Evelyn Gigantes

Evelyn Adelaide Gigantes (born in 1942 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on three occasions between 1975 and 1995, and was a prominent cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.

Gigantes has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University. She worked as a radio and television broadcaster before entering political life, and was for a time an interviewer with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and host of her own current affairs show in Ottawa. During her time out of political office, she was a member of a City of Ottawa Municipal Energy Planning Project, and served as a representative on women's issues for the National Union of Provincial Government Employees.

Gigantes first ran for the Ontario legislature in a by-election held on September 30, 1974. She was defeated by Progressive Conservative Paul Frederick Taylor in the Ottawa area riding of Carleton East, losing by 240 votes. The following year, however, she defeated Taylor by 281 votes in the provincial election of 1975.

The NDP lost some of its marginal seats in the provincial election of 1977, but Gigantes was re-elected over Progressive Conservative Darwin Kealey by 781 votes (the Liberal candidate was a very close third).

The Progressive Conservatives had presided over a minority government from 1975 to 1981, but won a parliamentary majority in the 1981 provincial election. Many senior figures in the New Democratic Party had little respect for newly-chosen leader Michael Cassidy, and the party's electoral performance suffered accordingly. Gigantes finished third in her bid for re-election in Carleton East, falling behind both Liberal Bernard Grandmaitre and the winner, Progressive Conservative Bob McQuarrie.

Gigantes returned to the legislature through a by-election win in Ottawa Centre on December 31, 1984, called after Cassidy resigned as Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the riding. She defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Graham Bird by over 2,000 votes; the Liberal candidate was Lowell Green, who later became famous in the region for hosting a right-wing radio call-in show. Gigantes was re-elected over Bird by an increased margin in the 1985 provincial election.

After the 1985 election, the Liberal Party under David Peterson was able to form a minority administration with support from the NDP (which did not join the Liberals in a formal coalition, but offered support on key legislative initiatives). Gigantes served as her party's critic for the Attorney General and for Women's Issues in this period. The Liberals won a landslide majority government in the 1987 provincial election, and Gigantes lost her seat to Liberal Richard Patten by 1,087 votes.

The NDP unexpectly won a majority government under Bob Rae in the 1990 provincial election, and Gigantes, once again campaigning in Ottawa Centre, defeated Patten by almost 3,000 votes. As a result of her legislative experience, she was appointed to Rae's first cabinet as Minister of Health on October 1, 1990.

Gigantes's tenure in this portfolio was brief. She resigned her portfolio on April 18, 1991, after revealing confidential information during a legislative debate. (Gigantes had improperly revealed the name of a patient in response to a question from opposition MPP Ernie Eves.) Her comments were considered an error in judgement rather than premeditated slander, and Gigantes was returned to cabinet on July 31, 1991 as Minister of Housing.

In cabinet, Gigantes was a prominent skeptic of the NDP's pledge to introduce public automobile insurance. She believed that the cost in lost jobs would not be compensated by increased savings before the next election, and supported the Rae government's decision to withdraw from this promise in 1991. She later opposed the NDP's funding cutbacks in 1992, but was a supporter of "Social Contract" legislation in 1993. (Gigantes accused the unions which opposed this legislation of protecting their own interests against those of the most vulnerable citizens.)

As Housing Minister, Gigantes supported the construction of non-profit housing and maintained provincial rent controls. On one occasion, she also replaced the scandal-ridden Metro Toronto Housing Authority with a group of government-appointed overseers.

Gigantes was forced to resign from cabinet a second time, on August 18, 1994, after conflict-of-interest allegations arose in her handling of the Housing portfolio. On one occasion, Gigantes recommended her friend Nancy Smith to head the Ontario Housing Corporation.

The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, and Gigantes again lost the Ottawa Centre riding to Richard Patten by over 1,500 votes. She has not sought a return to political life since this time.

In 2002, Gigantes registered a complaint against police intimidation at a public protest in Ottawa. In 2004, she co-chaired a candidate search committee for the federal New Democratic Party.

Gigantes supported Bill Blaikie for the leadership of the federal NDP in 2002-03.

External links

* [http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=389 Parliamentary history for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario]