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Gord Johns

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Gord Johns
MP
Member of Parliament
for Courtenay—Alberni
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded byRiding Established
Tofino Town Councillor
In office
December 1, 2008 – December 5, 2011
Personal details
Born (1969-11-29) November 29, 1969 (age 54)[1]
Victoria, British Columbia
NationalityCanadian
Political partyNew Democratic Party
ResidencePort Alberni, British Columbia[2]

Gord Johns MP (born November 29, 1969) is a Canadian businessman and politician. Since 2015, he has served as the New Democrat Member of Parliament for the federal electoral riding of Courtenay—Alberni in the House of Commons of Canada. He previously served as a town councillor for Tofino, British Columbia and founded a number of small businesses.[3][4]

Early life

Johns was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. He is the son of Judy Johns and his adopted father, Frank Johns. Judy’s heritage traces back over a century on Vancouver Island. Frank is of Metis Cree descent.

Johns attended Mount Douglas Secondary School and was selected as valedictorian of the 1988 graduating class. He later attended Camosun College focusing on Pacific Rim studies, business and political science. Johns has also earned a professional certificate in community economic development from Simon Fraser University.[5]

Career

Johns began his career through a number of successful entrepreneur initiatives. Each of his business ventures balanced business growth with environmental and a strong social consciousness. His business ventures have included, Cedar Corner Art Gallery ( featuring art from Vancouver Island),[6] ecoeverything (Canada’s largest natural clothing retailer for over a decade specialized in sustainable products),[7] and Fiber Options, a bike rental business, in Tofino. He also served as the Project Manager for the West Coast Multiplex.[8]

Political life

Tofino Council

Johns first entered politics in 2008, when he was elected as a council member for the District of Tofino.[9] Out of a possible 513 votes, Johns received the highest number of votes with 389.[10] As a member of city council, Johns focused on improving and expanding community infrastructure for families and youth. This included developing hiking and cycling trail networks in the area and improving tsunami readiness along Tofino's shorelines.[11]

Tofino Chamber of Commerce

Johns decided not to seek a second term as a Tofino council member, choosing instead to focus on his businesses and his work as Executive Director of the Tofino–Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. Under his leadership, the Chamber grew its membership to 330 businesses, doubled its budget, and launched the highly successful Tofino Ambassador Program.[12] The Tofino Ambassador Program is a free program which seeks to expand community relations and teach residents and newcomers about West Vancouver Island’s history, ecology and business community.[13] For this program, and its other achievements, the Tofino Chamber of Commerce was awarded the BC Chamber of Commerce Chamber of the Year Honourable Mention in 2013.[14]

Member of Parliament Courtenay—Alberni

Johns returned to politics when he sought the NDP nomination for the newly formed riding of Courtenay—Alberni during the 2015 Canadian general election. On October 19, 2015, Johns defeated longtime conservative MP and cabinet minister John Duncan.[4]

He served as the Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs and is currently the Vice-Chair on the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. Since being elected in 2015,  Johns has served as NDP Critic for Small Business and Tourism, while also being appointed the NDP Critic for Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard. He served as NDP Critic for Veterans Affairs where he was able to pass a historic motion to restore lapsed funding for veterans that passed unanimously in the House of Commons. The passing of this motion made Johns the first MP since 1994 to have an item of private members’ business and an opposition motion pass unanimously in the same parliamentary session.[15]

He has also taken an active role in the parliamentary community as a co-chair of the All-Party Entrepreneur Caucus, vice-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Kurds and vice-chair of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association.[16][17][18]

Johns\ first piece of legislation was Bill C-312, a bill to adopt a national cycling strategy. The national cycling strategy seeks to create a federal framework to promote research, help create infrastructure projects to support and increase all types of cycling in Canada, including commuter, tourism and recreational cycling. The bill was introduced in the house on October 4, 2016, and was only able to pass its first reading.[19] In May 2017, Johns received Canada Bikes "Advocate of the Year" Award for his work.[20]

In November 2017, Johns introduced M-151, a motion to compel the federal government to work with provinces, municipalities, and Indigenous communities to develop a national strategy to combat plastic pollution. This initiative was inspired by John's personal work before his life in politics to advocate for business' to be more environmentally and socially conscious. M-151 was voted on December 22, 2018 and unanimously passed. The federal government announced on June 10, 2019 that it planned to introduce a national ban on single-use plastics by 2021, including plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates and stir sticks.[21] The passing of the motion also caused municipalities and provinces to act by implementing various plastics bans. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador both became the first provinces to ban plastic bags.[22] Two days before the federal announcement on banning single-use plastics, Tofino and Ucluelet officially became the first two municipalities in B.C. to implement bans on single-use plastic bags and plastic straws.[23]

Johns introduced his most recent piece of legislation during the 42nd Parliament on June 12, 2019 and presented M-245, a motion that would tackle seafood fraud and mislabelling in Canada.[24] Seafood mislabelling and fraud in Canada is a serious public health issue, with 44% of seafood in restaurants sampled across five Canadian cities by Oceana Canada being mislabelled.[25] The study showed that fish fraud had a negative effect on fishers and fish stocks, which found that 30% of the seafood samples were endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species. This misleads customers on what the health of the seafood they consume is and places the burden on how fishers are affecting the populations of at-risk species.

Personal life

Outside of his professional career, Johns actively volunteers, donating his time to a number of environmental and Indigenous initiatives. He helped found Tofino's Earth Week events, served as a Committee Tofino/Tla-o-qui-aht Higher Learning Initiative and served as a co-chair of the Pacific Rim Whale Festival Society.

Johns also led a number of local entrepreneurship and leadership projects while at the Tofino Chamber of Commerce. These included helping to found the West Coast Chapter of Leadership VI, “a community-focused leadership development program that provides members of Island communities with the professional training, coaching support, and hands-on learning opportunities they need to realize and grow their potential as individuals and global citizens” . Johns also helped to develop the Tofino Public Market, and helped found Tofino Housing Corporation, a private housing corporation owned by the District of Tofino with a mandate to “provide affordable and attainable housing to Tofino residents and employees.”

Electoral record

2019 Canadian federal election: Courtenay—Alberni
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Gord Johns 29,790 41.2
Conservative Byron Horner 23,936 33.1
Green Sean Wood 9,762 13.5
Liberal Jonah Baden Gowans 8,620 11.9
Marxist–Leninist Barbara Biley 172 0.2
Total valid votes/Expense limit 72,280 100.0
Total rejected ballots 359
Turnout 72,639 72.3
Eligible voters 100,510
Source: Elections Canada[26][27]
2015 Canadian federal election: Courtenay—Alberni
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Gord Johns 26,582 38.06 -2.66 $124,072.44
Conservative John Duncan 19,714 28.22 -16.66 $92,251.34
Liberal Carrie Powell-Davidson 15,212 21.78 +15.06 $32,002.88
Green Glenn Sollitt 8,201 11.74 +4.89 $124,891.17
Marxist–Leninist Barbara Biley 140 0.20 – –
Total valid votes/expense limit 69,849 99.74   $231,958.67
Total rejected ballots 185 0.26 –
Turnout 70,034 75.90 –
Eligible voters 92,266
New Democratic notional gain from Conservative Swing -7.00
This riding was created from Nanaimo—Alberni and Vancouver Island North, both of which elected a Conservative candidate in the last election. John Duncan was the incumbent from Vancouver Island North.
Source: Elections Canada[28][29][30]

References

  1. ^ "JOHNS, Gord". Parlinfo. Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  3. ^ "NDP chooses Gord Johns as candidate in Courtenay-Alberni". COMOX VALLEY ECHO. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b Azpiri, Jon. "NDP's Gord Johns win in Courtenay-Alberni". Global News. Shaw Media. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Meet our Alumni - Community Economic Development - Simon Fraser University". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  6. ^ Lederman, Marsha (August 22, 2008). "B.C. gallery offers reward for return of stolen carving". The Globe and Mail. p. A5.
  7. ^ Ecoeverything (2010-11-12). "ecoeverything: Nothing without you... The end of Ecoeverything". ecoeverything. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  8. ^ https://www.westerlynews.ca/news/mp-gord-johns-says-tofino-and-ucluelet-still-support-multiplex/
  9. ^ http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/ndp-chooses-gord-johns-as-candidate-in-courtenay-alberni-1.1433682
  10. ^ "Tofino - Document Center". tofino.civicweb.net. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  11. ^ https://tofino.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/22157?preview=9775
  12. ^ https://issuu.com/tofino-ucluelet-westerly/docs/uclwed20140910
  13. ^ http://www.tofinochamber.org/discover-tofino-1/
  14. ^ http://www.bcchamber.org/advocacy-news/bc-chamber-year-awards-announced
  15. ^ "Vote Details". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  16. ^ http://www.theasianconnectionsnewspaper.com/all-party-entrepreneur-caucus-hosts-successful-inaugrual-meeting/
  17. ^ http://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members/Gord-Johns(89263)/CurrentRoles
  18. ^ http://www.tomkmiec.ca/parliamentary_friends_of_the_kurds_inaugurated
  19. ^ http://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=e&Mode=1&billId=8406543
  20. ^ https://twitter.com/Canada_Bikes/status/870376937176387589
  21. ^ "Canada to ban harmful single-use plastics and hold companies responsible for plastic waste". Prime Minister of Canada. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  22. ^ Sciarpelletti, Laura (June 11, 2019). "Tofino and Ucluelet become 1st B.C. municipalities to ban plastic straws, single-use bags". CBC. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  23. ^ "Newfoundland and Labrador to become 2nd province to ban plastic bags | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  24. ^ "Gord Johns - Motions - Ourcommons".
  25. ^ "Executive Summary". Oceana Canada. 2018-08-27. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  26. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  28. ^ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Courtenay—Alberni, 30 September 2015
  29. ^ Official Voting Results - Courtenay—Alberni
  30. ^ "Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates". Archived from the original on August 15, 2015.
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