Libby Davies

Libby Davies MP
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
Incumbent
Assumed office 1997
Preceded by	Anna Terrana
Personal details
Born	February 27, 1953 (1953-02-27) Aldershot, England
Political party	NDP
Spouse(s)	Bruce Eriksen (common-law?; deceased 1997) Kimberly Elliott (partner)
Residence	Vancouver, British Columbia
Profession	Human Resources Coordinator
Portfolio	Health

Libby Davies (born February 27, 1953) is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party (NDP), representing the riding of Vancouver East in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2007, she was named Deputy Leader of the federal NDP, jointly with Thomas Mulcair.

Background

Davies was born in Aldershot, England and emigrated to British Columbia in 1968 with her family. Before being elected to Parliament, she participated in many grass-roots political organizations in Vancouver, specifically in the Downtown Eastside area. She dropped out of university to help Bruce Eriksen found the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA), an influential low-income housing advocacy group. She was instrumental in a campaign to save the Carnegie building which was later converted into a community centre serving low-income adults.

For 24 years Davies lived in a common law relationship with Vancouver city councilor Bruce Eriksen, who died of cancer in 1997. They had one son, Lief.

Political career

Davies was elected to Vancouver City Council as a member of the Coalition of Progressive Electors in 1982 and re-elected in 1984, 1986, 1988, and 1990. She ran for Mayor of Vancouver in 1993, losing to Philip Owen. She was first elected to parliament in 1997 and re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2008 and 2011. For the federal NDP she is currently both the House Leader and the spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness and Multiculturalism. In parliament she has been a strong supporter of drug policy reform, specifically to halt the criminalization of drug users.

In 2005, during the parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage in Canada, Conservative MP Jason Kenney cited Davies' prior relationship with Eriksen as proof that marriage law doesn't discriminate against LGBT individuals, since a gay person can marry a member of the opposite sex. Davies, who was never formally married to Eriksen, joined other commentators in criticizing Kenney for playing politics with other parliamentarians' personal lives.

In December 2007, Davies received the Justice Gerald Le Dain Award for Achievement in the Field of Law. She was recognized for her "outstanding drug policy reform work" at the 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation.

On June 5, 2010, Davies gave an interview in which she suggested that Israel has been occupied territory since 1948. She was criticized for her comments the next day in an Ottawa Citizen editorial. She responded to these criticisms in a letter to the Citizen which can be viewed on Davies' website. On June 15 Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Foreign Affairs critic Bob Rae echoed the criticisms in the Citizen and demanded her resignation. NDP Leader Jack Layton defended his deputy leader, but described Davies' statement as a "serious mistake" and called the Israeli ambassador to clarify the NDP's policy.

In 2011, it was announced that Davies would serve as Health Critic for the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, while continuing to serve in her role as Deputy Leader of the NDP.

On September 22, 2011, Davies declined her candidacy as the next Leader of the New Democrats, citing her inability to speak French, as a factor.

External links

• Libby Davies official website
• Hansard – Debate in which Davies came out
• How'd They Vote?: Libby Davies' voting history and quotes
• Parliament Webpage