Diane Finley
| The Honourable Diane Finley PC, MP |
|
|---|---|
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Haldimand—Norfolk |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Bob Speller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 3, 1957 Hamilton, Ontario |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Doug Finley |
| Residence | Simcoe |
| Profession | Businesswoman, executive, management consultant, school administrator |
| Portfolio | Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development |
Diane Finley, PC, MP (born October 3, 1957) is a Canadian politician. She serves as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Of the 12 MPs in the Priorities and Planning Committee of cabinet ("P & P Committee"), known as the inner cabinet, she is the only woman. She is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk for the Conservative Party.
Diane Finley was raised in Port Dover and Charlotteville in Norfolk County, Ontario, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario. After graduation, she became the administrator of Western's French Immersion School. She then worked in a series of private and public sector jobs, in a variety of fields. She was named "one of Canada's future leaders" by the Governor-General’s Study Conference 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Part of political couple
Her husband Doug Finley was campaign manager and director of political operations for the Conservative Party of Canada and is a Canadian Senator.[1]
[edit] Political positions and affiliations
Finley has promoted increased private-sector involvement in health services. She was the founder of Canada's largest private non-emergency patient transfer service, Canadian Medical Response, and has chaired the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships.
Long active in politics of the Conservative Party and its predecessors, Finley first ran for public office herself in the 2004 federal election. She defeated Bob Speller, a Liberal cabinet minister, by 1,645 votes. After being re-elected in the 2006 election, she was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. An Order in Council transferred authority for Social Development Canada to her as well, and accordingly she served under the style Minister of Human Resources and Social Development. She was shuffled from the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada portfolio on January 4, 2007.
In her role as Immigration Minister, Diane Finley announced in 2008 that the government would not intervene if the courts denied the war resister Jeremy Hinzman's final request to remain in Canada.[2] Her statement came four months after a June 3, 2008 Parliament motion that passed 137 to 110 urging the government to grant asylum to U.S. military deserters from wars not sanctioned by United Nations, allowing them to remain in Canada as permanent residents instead of deporting them to face possible jail time.[3][4] Another war resister, Robin Long, was sentenced to 15 months in jail on Aug 22, 2008, a month before Finley’s statement.[5]
Finley introduced Bill C-17 in the fall of 2007 as a means of preventing foreign adult entertainment performers from entering the country.[6]
On October 14, 2008, Finley won as the Conservative Party candidate for Haldimand—Norfolk in the 2008 election and re-elected May 2, 2011 in the 2011 election with 50.9% of the vote in her electoral riding. After her election victory she resumed her former post as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development in the Conservative minority government, a post she continues to hold after the following election,[7] in which the Conservative Party claimed a majority "mandate" under the first-past-the-post election system, despite the fact that her party won only a plurality of 39.6 percent, not a majority, of the popular vote.[8]
[edit] Medical condition
In 2006, Finley announced that she has Graves' disease, a non-life-threatening thyroid condition which causes increased sensitivity to bright lights and forces her to wear tinted glasses.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Linda Diebel (2008-09-06). "Harper's 'political pit bull'". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/article/491926. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ Dalrymple, Tobin (2008-09-21). "War resister expects to be deported this week". Canwest News Service. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=6f16e1b6-ce9c-4045-a5ec-95469eb16c2f.
- ^ Report - Iraq War Resisters / Rapport - Opposants à la guerre en Irak
- ^ Smith, Joanna (2008-06-04). "MPs vote to give asylum to U.S. military deserters". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/436575.
- ^ Kyonka, Nick (2008-08-23). "Iraq war resister sentenced to 15 months". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/article/484115.
- ^ "Finley threatened over proposed stripper law". The Canadian Press. 2008-04-23. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080423/finley_threatened_080423/20080423?hub=Politics.
- ^ About Diane Finley, official page. Accessed 2012-01-19.
- ^ PM returns to Ottawa after majority win, CBC, May 4, 2011. Accessed 2012-01-19.
- ^ Immigration file a revolving door Toronto Star 2007-01-05, Phinjo Gombu
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Profile at Parliament of Canada
- Parliamentarian profile at ParlInfo
- Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca
- Voting history at How'd They Vote?
- Hansard: Diane Finley's announcement of her Graves' disease diagnosis
| 28th Ministry – Cabinet of Stephen Harper | ||
| Cabinet Posts (3) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Monte Solberg | Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development 2008– |
incumbent |
| Monte Solberg | Minister of Citizenship and Immigration 2007–2008 |
Jason Kenney |
| Belinda Stronach | Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development 2006–2007 styled as Minister of Human Resources and Social Development |
Monte Solberg |
|
|||||
.svg){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
- Canadian women Members of Parliament
- Conservative Party of Canada MPs
- Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Ontario
- Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
- People from Hamilton, Ontario
- University of Western Ontario alumni
- Women in Ontario politics
- People from Norfolk County, Ontario
- 1957 births
- Living people
