- Helen Johns
Helen Johns (born
April 24 ,1953 ) is apolitician in Ontario,Canada . She was born inToronto ,Ontario She was a Progressive Conservative member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and served as acabinet minister in the governments ofMike Harris andErnie Eves .Johns has a
Bachelor of Arts degree fromYork University , aBachelor of Commerce degree from theUniversity of Windsor and anM.B.A. fromSimon Fraser University . She worked as a controller of small and medium-sized businesses for fifteen years before entering public life, and was also the Director and Treasurer of the Huron United Way.Johns was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating Liberal
John Jewitt and incumbent New DemocratPaul Klopp in the riding of Huron. For the next four years, she served as a backbench government member.In the 1999 provincial campaign, Johns defeated fellow
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP)Barb Fisher for the Tory nomination in the redistributed riding ofHuron—Bruce , and narrowly defeated Liberal candidateRoss Lamont in the general election. OnJune 17 ,1999 , she was named Citizenship, Culture and Recreation. Following a cabinet shuffle onFebruary 8 ,2001 , she was named Associate Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, underTony Clement .When
Ernie Eves replaced Harris asPremier onApril 15 ,2002 , he named Johns as his minister of Minister of Agriculture and Food. She held this position until the 2003 election, and also served as interim Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in early 2003.In 2003, Johns was widely criticized for her department's handling of a tainted-meat scare in
Aylmer, Ontario . It was alleged that the OMAF had information on dangerous practices at the Aylmer Meat Packers company for several months before the story was reported in the public press. Johns was unable to give a satisfactory account of her department's actions, and in the 2003 election campaign claimed that she was "too busy" to address the matter in full detail.These comments cost her vital support, and she lost her riding to Liberal
Carol Mitchell by more than 3,000 votes in 2003.
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