- Marilyn Mushinski
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Marilyn Mushinski MPP for Scarborough Centre In office
1999–2003Preceded by Dan Newman Succeeded by Brad Duguid MPP for Scarborough-Ellesmere In office
1995–1999Preceded by David Warner Succeeded by Riding abolished Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation In office
June 26, 1995 – October 10, 1997Preceded by Elaine Ziemba Succeeded by Isabel Bassett Alderman, Ward 5, City of Scarborough, Ontario In office
1982–1994Preceded by ? Succeeded by ? Personal details Political party Progressive Conservative Domestic partner Paul Mushinski (divorced) Marilyn Mushinski is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003, and was a cabinet minister under Mike Harris.
Contents
Background
Born in England, Mushinski emigrated to Canada in 1967 at age twenty-one, and was educated at York University. She worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association before entering political life.
Politics
Municipal
She served as an alderman and councillor in Scarborough from 1982 to 1994, and was also a councillor for Metro Toronto in 1987-88. Mushinski also served as a board member of the Scarborough Hospital and the Scarborough Women's Centre.
In 1986, Mushinski argued, albeit unsuccessfully, to retain the title alderman rather than switch to the gender neutral term councillor. She said, "My gut reaction is one of dismay because I don't know if they've ever taken into consideration the historical significance of the word alderman. I think it trivializes the language and I'm concerned to have to accommodate the quirks of a feminist movement which is trying to bastardize the English language."[1]
In 1994, she ran for mayor of Scarborough against fellow councillors Frank Faubert and Maureen Prinsloo. Mushinski's campaign which was similar to those of her colleagues was based on freezing property taxes and increasing the police force to fight rising crime in the city. During the election, a group called the Scarborough Volunteer Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee rated the candidates. They gave Mushinski a score of 0 out of 100; Faubert was given a score of 50 out of 100.[2] Faubert defeated Mushinski by a margin of 30,844 votes.[3]
Provincial
Mushinski was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating incumbent New Democratic Party of Ontario David Warner by about 4,000 votes in the riding of Scarborough-Ellesmere. On June 26, 1995, she was named as Ontario's Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.
In 1995, shortly after the election, Mushinski moved to repeal the employment equity law introduced by the previous NDP government. She said, "legislated hiring and promotion quotas are unnecessary, unfair and ineffective."[4]
In 1997, Mushinski issued a press release denouncing a gangland style shooting in her riding in which two Tamil men were injured. She said, "The Canadian tradition of consultation, co-operation and compromise seems to be lost on these individuals. Canada's strength lies in its long-held belief that immigrants to this country are starting fresh, and should embrace a new openness to diversity and respect for the law of the land." Scarborough Mayor Frank Faubert said the release went too far. He called the statement, "a smear on the entire Tamil community."[5]
During a cabinet shuffle later that year she was dropped from cabinet. There was some speculation that although culture was part of her portfolio she had made few friends in the arts community.[6] In 1998 she was made Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier.
In the provincial election of 1999, Mushinski was re-elected by about 4,000 votes over Liberal candidate Costas Manios; NDP candidate and labour leader Sid Ryan was third. During this term she served as Parliamentary Assistant to both the Premier and the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
In May 2000, Mushinski introduced a private members' bill called the Judicial Accountability Act. The bill called for a publication of judges' sentencing records. It would create a list of sentences imposed by judges and their reasons for not awarding the maximum possible sentence. Upon introduction of the bill she said she wanted to "motivate lenient judges to give out tougher sentences." She warned that judges that didn't play along with this goal may be subject to performance reviews.[7] The bill was opposed by the Criminal Lawyer's Association. Alan Gold, president of the association said, "It's a blatant attack on the independence of the judiciary, it's an attempt to intimidate judges into imposing higher sentences and that's simply inexcusable."[8] Attorney General Mike Flaherty initially was supportive of the bill. He said, "I think the public is entitled to know what sentences are being handed down by judges." But after considerable opposition from the legal community he distanced himself from the legislation. The bill died on the order paper when the legislature recessed for the summer.[9]
In the 2003 provincial election, she was defeated by Liberal candidate Brad Duguid by 10,012 votes.
References
- ^ Allan Thompson. Municipalities one step closer to abolishing 'sexist' titles. Toronto Star. August 27, 1986. pg. A16.
- ^ Gay Abbate. Policing rules mayoral contest. Globe and Mail. November 9, 1994. pg. A7.
- ^ 1994 Toronto general election results (former Metropolitan Toronto). Former Municipality of the City of Scarborough. Accessed December 18, 2010.
- ^ Emilia Casella. Employment equity will soon be history, minister says. Ottawa Citizen. October 12, 1995. pg. A3.
- ^ Caroline Mallan. MPP in hot water. Toronto Star. February 10, 1997. pg. SC1.
- ^ Jane Armstrong, Daniel Girard, and Joel Ruimy. Snobelen's out Johnson new education chief in bid to avoid war with teachers. Toronto Star. October 10, 1997. pg. A1.
- ^ What this fuss is all about. Daily Mercury (Guelph, Ont.). May 11, 2000. pg. A7.
- ^ April Lindgren. `Soft judges' score cards under fire: Lawyers condemn bid to pressure judiciary to give higher sentence. The Ottawa Citizen. May 16, 2000. pg. A6.
- ^ Ian Urquhart. Attorney-general in hot water. The Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.). May 17, 2000. pg. D02.
External links
Categories:- Living people
- Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
- Women MPPs in Ontario
- Metro Toronto councillors
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