James Bezan

Infobox CanadianMP | name=James Bezan


term_start=2004
term_end=
predecessor= Howard Hilstrom
birth_date= birth date and age |1965|05|19
birth_place= Russell, Manitoba
successor=
death_date=
death_place=
profession= cattle rancher, international sales, crop adjuster
party=Conservative
party colour=Conservative
residence=Stonewall, Manitoba
riding=Selkirk-Interlake
footnotes=
term_start2=
term_end2=
predecessor2=
successor2=
spouse= Kelly Murray Bezan
religion=|

James Bezan (born May 19, 1965 in Russell, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. In 2004, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative.

Bezan attended Olds College in Alberta (on a basketball scholarship), where he majored in livestock technology and received a degree in Agricultural Production. Bezan worked in the livestock and cattle industries in the 1980s and 1990s, and started his own company in 1996. He served as Chief Executive Officer of the Manitoba Cattle Producer's Association and has sat on numerous boards in the fields of cattle and food production. After the start of the BSE crisis in 2003, Bezan was hired as a crop adjuster and sales assistant with the Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation. He also operates a family farm near Teulon, Manitoba.

The Canadian federal election of 2004 was Bezan's first venture into politics. He was elected in the riding of Selkirk—Interlake, which has usually supported right-of-centre candidates in recent decades. He took about 47% of the vote, enough to defeat his Liberal and NDP rivals.

In opposition Bezan served on the executive of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, and as Associate Agriculture Critic. Bezan was was re-elected in the Canadian federal election of 2006. In the 39th Parliament, Bezan was elected Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, and Chair of the Canadian Section of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA). The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food re-elected Bezan as Chair for the second session of the 39th Parliament. Bezan also serves on the House of Commons Liaison Committee and the Joint Inter-Parliamentary Council.

Bezan is an opponent of the Canadian Wheat Board's single-desk marketing powers, and has said that making the board voluntary would not necessarily damage its integrity. [Mary Agnes Welch, "After 20 years of retirement, why would a 70-year-old icontoss his hat in the ring to be a backbencher in Ottawa, at best?", "Winnipeg Free Press", 15 January 2006, B1.] In a 2006 interview, he said that under proposed Conservative reforms, grain producers would have to make a commitment each year before planting as to whether or not they would market through the CWB. [Larry Kusch, "CWB doomed under Tories? Anti-monopoly stance feared as death knell", "Winnipeg Free Press", 21 January 2006, B8.]

Bezan is also an opponent of the Canadian gun registry and voted against same-sex marriage.

External links

* [http://www.jamesbezan.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.howdtheyvote.ca/member.php?id=28 How'd They Vote?: James Bezan's voting history and quotes]
* [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=72dace30-741a-4877-8c1c-31b5dc3e4a8e&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience Parliament Webpage]

References