Canadian politician
Christine Susan Stewart
,
PC
(3 January 1941 ? 25 April 2015) was a
Canadian
politician.
[1]
She served three terms as a
Liberal Party
Member of Parliament for the riding of
Northumberland
in Ontario. During her career she held the cabinet positions of Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, and Minister of the Environment.
[2]
Early life and education
[
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]
Stewart earned a degree in
nursing
(BScN) from the
University of Toronto
.
[3]
Career
[
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]
Stewart practised nursing for a short time before becoming involved in international development work first as a volunteer with her husband in
Honduras
in 1971-72. She co-founded a non-government organization, Horizons of Friendship,
[3]
of which she was co-executive director until 1988. She raised her family of three children, served as a school board trustee and on several community church, social and arts bodies in
Cobourg, Ontario
.
She was first elected to the
House of Commons of Canada
as an Opposition member by a margin of 27 votes in
1988
,
[4]
following Conservative
George Hees
. During that term she was assigned the job of development assistance critic.
[5]
Stewart was elected twice more in
1993
and
1997
with substantive majorities
[6]
and served in the cabinet of prime minister
Jean Chretien
first as
Secretary of State
(Latin America and Africa) from 1993 to 1997, and then as
Minister of the Environment
from 1997 to 1999.
[7]
She announced her resignation from politics for personal reasons before the election of 2000.
As Secretary of State, Latin America and Africa,
[8]
she made official visits to most countries on those continents. For many of these countries, including some who had been receiving Canadian development assistance for years, it was the first visit by a
Canadian
minister.
As Minister of the Environment, Stewart headed the Canadian delegation to the Kyoto climate change negotiations and signed the
Kyoto Accord
on behalf of Canada.
[9]
[10]
She pushed for action on the Kyoto Accord, improvements in the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act
, the
Species at Risk Act
, and the
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
. However, she also fueled the fires of
climate change deniers
when, in 1998 she told editors and reporters of the
Calgary Herald
, "No matter if the science of global warming is all phony…climate change [provides] the greatest opportunity to bring about justice and equality in the world."
[11]
After leaving Canadian politics, Stewart acted as special envoy to
Cameroon
for the
Commonwealth Secretary General
until 2006 and continued her interest in addressing social issues in her community and work on good governance internationally.
[
citation needed
]
She died on 25 April 2015.
[12]
References
[
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]
- ^
Bejermi, John (1990).
Canadian Parliamentary Handbook
. 1990: Borealis Press.
ISBN
0-88887-902-4
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location (
link
)
- ^
"George Stromboulopoulos tonight: Christine Stewart"
.
CBC television
- ^
a
b
"Millennium summit - The Honourable Christine Stewart P.C"
. Archived from
the original
on 6 July 2011
. Retrieved
23 June
2010
.
- ^
Hill, Tony (2002).
Canadian Politics, Riding by Riding: An In-depth Analysis of Canada's 301 Federal Electoral Districts
. Prospect Park Press.
ISBN
0-9723436-0-1
.
- ^
David R. Morrison; North-South Institute (Ottawa, Ont.) (5 October 1998).
Aid and Ebb Tide: A History of CIDA and Canadian Development Assistance
. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. pp. 380, 564.
ISBN
978-0-88920-304-4
.
- ^
Tony L. Hill (2002).
Canadian Politics, Riding by Riding: An In-depth Analysis of Canada's 301 Federal Electoral Districts
. Prospect Park Press. p. 185.
ISBN
978-0-9723436-0-2
.
- ^
Christensen, Martin.
"Female Members of the Cabinet of Canada"
. Retrieved
23 June
2010
.
- ^
Peter McKenna (15 May 1995).
Canada and the OAS: From Dilettante to Full Partner
. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 3.
ISBN
978-0-88629-258-4
.
- ^
Wallace, Bruce; Danylo Hawaleshka (22 December 1997).
"Inside the Kyoto Deal"
.
Maclean's
. Retrieved
23 June
2010
.
- ^
Curry, Bill (8 March 2007).
"Dion did not support Kyoto efforts, former environment minister says"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Ottawa.
- ^
"The Week That Was December 14-20, 1998"
.
SEPP
- ^
"Former MP for Northumberland Christine Stewart dies"
. 26 Apr 2015, by Karen Longwell
Northumberland News
External links
[
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]