Joyce Bateman

Joyce Bateman
Bateman in 2018
Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre
In office May 2, 2011 – October 19, 2015
Preceded by	Anita Neville
Succeeded by	Jim Carr
Personal details
Born	1957 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party	Liberal (to 2009) Conservative (2011-present)
Residence(s)	Winnipeg, Manitoba
Profession	Accountant

Joyce Bateman is a Canadian politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Winnipeg South Centre from 2011 to 2015.

Early and personal life

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba Joyce Bateman was very involved in the musical community. After training four summers at the Banff School of Fine Arts, she went to study at the University of Western Ontario under Ralph Aldrich. She put herself through university there by playing Viola in the London Symphony Orchestra and received her HBA from the Ivey School of Business.

After Business School, Bateman articled with Price Waterhouse in Winnipeg and has worked and lived in Winnipeg ever since. She met Darrell Hancock while at Price Waterhouse. Hancock and Bateman are married and have two children.

Joyce Bateman is a Chartered Accountant. Prior to her election to Parliament, Bateman was a trustee on the Winnipeg School Board. First elected to the Winnipeg School Board in 2001, she served two terms as chairperson, and one term as vice-chairperson. She was formerly a member of the federal Liberal party, although her party membership lapsed in 2009. In 2011, she said that she opted to run as a Conservative due to misgivings over the fiscal policies of the Liberal Party, which she described as "reckless."

Federal politics

Joyce Bateman successfully ran for School Trustee in 2001. As Chair of the Board of Trustees, her fiscal prudence enabled the full reinstatement of the Nursery Program in 2005 for the Winnipeg School Division. It had been cut by the Board in 1998 before Bateman was elected.

Bateman successfully ran for School Trustee with no political affiliation. In late 2003, she purchased a membership, under the Paul Martin push, in the Liberal Party of Canada. She left that party in 2009.

In 2011, given her four-time successful electoral record (2001, 2002, 2006 and 2010), Bateman was sought out by the Conservative Party of Canada to run in Winnipeg South Centre. She was successful.

While serving in Parliament there was a serious problem with a rail crossing in her riding. As a result, she introduced a Private Members’ Bill on Rail Safety which makes every rail crossing throughout Canada safer. It is a testament to her ability to find consensus, and to work effectively with all political parties, that her Bill C-627 was unanimously supported by all members of both the House of Commons and the Senate and received both the support of the Industry and the Teamsters' Union. It received Royal Assent in June 2015.

During the 2015 federal election, Bateman participated in a debate on the economy held by Jewish advocate group B'nai Brith and was booed when she read off a list of Liberal candidates who had allegedly made statements contrary to the interests of the State of Israel. The list included Andrew Leslie, a retired Lieutenant General who led Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Bateman refused to apologize afterwards, saying that she was "proud to be part of a party that stands firmly with Israel."

Bateman lost her bid for reelection in 2015 to former Liberal provincial MLA Jim Carr.

External links

• Official website
• Joyce Bateman – Parliament of Canada biography