these documents, certainly for accounting for these documents later." Addressing the parallel he added, "[i]n the case of Minister Bernier, his actions were much more personal in nature and that was the difference in the responsibility."
On the tape, Raitt made comments on the radio isotope issue, describing it as "sexy ... Radioactive leaks. Cancer." and hard to control because it is "confusing to a lot of people". Raitt also made comments on the parliamentary skills of Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq
:
Raitt also made comments about Manitoba MP Joy Smith
, who introduced a private member's bill
on human trafficking
:
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 (born May 7, 1968) 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, who is the Conservative Party
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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the riding of Halton
Halton (electoral district)
Halton is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988 and again since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 100,055.-Geography:...
. She is the current Minister of Labour
Minister of Labour (Canada)
The Minister of Labour is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for setting national labour standards and federal labour dispute mechanisms...
in the Cabinet of Canada
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
.
Background
Raitt was born Lisa MacCormack in Sydney, Nova ScotiaSydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
as the youngest of seven children. Her father, Colin A. MacCormack, worked for a local coal mine, loading coal onto ships, and later served as city alderman, and secretary-treasurer and a lead negotiator for the Cape Breton Railway Transportation and General Workers. Her mother, Tootsie, worked as a businesswoman. Raitt is married to Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
alumnus, playwright and stay-at-home dad David Raitt and has two sons, John Colin (b. 2002) and Billy (b. 2005).
Raitt graduated from St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University
St. Francis Xavier University is a post-secondary institution located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The school was founded in 1853, but did not offer degrees until 1868. The university has approximately 5000 students.-History:...
in Nova Scotia with a bachelor of science degree. She went on to do a Masters degree in chemistry, specializing in environmental biochemical toxicology, from the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
. Raitt possesses an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. That year, she was granted a Dr. Harold G. Fox Scholarship. As a result, she trained with barristers of the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which specialized in international trade, commerce, transportation and arbitration.
Toronto Port Authority
Prior to the election campaign, Raitt was the president and chief executive officer of the Toronto Port AuthorityToronto Port Authority
The Toronto Port Authority is a Canadian port authority responsible for management of the harbour of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport...
(TPA), a Canadian federal corporation that manages commerce, transportation (including the Toronto City Centre Airport) and recreation in the Toronto Harbour. She also served as the TPA’s Corporate Secretary and General Counsel, and harbourmaster (she was the first female harbourmaster of a Canadian port).
Mismanagement allegations
New Democrat MP Olivia ChowOlivia Chow
Olivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
called on Sheila Fraser
Sheila Fraser
Sheila Fraser served as Auditor General of Canada from 2001 to 2011.Ms. Fraser was born in Dundee, Quebec, Canada. She earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in 1972. She then became a chartered accountant in 1974 and FCA in 1994...
, the federal auditor general, to conduct an audit of the port authority to investigate why Baird increased the membership of the board of directors from seven to nine - and why Raitt, while CEO of the authority, was allowed to run up almost $80,000 in travel and other expenses over two years when the organization was running a deficit.
A November 2009 report by the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
detailed that Raitt signed off on her own expenses, at least on one occasion when the TPA board chair wouldn't do so. This followed the finding that a staffer in Raitt's office at the TPA used TPA resources on Raitt's election campaign. After an independent forensic review conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Toronto Port Authority released the results on September 14, 2010. These results showed that "all but one of the 15 complaints lodged by the former Directors were groundless".
Raitt also initiated a 2006 political libel
Political libel
The criminal statutes protecting nobility from criticism in 16th and 17th century England eventually evolved into various categories of political libel . Cases of political libel and eventually damages actions were handled by the infamous Star Chamber until its abolition in 1641...
action against Community Air
Community Air
Community Air is a non-profit resident association in the city of Toronto, Canada that seeks to have the Toronto Island Airport) shut down and its lands converted to park land. The association is concerned about noise, pollution and safety aspects of the airport's operation...
, a citizen group that had criticized her. The suit was eventually settled out of court when Community Air agreed to retract its statements and apologize.
Federal politics
In September 2008, Raitt was appointed to run as the Conservative candidate in Halton against Liberal incumbent Garth TurnerGarth 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...
.
Turner was formerly a Conservative member but was suspended from the Conservative caucus in 2006 for breaching confidentiality. He later joined the Liberals after briefly sitting as an independent member. A bitter campaign between Turner and Raitt ensued. Turner made public accusations of dirty tricks by the local Conservative association and Raitt, calling Raitt a "master of deceit." Raitt made controversial comments about the North and global warming. At an October 6 meeting of the Oakville, Ontario
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
, Chamber of Commerce, Raitt was on record cheering about the possibilities of increased tourism and shipping opportunities in the North, thanks to the melting polar ice cap.
On October 14, 2008, Raitt defeated Turner by over 7,000 votes. Raitt was named to the Cabinet of Canada
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
on October 30, 2008 as Minister of Natural Resources
Minister of Natural Resources (Canada)
The Minister of Natural Resources is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada. As of January 19, 2010, the Minister of Natural Resources is Joe Oliver.-Ministers:Key:...
, one of eleven women named to the Cabinet.
Secret documents left at news bureau
On June 2, 2009, CTV News reported that a folder of confidential and secret ministerial briefing documents had been left by Raitt or her staff at the CTV News Ottawa office for a week. CTV News chose to reveal the contents which listed the funding for the Chalk RiverChalk River Laboratories
The Chalk River Laboratories is a Canadian nuclear research facility located near Chalk River, about north-west of Ottawa in the province of Ontario.CRL is a site of major research and development to support and advance nuclear technology, in particular CANDU reactor...
nuclear reactor which had recently shut down, causing a shortage of medical radioisotopes
Nuclear medicine
In nuclear medicine procedures, elemental radionuclides are combined with other elements to form chemical compounds, or else combined with existing pharmaceutical compounds, to form radiopharmaceuticals. These radiopharmaceuticals, once administered to the patient, can localize to specific organs...
. On June 3, the opposition parties demanded that the government fire Raitt or accept her resignation. Raitt claimed to have offered her resignation and that the offer was rejected by the Prime Minister. A ministerial aide, Raitt's 26-year-old director of communications, Jasmine MacDonnell, offered her resignation which was accepted.
Some critics attempted to draw parallels to a similar occurrence in 2008 involving Maxime Bernier
Maxime Bernier
Maxime Bernier, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
, who ultimately was forced to resign his cabinet post as Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations section of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada....
after leaving sensitive documents pertaining to a NATO conference at the home of an ex-girlfriend. Speaking to reporters, the Prime Minister said that "Minister Raitt was working at the time. She was undertaking employment activity, ministerial activity in the company of her staff who were responsible for these documents, certainly for accounting for these documents later." Addressing the parallel he added, "[i]n the case of Minister Bernier, his actions were much more personal in nature and that was the difference in the responsibility."
Taped comments about radio isotope shortage
On June 8, 2009, CBC news online reported that a Nova Scotia court heard an argument to block the Halifax Chronicle-Herald from publishing a story about an audio recording involving Raitt. The injunction was denied. On the audio tape, made on January 30, 2009 by the same aide who resigned on June 2, was a discussion between Raitt and the aide over the radioisotopes shortage. The judge ruled that the public interest over-rode the issue of confidentiality.On the tape, Raitt made comments on the radio isotope issue, describing it as "sexy ... Radioactive leaks. Cancer." and hard to control because it is "confusing to a lot of people". Raitt also made comments on the parliamentary skills of Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq
Leona Aglukkaq
Leona Aglukkaq, PC, MP is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative in the 2008 Canadian federal election for the riding of Nunavut....
:
"Oh, God, she's such a capable woman, but it's hard for her to come out of a co-operative government into this rough-and-tumble. She had a question in the House yesterday, or two days ago, that planked. I really hope she never gets anything hot."
Raitt also made comments about Manitoba MP Joy Smith
Joy Smith
Joy Ann Smith is a Canadian politician. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba between 1999 and 2003, and was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 2004.-Education and business career:...
, who introduced a private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
on human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
:
"Speaking of career-limiting moves, I’m in shock that that MP, Joy Smith, brought forward private member’s legislation on human trafficking. She’s on Canada AMCanada AMCanada AM is a Canadian breakfast television news show, which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1972. It is currently hosted by Beverly Thomson and Seamus O'Regan, with Marci Ien reporting from the headline news desk and Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports...
. And the reason being is that there’s no way any of us should be introducing anything around justice issues or finance issues right now. You just can’t touch those two things."
Move to Labour Ministry
On January 19, 2010, Raitt was moved from the Ministry of Natural Resources to the Labour Ministry. Prime Minister Harper publicly defended Raitt, saying she has "a great future."External links
- Lisa Raitt official site