Eric Berntson

Infobox Prime Minister


name = Eric Berntson
honorific-suffix =
caption =
office1 = Leader of the Opposition
term_start1 = 1979
term_end1 = 1982
predecessor1 = Dick Collver
successor1 = Allan Blakeney
party =
birth_date = birth date and age | 1941|05|16
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
party = Progressive Conservative
spouse =
religion = |

Eric Arthur Berntson (born May 16, 1941 in Oxbow, Saskatchewan) was a Canadian politician.

askatchewan politics

Berntson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a member of the Progressive Conservatives for the district of Souris-Cannington in the 1975 Saskatchewan general election. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1982 as newly elected party leader Grant Devine did not have a seat in the legislature.

He served in the Saskatchewan legislature until 1990 and was Deputy Premier in the Devine government. [ [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011930 Saskatchewan Senator Facing Jail] , "Maclean's Magazine", March 29, 1999]

In 1999, Berntson was convicted of illegally diverting government allowances between 1987 and 1991 when he was Saskatchewan's deputy premier. He was sentenced to one year in prison. ["Ex-senator Berntson moved to Regina halfway house for rest of fraud sentence", "Canadian Press", April 30, 2001]

Canadian senate

Berntson was appointed on the advice of Brian Mulroney to the Canadian Senate on September 27, 1990 as part of the never before used expansion clause that allows two extra members per regional division after the Senate all the normal Senate seats are occupied.

He served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 when he was charged with fraud. [Canadian Press, "Saskatchewan Senator charged with fraud", "Globe and Mail", February 25, 1997]

Berntson resigned from the Senate on February 27, 2001 after the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his attempt to overturn his fraud conviction. [Canadian Press, "Ex-senator begins fraud sentence", "Kitchener-Waterloo Record", March 2, 2001] He currently resides in Calgary, Alberta.

Berntson also appeared on the 1991 tape that showed current Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski making homophobic slurs and current Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall mocking Roy Romanow in a Ukrainian accent which was revealed to the public on March 31, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=7d8f874d-c2c4-40a6-86c3-f96e672d4aed&Language=E Federal political experience Eric Berntson Parliament of Canada]