- Michael Byers (Canadian author)
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For other uses, see Michael Byers.
Michael Byers is a Canadian legal scholar and non-fiction author.
Contents
Academic background
Byers was educated at the University of Saskatchewan, where he received his BA with majors in English literature and political studies. He then studied at McGill University, achieving his LLB and BCL degrees. He completed his studies at Cambridge University, where he received his PhD. Before becoming a professor of political science at University of British Columbia in 2004, he was a research fellow from 1996-1999 at Oxford University and from 1999–2004, he taught law at Duke University, where he was a professor of law and the director of Canadian Studies.
Since 2007, he has held the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.[1]
2008 federal election
On July 2, 2008, Byers announced that he was seeking the New Democratic Party nomination for the federal riding of Vancouver Centre, a seat held by Liberal Party of Canada incumbent Hedy Fry since 1993, in the 40th Canadian federal election.[2] Byers had not previously sought elected office and the Liberal Party had tried to attract him as a candidate, with Stephane Dion inviting him for a beer in the spring of 2008.[3]
Byers received much attention because he was considered by many to be a "star" candidate for the NDP.[4]
During the campaign, he was sharply critical of the Harper government's supposed militarization of the Arctic; he also advocated a negotiation with the Taliban in Afghanistan. At a candidates' debate at the end of September 2008, Byers made the controversial statement that the Alberta tar sands needed to be shut down "to address the global climate crisis". The Liberal and Green candidates claimed that this position contradicted the official NDP platform, while Byers believes that it is covered by the already-passed legislation calling on Canada to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.[5]
Dr. Hedy Fry, the incumbent, won reelection with 19,423 votes (34.4% of the popular vote). Byers ran third, with 12,043 votes (21.3%).
Writing and advocacy
His books include War Law (Douglas & McIntyre, 2005), and Intent for a Nation: What is Canada For? (ISBN 978-1-55365-250-2, Douglas & McIntyre 2007) (playing against George Grant's Lament for a Nation). In 2009, he wrote Who Owns the Arctic? (ISBN 978-1553654995, Douglas & McIntyre 2009), which was shorted for the Donner Book Prize.
Byers is a regular commentator on CBC on programs such as The Current and The National, and writes for The Globe and Mail and other Canadian and international periodicals.
Some of his positions:
Afghanistan
In his book Intent for a Nation, Byers describes the Afghanistan war, which he opposes, as: "a U.S.-led war in Asia."[6]
Liberal-NDP Coalition
In November 2009, Byers suggested that the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party (NDP) "should agree to not run candidates against each other in the next campaign" in electoral ridings in order to prevent the Conservative Party of Canada from forming another minority government.[7] However, critics pointed out that his reasoning is based on the assumption that Liberal voters who are denied the ability to vote for a liberal candidate would automatically vote for a NDP candidate, and that many might instead vote for the Conservatives (or simply not vote at all).[8]
F35s
Byers has been a vocal opponent of the Harper government's proposed purchase of F35 fighter jets. In the Toronto Star, he writes: "The F-35 is a stealth fighter designed to penetrate radar defences on the first day of a war. It's the sort of plane you would use to create 'shock and awe' in Baghdad or Tehran. Unless Canada is planning on being the sharp end of the American spear, we don't need stealth technology. The F-35 is designed for short takeoff and landing, with two of the three versions destined for aircraft carriers. Canada, of course, doesn't have aircraft carriers. And all that stealth technology and short takeoff and landing capacity comes at a cost. In addition to the price tag of about $135 million per plane, the F-35 has a relatively short range. This makes it an odd choice for a large, sparsely populated country."[9]
References
- ^ Douglas & McIntyre
- ^ Ubyssey, July 2, 2008
- ^ http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=20f4952e-0178-4f24-b5df-e6e85f15d45f
- ^ http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/.2008.july.7.byers
- ^ Lai, Tim. Shut down the oilsands, NDP candidate urges. Canwest News Service. September 25, 2008. Accessed on: September 29, 2008.
- ^ Byers, Michael. "Intent for a Nation: What is Canada For?" Douglas & McIntyre (Vancouver): 2007. 15.
- ^ Liberals and New Democrats together could unseat Harper by Michael Byers, Toronto Star, November 2, 2009.
- ^ Gerry Nicholls: New Democrats for less democracy by Gerry Nicholls, National Post, November 2, 2009.
- ^ Byers, Michael. "$16 billion for the wrong planes." The Toronto Star. 18 July 2010.
External links
- Celebration for a Nation Ottawa Citizen article by Michael Byers June 2007
- Michael Byers at the University of British Columbia faculty page
- Video of Michael Byers speaking on the SPP Google video Security and Prosperity Partnership
- 'Michael Byers on Politics' - weblog
Categories:- Living people
- Canadian non-fiction writers
- New Democratic Party candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election
- Canada Research Chairs
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