Peter Goldring
| Peter Goldring | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Edmonton East | |
|
In office June 2, 1997 – October 19, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Judy Bethel |
| Succeeded by | Kerry Diotte |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 12, 1944 Toronto, Ontario |
| Political party |
Reform (1997–2000) Canadian Alliance (2000–2003) Conservative (2003–2011, 2013–present) Independent (2011–2013) |
| Spouse(s) | Lorraine Goldring |
| Residence | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Profession | Business Manager |
Peter Goldring (born December 12, 1944) is a Canadian federal politician.
Early life and career
Goldring was born in Toronto in 1944. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1962 to 1965 as a military police officer. After living in Ontario and Quebec he settled in Edmonton in 1972.[1]
Federal politics
Goldring is a Conservative MP in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Edmonton East since 2004, Edmonton Centre-East since 2000, and Edmonton East from 1997 to 2000. He has also been a member of the Reform Party of Canada, (1997–2000) and the Canadian Alliance (2000–2003). From 2003 until 2011 he was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada; he resigned from the Conservative caucus in December 2011 while facing charges of impaired driving.[2] He has sat as an independent member of the House of Commons with a Conservative affiliation before being welcomed back to the Conservative caucus in 2013. Goldring did not run for re-election in 2015.
Goldring is a former businessman and manager. Goldring is the former official opposition critic of Homelessness, Veterans Affairs, Public Works and Government Services, and Public Housing. In 2004, Goldring visited the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean to explore the possibility of annexation of the islands to Canada.
In September 2004, Goldring was appointed as the Conservative Party Foreign Affairs Critic for the Caribbean. A week after the passage of Hurricane Ivan over Grenada, Goldring visited the islands of Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, and Grenada, touring much of the destruction left on Grenada. Upon returning to Canada, Goldring pressed the government for much needed assistance for Grenada.
As reported by the Globe and Mail on February 19, 2010, Goldring sent out a pamphlet to his constituents describing Louis Riel as a villain with blood on his hands who stood in the way of Confederation. He also resisted calls to overturn Riel's conviction for treason and for him to be named a Father of Confederation.[3] According to Métis historians and scholars[4] George and Terry Goulet Goldring's pamphlet was "riddled with numerous egregious errors and many omissions".[5]
When Toronto's York University-based Canadian Homelessness Research Network (CHRN) released the first Canadian Definition of Homelessness in 2012,[6] Goldring, a member of the Edmonton Committee to End Homelessness, argued that the CHRN's definition of homelessness painted an overly broad picture including those who were "having a hard time financially." Goldring felt that, "You don’t want to look at it coldly, but they’re really not in desperate need until they’re holding that eviction notice in their hand."[7] Following the adoption of the 10-year plan Edmonton’s homeless population dropped to 2,421 people in 2009, from 3,079 people in 2008. Goldring supports private sector company provision of affordable housing such as Boardwalk Rental Communities and Developer ProCura’s Mayfair Village project and is firmly against public sector social housing solutions. He was against the "$1 billion social industry cost number for 3,000 homes quoted in the Edmonton Committee to End Homelessness’s 2009 report.[8]
Personal life
Goldring is married to Lorraine and has two daughters.
Controversy
After a party on the evening of Saturday, December 3, 2011, Peter Goldring was stopped by the Edmonton Police Service, during a routine roadside spot-check program to curb impaired driving.[9] Goldring, who has publicly opposed the use of breathalyzers to catch impaired drivers, refused to provide a breath sample.[10] Shortly after the incident, Goldring resigned from the caucus of the Conservative Party of Canada. He sat as an independent member of the House of Commons, and has asked to be recognized as an Independent Conservative.[11] Later, being found not guilty of refusing to provide a breath sample to police after a judge determined the politician was cautious about the request, but did not purposefully delay or refuse. Goldring was welcomed back to Conservative caucus.
References
- ↑ "Biography of Peter Goldring". December 7, 2011.
- ↑ "Edmonton MP quits Tory caucus to face drunk-driving charge". The Globe and Mail. December 5, 2011. Archived from the original on December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ↑ Puxley, Chinta (February 19, 2010). "Calling Louis Riel a 'villain' lands Conservative MP in hot water". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
- ↑ "Character of historical Metis leader Louis Riel disputed in MP's brochure". Saskatchewan Sage. 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ↑ "MP's anti-Riel comments condemned by Metis, government officials". Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ↑ Canadian Homelessness Research Network (2012) Canadian Definition of Homelessness. Retrieved from "Canadian Definition of Homelessness".http://homelessresearch.net/canadian-definition-of-homelessness/
- ↑ Hopper, Tristin (September 12, 2012). "Critics say new definition of 'homeless' too broad, includes those only 'at risk'". Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ↑ "Declining Homeless Numbers are Encouraging". 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ↑ Kapelos, Vassy (December 5, 2011). "Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring charged with failure to provide breath sample". Edmonton Journal. Edmonton. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ↑ Goldring, Peter (December 1, 2009). "An uneasy Balance". Member of Parliament, Peter Goldring. Ottawa. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ↑ "Member of Parliament Profile". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved January 26, 2012.