Peter Kent
Encyclopedia
Peter Kent, PC
, MP (born July 27, 1943) is a Conservative
member of parliament
for the riding of Thornhill
, and the current Minister of the Environment
in the 28th Canadian Ministry.
Previously, he was Deputy Editor of Global Television, a Canadian
TV network. He has previously worked as a news editor, producer, foreign correspondent and news anchorman on Canadian and American television networks.
. His younger brother, Arthur Kent
, is also a journalist, known in the first Gulf War as the "scud stud".
Kent has been married to Cilla, a former print journalist with South Africa's Argus group for over 26 years. They have a daughter, Trilby who published her first novel, Medina Hill, in October 2009.
Kent is a member of the board of Canadian Coalition for Democracies
and has represented them at public events such as a demonstration supporting publication of the controversial Muhammed cartoons.
Kent is a member of the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame
and a past member of the Board of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
. He is also a Founding Supporter of Canadians for Defence and Security and a member of the board of the revitalized ParticipACTION
. He is a board member of the controversial pro-Israel media advocacy group Honest Reporting
Canada, and co-Chair of Ontario Cabinet for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Kent was named the recipient of the 2006 President’s Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA). The President’s Award is presented annually to honour individuals, stations, companies or groups who have brought distinction to, or have made major contributions to the broadcast news industry. He is a four-time Emmy nominee and the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy
Memorial Award.
in 1965 and subsequently worked for CBC Television
, CTV
, Global, NBC
and the Christian Science Monitors television newscast.
In the 1966, he went to South East Asia to cover the Vietnam War
as a freelance foreign correspondent
. He stayed on to cover the final withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam
in 1973 and covered the fall of Cambodia
to the Khmer Rouge
in 1975. Kent returned to Canada and worked as a producer for The National and, in 1976, he became the broadcast's anchorman after Lloyd Robertson
moved to CTV News
.
In 1978 Kent agreed to step down as anchorman of The National after he submitted an intervention to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recommending that the Corporation's licence not be renewed until management created procedures and protocols to prevent political interference in the CBC's editorial decision-making. Kent's complaint involved messages conveyed through the then CBC President Al Johnson
from the Prime Minister's Office
that resulted in cancellation of a speech by Premier René Lévesque
and coverage of a speech by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
. As a result of his intervention and descent from The National anchor desk, Kent accepted assignment to the newly created African Bureau of the CBC, located in Johannesburg.
The CBC subsequently created protocols to govern Prime Ministerial access to the public broadcaster. They remain in effect today; the most recent example the speech made to the country by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
on the eve of the 1995 Quebec referendum
. Kent returned briefly in 1978 to testify at a grievance hearing initiated by an unsuccessful anchor candidate who complained that Knowlton Nash
, the vice-president of CBC News, had appointed himself to succeed Kent. In that testimony Kent—the first journalist to anchor The National -- supported Nash's credentials.
Kent returned to Canada and the CBC in 1982 as a founding producer, correspondent and occasional co-host of The Journal, hosted by Barbara Frum
and Mary Lou Finlay
.
On Jan. 24, 1984, the CBC television program The Journal broadcast a full edition documentary called "The Greenhouse Effect and Planet Earth." It was hosted, narrated and written by Mr. Kent. Broadcast more than 37 years ago this may be one of the first major media reports on the subject.
In 1984 Kent moved back to NBC serving in Miami, Washington and New York bureaus and as the US network's senior Europe
an correspondent in the late 1980s, winning four Emmy nominations with the network. He then reported for and was back-up anchorman for John Hart and John Palmer at the Christian Science Monitors World Monitor television news service. One of Kent's feature report series - on challenges in American inner cities - was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Award.
Kent returned to Canada to join Global News in 1992, and was the anchorman of its flagship news program First National
until 2001. He then anchored the business news show MoneyWise on Global and Prime.
, Kent ran as the Conservative Party of Canada
candidate in the Toronto
riding of St. Paul's. He placed second with 25.76% of the vote against the incumbent, Carolyn Bennett
of the Liberals
(50.25%), and ahead of Paul Summerville
of the New Democratic Party
(19.19%).
Kent ran again for the Conservatives in the 2008 election
, this time in the riding of Thornhill
, and was elected, defeating incumbent Susan Kadis
by 5200 votes.
In an interview with journalist Steve Paikin on December 9, 2009, Kent acknowledged that as Minister, he is instructed to only use language vetted by the PMO, on occasion lifting Stephen Harper's statements from newspaper reports: "So when we’re asked about the Israeli position on settlements, we never criticize Israel publicly. We say those settlements are 'unhelpful' in finding a comprehensive peace settlement. We’ve put on the record our position on nuclear power and India. We say 'it’s no longer the 1970’s, it’s now 2009.' I saw the prime minister’s quote in the newspapers to that effect yesterday, and so I used it today." Kent's comment that his government does not criticize Israel publicly was contradicted several months later by his senior minister, Lawrence Cannon
, who went on record in the House of Commons "condemning" Israel's expansion of illegal settlements.
In a cabinet shuffle on January 4, 2011, Kent was named Minister of the Environment. His participation at the U.N. Climate Change Summit in Nov. 2011, has been controversial as it has been noted Canada plans to withdraw from the Kyoto protocol and is urging other countries to do the same - even though Canada is among the top 10 GHG polluter nations.
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 July 27, 1943) is 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...
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 Thornhill
Thornhill (electoral district)
Thornhill is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.It covers the community of Thornhill, Ontario, which is made up of portions of Vaughan and Markham, and was created in 1996 from parts of...
, and the current Minister of the Environment
Minister of the Environment (Canada)
The Minister of the Environment is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's environment department, Environment Canada...
in the 28th Canadian Ministry.
Previously, he was Deputy Editor of Global Television, 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...
TV network. He has previously worked as a news editor, producer, foreign correspondent and news anchorman on Canadian and American television networks.
Background
Peter Kent is the son of Parker Kent, a long-time employee of the Southam Newspaper Group who retired as associate editor at the Calgary HeraldCalgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
. His younger brother, Arthur Kent
Arthur Kent
Arthur Kent is a Canadian television journalist. He rose to international prominence during the 1991 Persian Gulf War during which he acquired the nickname "The Scud Stud"...
, is also a journalist, known in the first Gulf War as the "scud stud".
Kent has been married to Cilla, a former print journalist with South Africa's Argus group for over 26 years. They have a daughter, Trilby who published her first novel, Medina Hill, in October 2009.
Kent is a member of the board of Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Canadian Coalition for Democracies
The Canadian Coalition for Democracies was a Canadian political action organization that advocated greater support for Israel, India, and minorities in the Muslim world such as Christians, Copts, Bahá'ís, Assyrians, and Ismailis....
and has represented them at public events such as a demonstration supporting publication of the controversial Muhammed cartoons.
Kent is a member of the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame
Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame
The Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, started in 1982, recognizes Canadians in broadcasting or entertainment related industries who have "achieved outstanding success in helping raise industry standards from a material or humanitarian standpoint."...
and a past member of the Board of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals...
. He is also a Founding Supporter of Canadians for Defence and Security and a member of the board of the revitalized ParticipACTION
ParticipACTION
ParticipACTION is a national non-profit organization, originally launched as a Canadian government program in the 1970s, to promote healthy living and physical fitness...
. He is a board member of the controversial pro-Israel media advocacy group Honest Reporting
Honest Reporting
HonestReporting is a non-governmental organization that monitors the media for what it perceives as bias against Israel. The organization has affiliates in the United States, UK, Canada, Italy, and Brazil...
Canada, and co-Chair of Ontario Cabinet for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Kent was named the recipient of the 2006 President’s Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA). The President’s Award is presented annually to honour individuals, stations, companies or groups who have brought distinction to, or have made major contributions to the broadcast news industry. He is a four-time Emmy nominee and the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
Memorial Award.
Journalism
Kent began his career as a radio journalist in the early 1960s. He then moved to television, joining Calgary station CFCN-TVCFCN-TV
CFCN-DT is a Canadian television station, broadcasting in Calgary, Alberta. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it is a part of the CTV Television Network. The station also operates a semi-satellite in Lethbridge....
in 1965 and subsequently worked for CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
, CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, Global, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and the Christian Science Monitors television newscast.
In the 1966, he went to South East Asia to cover the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
as a freelance foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
. He stayed on to cover the final withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in 1973 and covered the fall of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
to the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
in 1975. Kent returned to Canada and worked as a producer for The National and, in 1976, he became the broadcast's anchorman after Lloyd Robertson
Lloyd Robertson
Lloyd Robertson, OC is the currently the co-host of CTV's weekly magazine series, W5. Robertson previously served as the chief anchor and senior editor of CTV's national evening newscast, CTV News with Lloyd Robertson, until September, 2011, when he retired from the CTV National News...
moved to CTV News
CTV News
CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name CTV News is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations , which are closely tied to the national news division...
.
In 1978 Kent agreed to step down as anchorman of The National after he submitted an intervention to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recommending that the Corporation's licence not be renewed until management created procedures and protocols to prevent political interference in the CBC's editorial decision-making. Kent's complaint involved messages conveyed through the then CBC President Al Johnson
Albert Wesley Johnson
Albert Wesley Johnson, was a Canadian civil servant, former president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, professor in the department of political science at the University of Toronto, and author....
from the Prime Minister's Office
Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)
In Canada, the Office of the Prime Minister , located in the Langevin Block, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, is one of the most powerful parts of the government. It is made up of the prime minister and his or her top political staff, who are charged with advising the prime minister on decisions,...
that resulted in cancellation of a speech by Premier René Lévesque
René Lévesque
René Lévesque was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, , the founder of the Parti Québécois political party and the 23rd Premier of Quebec...
and coverage of a speech by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
. As a result of his intervention and descent from The National anchor desk, Kent accepted assignment to the newly created African Bureau of the CBC, located in Johannesburg.
The CBC subsequently created protocols to govern Prime Ministerial access to the public broadcaster. They remain in effect today; the most recent example the speech made to the country by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
on the eve of the 1995 Quebec referendum
1995 Quebec referendum
The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should secede from Canada and become an independent state, through the question:...
. Kent returned briefly in 1978 to testify at a grievance hearing initiated by an unsuccessful anchor candidate who complained that Knowlton Nash
Knowlton Nash
Cyril Knowlton Nash, OC, O.Ont , commonly known as Knowlton Nash, is a journalist, author, and former long-serving senior anchorman of CBC Television's flagship news program, The National...
, the vice-president of CBC News, had appointed himself to succeed Kent. In that testimony Kent—the first journalist to anchor The National -- supported Nash's credentials.
Kent returned to Canada and the CBC in 1982 as a founding producer, correspondent and occasional co-host of The Journal, hosted by Barbara Frum
Barbara Frum
Barbara Frum, OC was a Canadian radio and television journalist, acclaimed for her interviews for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Personal life:...
and Mary Lou Finlay
Mary Lou Finlay
Mary Lou Finlay is a Canadian radio and television journalist, best known for hosting various programs on CBC Radio and CBC Television.Finlay graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1967 with a BA in English and French literature...
.
On Jan. 24, 1984, the CBC television program The Journal broadcast a full edition documentary called "The Greenhouse Effect and Planet Earth." It was hosted, narrated and written by Mr. Kent. Broadcast more than 37 years ago this may be one of the first major media reports on the subject.
In 1984 Kent moved back to NBC serving in Miami, Washington and New York bureaus and as the US network's senior Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an correspondent in the late 1980s, winning four Emmy nominations with the network. He then reported for and was back-up anchorman for John Hart and John Palmer at the Christian Science Monitors World Monitor television news service. One of Kent's feature report series - on challenges in American inner cities - was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Award.
Kent returned to Canada to join Global News in 1992, and was the anchorman of its flagship news program First National
First National (TV series)
First National was a Canadian television newscast, which aired on the Global Television Network's stations in Ontario and Manitoba from 1994 to 2001. It was also seen in Quebec after Global launched there in 1997...
until 2001. He then anchored the business news show MoneyWise on Global and Prime.
Politics
In the 2006 federal electionCanadian 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:...
, Kent ran as the Conservative Party of Canada
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...
candidate in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
riding of St. Paul's. He placed second with 25.76% of the vote against the incumbent, Carolyn Bennett
Carolyn Bennett
Carolyn Ann Bennett, PC, MP is the Member of Parliament for the riding of St. Paul's, a constituency located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was formerly a candidate for its leadership....
of the Liberals
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...
(50.25%), and ahead of Paul Summerville
Paul Summerville
Paul Summerville is an economist, equity research director, and Asian regional head at several prominent global investment banks , and Wellington Management...
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...
(19.19%).
Kent ran again for the Conservatives in the 2008 election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, this time in the riding of Thornhill
Thornhill (electoral district)
Thornhill is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997.It covers the community of Thornhill, Ontario, which is made up of portions of Vaughan and Markham, and was created in 1996 from parts of...
, and was elected, defeating incumbent Susan Kadis
Susan Kadis
Susan R. Kadis is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was the Liberal Member of Parliament for Thornhill in the Canadian House of Commons from 2004 to 2008.-Background:...
by 5200 votes.
In an interview with journalist Steve Paikin on December 9, 2009, Kent acknowledged that as Minister, he is instructed to only use language vetted by the PMO, on occasion lifting Stephen Harper's statements from newspaper reports: "So when we’re asked about the Israeli position on settlements, we never criticize Israel publicly. We say those settlements are 'unhelpful' in finding a comprehensive peace settlement. We’ve put on the record our position on nuclear power and India. We say 'it’s no longer the 1970’s, it’s now 2009.' I saw the prime minister’s quote in the newspapers to that effect yesterday, and so I used it today." Kent's comment that his government does not criticize Israel publicly was contradicted several months later by his senior minister, Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon
Lawrence Cannon, PC is a Canadian politician from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former Quebec lieutenant. On October 30, 2008 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs...
, who went on record in the House of Commons "condemning" Israel's expansion of illegal settlements.
In a cabinet shuffle on January 4, 2011, Kent was named Minister of the Environment. His participation at the U.N. Climate Change Summit in Nov. 2011, has been controversial as it has been noted Canada plans to withdraw from the Kyoto protocol and is urging other countries to do the same - even though Canada is among the top 10 GHG polluter nations.
Offices held
Election results
Source: Elections CanadaExternal links
- Peter Kent official site