Reg Alcock
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| Born | April 16, 1948 Winnipeg<tr><th>Residence</th><td>Winnipeg</td></tr><tr><th>Political party</th> <td> Liberal </td></tr><tr><th>Profession(s)</th><td>Businessman, consultant, politician</td></tr><tr><th>Spouse</th><td>Karen Arras</td></tr> |
|---|
Reginald B. Alcock, PC, BA, MPA (born April 16, 1948) is a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Winnipeg South in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2006, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister Paul Martin. Alcock is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.
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[edit] Early life and career
Alcock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Simon Fraser University and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University. He was the director of Manitoba Child and Family Services from 1983 to 1985, and in this capacity spearheaded an effort to rewrite the province's child protection legislation. As a result of his efforts, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to introduce official protocols to deal with instances of child sex abuse.<ref>Reg Alcock, official biographical sketch, 2006 campaign material.</ref> Alcock has also been active with the Harvard Policy Group, which studies the effects of Information Technology on the public sector. He began his political career at the provincial level, working as an organizer for the Manitoba Liberal Party in the early 1980s.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Doer, Alcock crusaders again", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 April 2005, A7.</ref>
Alcock was elected for the Winnipeg constituency of Osborne in the 1988 provincial election, in which the Manitoba Liberal Party rose from one seat to twenty under the leadership of Sharon Carstairs. He subsequently worked as campaign manager for high-profile Liberal incumbent Lloyd Axworthy in the 1988 federal election.<ref>Derek Ferguson, "Liberal gains no fluke", Toronto Star, 23 November 1988, A21.</ref> Alcock served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as Official Opposition house leader and finance critic, and was re-elected in the 1990 provincial election despite a vote shift against his party. He endorsed Jean Chrétien's bid to lead the federal Liberal Party in 1990,<ref>Paul Samyn, "Alcock wants PM to retire early", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 December 2002.</ref> and declared his own intention to enter federal politics in 1992.<ref>John Dafoe, "Post-referendum populism turns into lassitude in the West", Globe and Mail, 21 November 1992, D2.</ref>
Alcock won the Liberal nomination for Winnipeg South in early 1993, defeating rival candidate Linda Asper by only five votes on the third ballot.<ref>Jim Carr, "Ready for a fight", Winnipeg Free Press, 25 March 1993, Editorial. Asper later attempted to challenge the results, and subsequently left the Liberal Party.</ref> He won a convincing victory over incumbent Progressive Conservative MP Dorothy Dobbie in the 1993 federal election, and entered parliament as a government backbencher.
[edit] Government backbencher
Alcock soon developed a reputation as one of the most technologically savvy members of parliament. In 1994, he became the first MP to electronically coordinate his parliamentary office from his riding instead of relying on permanent staff in Ottawa.<ref>John Douglas, "MP is wired for politics", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 May 1994, City Page. Reform Party MP Stephen Harper observed that many in his party were trying to adapt similar systems.</ref> The following year, he became the first Canadian MP to launch an official website.<ref>"Manitoba lawmaker enters cyberspace", Associated Press Political Service, 19 April 1995.</ref> He was appointed to the standing committee on foreign affairs and international trade in 1995,<ref>"Alcock named to powerful panel Staff", Winnipeg Free Press, 9 February 1995, Canadian Wire Stories.</ref> and was named chair of the standing committee on transport in 1997.<ref>Dan Lett, "Two Winnipeg Liberal MPs move up power structure", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 1996, A5.</ref>
The Chrétien government called a new federal election in the summer of 1997, only three-and-a-half years into a five-year mandate. The election timing was controversial in Manitoba, as it coincided with significant flooding from the Red River into Winnipeg. Alcock, along with other Manitoba Liberal MPs, requested a delay until the flooding was under control.<ref>Dan Lett, "MPs want vote delayed", Winnipeg Free Press, 15 April 1997.</ref> When Chrétien called the election anyway, Alcock transformed his campaign office into a volunteer relief centre.<ref>Bud Robertson, "Politicians unite against flood", Winnipeg Free Press, 29 April 1997, A7.
</ref> He was personally involved in sandbagging and evacuation efforts, and did not actively campaign for the first period of the election. He was nonetheless returned by a significant margin.<ref>Tim Harper, "McDonough says election call 'insensitive'", Toronto Star, 29 April 1997, A11.</ref> From 1998 to 2000, he served as parliamentary secretary to the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. In 1998, Alcock brought forward a private member's bill to overturn Louis Riel's conviction for high treason and recognize him as a Father of Confederation.<ref>Paul Samyn, "MPs eye clean slate for Riel", Winnipeg Free Press, 17 March 1998, A1.</ref>
There were frequent rumours that Alcock would be appointed to the Chrétien cabinet, but he was passed over on more than one occasion. His professional relationship with Chrétien deteriorated after 2000, and in 2002 he became the primary Manitoba organizer for Paul Martin's bid to replace Chrétien as party leader.<ref>"Winnipeg voters love Martin", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 June 2002, A1.</ref> Later in the same year, he became one of the first Liberal MPs to openly call for Chrétien's resignation.<ref>Anne Dawson, "16 Liberal MPs willing to declare PM should resign", National Post, 25 July 2002, A01.</ref> Alcock increased his public profile in 2003, after chairing a committee which forced privacy commissioner George Radwanski to resign from office after revelations of extremely lax spending habits in Radwanski's office.<ref>"Radwanski quits under pressure", Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 24 June 2003, A1.</ref>
[edit] Cabinet minister
When Paul Martin became Prime Minister of Canada on December 12, 2003, Alcock was appointed to cabinet as President of the Treasury Board, Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, and political minister responsible for Manitoba. He was also named to the government's priorities and planning committee (described as the "inner circle" of cabinet)<ref>"New PM names 15 to inner circle", National Post, 13 December 2003, A4.</ref> and was appointed chair of a cabinet committee which conducted a comprehensive review of government spending.<ref>Darren Yourk, "Ottawa freezes capital spending", globeandmail.com, 16 December 2003, Breaking News.</ref>
[edit] Policy
As president of the Treasury Board, Alcock was responsible for overseeing the Canadian civil service and the spending details of government agencies. He also played a prominent role in coordinating the Martin government's response to the federal sponsorship scandal, in which some public monies were misappropriated by bureaucrats and advertising agents in Quebec with ties to the Liberal Party.<ref>"Tory hopes to slay Grit giant", Winnipeg Free Press, 12 June 2004, A13.</ref> Alcock announced a new appointment process for crown corporation executives in 2004,<ref>"President of the Treasury Board Announces New Appointment Process", Canada NewsWire, 15 March 2004, 13:45 report.</ref> and the following year issued a new policy of management control for government agencies. He argued that these reforms would prevent similar scandals from occurring in the future.<ref>Campbell Clark, "Liberals to unveil new bureaucratic controls", Globe and Mail, 26 October 2005, A4.</ref> One of his more notable initiatives was the establishment of a Chief Audit Executive for each government department and agency.<ref>Peter Larson, "Gomery: The cure may be worse than the disease", Toronto Star, 14 November 2005, A17.</ref>
Alcock brought forward a total of 158 separate reforms for the public service in late 2005, and promised that another eighty would follow. Critics considered this to be excessive, and some suggested that Alcock was micro-managing his department.<ref>"Harper hints at easing up on rules", Hamilton Spectator, 24 March 2006, A17.</ref>
Alcock also released a comprehensive proposal for reforming Canada's regulatory system in March 2005. He argued that his reforms would reduce delays for patent drug approval, and avoid the duplication of existing foreign research without compromising safety standards.<ref>Paul Vieira, "Alcock aims to put new rules into regulation", National Post, 26 March 2005, FP3.</ref> Critics of the plan suggested that it could jeopardize Canadian sovereignty, and lead to the adoption of American regulatory standards.<ref>"Loss of sovereignty feared over 'smart regulation'", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 March 2005, A10.</ref>
In February 2004, a national newspaper identified Alcock as a leading cabinet supporter of private-public partnerships.<ref>Bill Curry, "Liberals building a case for privatizing", National Post, 9 February 2004, A1.</ref>
[edit] Other
In early 2005, Alcock publicly criticized his government's position against the legalization of marijuana. He argued that legalization and government oversight would be an improvement over the current system, and said "If we actually wanted to break the back of organized crime, we would be better off to control it. When you have these things underground, what you end up fuelling is organized crime."<ref>"Alcock at odds with party over pot", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 March 2005, B4.</ref>
He became involved in a minor controversy in May 2005, after Manitoba Conservative MP Inky Mark alleged that the Liberal government had tried to bribe him a patronage appointment. Alcock categorically denied that any such offer was made, and joked that his party would likely go "a little higher up in the gene pool" if it had such intentions. Mark initially dismissed the insult, but later held a press conference to denounce it as racist, interpreting the "gene pool" comment as referring to the fact that he is Chinese-Canadian. Alcock responded by saying, "I did make the comment and he has chosen to interpret it as a racial or an ethnic slur. I wrote him a letter apologizing for that. There was no implication of that sort".<ref>Allison Dunfield, "Alcock apologizes to Tories", Globe and Mail, 5 May 2005, Front Page, and Gloria Galloway, "Honourable members hurl racial slurs, gibes and a lawsuit", Globe and Mail, 6 May 2005, A4.</ref> The controversy soon disappeared.
[edit] 2006 election
Alcock was unexpectedly defeated in the 2006 federal election, losing to Conservative Rod Bruinooge by just over 100 votes in Winnipeg South. He took personal responsibility for the loss, and acknowledged that campaigning for other Liberal candidates damaged his own prospects for re-election.<ref> "Alcock unseated by Conservative in Winnipeg South", CBC News, 3:10 Report, 24 January 2006.</ref> One of Alcock's final acts in office was to approve a payment of up to $40,000 to assist Jean Pelletier with legal fees in a court challenge against the Gomery Commission. Representatives of other parties criticized this payment, though Pelletier's lawyer argued that it followed a long-standing government policy for high-ranking functionaries in judicial proceedings.<ref>Tu Thanh Ha, "Treasury Board to review legal-fees offer to Pelletier", Globe and Mail, 26 April 2006, A10.</ref>
In March 2006, Alcock announced that he would support Belinda Stronach if she entered the campaign to succeed Paul Martin as Liberal leader.<ref>"Stronach gets veteran's support for an undeclared leadership bid", National Post, 4 March 2006, A6.</ref> Stronach announced in early April that she would not be a candidate. Several of members of Alcock's political organization later worked on the campaign of Ken Dryden.<ref>Paul Samyn, "Dryden's team trails in score", Winnipeg Free Press, 8 October 2006, A1.</ref>
[edit] Trivia
- In September 2005, Alcock donated an original painting entitled, "The view from my seat in the House of Commons, May 19, 6:10 p.m.", to a charity auction in Winnipeg. The work, a parody of Edvard Munch's The Scream, depicted Alcock's impression of the opposition Conservative caucus moments after the Liberals won a crucial confidence vote that could have forced early elections. Alcock acknowledged the painting was mostly traced. It sold for $2,200.<ref>Jane Taber, "Alcock rises to the artistic challenge", Globe and Mail, 1 October 2005, A4.</ref>
- Alcock suffered weight-related health problems during his political career, once weighing in at 430 pounds. Facing the prospect of severe diabetes, he was ordered to lose almost half of his body weight. He was down to 310 pounds at the time of the 2006 election and set a target weight of 240 pounds for the upcoming months.<ref>John Ivison, "Losing the election was 'my own damn fault'", National Post, 26 January 2006, online edition.</ref>
[edit] Table of offices held
| 27th Ministry - Government of Paul Martin | ||
| Cabinet Post | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Lucienne Robillard | President of the Treasury Board (2003—2006) | John Baird |
| Special Cabinet Responsibilities | ||
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
| Ralph Goodale | Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board (2003—2006) | Chuck Strahl |
| Preceded by: Dorothy Dobbie | Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South 1993-2006 | Succeeded by: Rod Bruinooge |
| Preceded by: Muriel Smith | Member of the Manitoba Legislature for Osborne 1988-1993 | Succeeded by: Norma McCormick |
[edit] External links
- How'd They Vote?: Reg Alcock's voting history and quotes
- Federal Political Biography from the Library of Parliament
[edit] Electoral record
| 2006 federal election : Winnipeg South edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Conservative | Rod Bruinooge | 17,328 | 41.42 | $68,461.08 | ||
| Liberal | (x)Reg Alcock | 17,217 | 41.15 | $57,453.38 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Robert Page | 5,743 | 13.73 | $1,973.24 | ||
| Green | Wesley Owen Whiteside | 1,289 | 3.08 | |||
| Christian Heritage | Heidi Loewen-Steffano | 259 | 0.62 | $503.33 | ||
| Total valid votes | 41,836 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 111 | |||||
| Turnout | 41,947 | 70.39 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 59,594 | |||||
| 2004 federal election : Winnipeg South edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Liberal | (x)Reg Alcock | 19,270 | 51.31 | $63,885.73 | ||
| Conservative | Rod Bruinooge | 12,770 | 34.00 | $67,207.73 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Catherine Green | 4,217 | 11.23 | $6,919.66 | ||
| Green | Ron Cameron | 1,003 | 2.67 | $702.79 | ||
| Christian Heritage | Jane MacDiarmid | 296 | 0.79 | $4,202.05 | ||
| Total valid votes | 37,556 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 110 | |||||
| Turnout | 37,666 | 63.23 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 59,572 | |||||
| 2000 federal election : Winnipeg South edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Liberal | (x)Reg Alcock | 21,433 | 50.94 | $61,348.98 | ||
| Canadian Alliance | Bill Hancock | 12,638 | 30.04 | $32,684.49 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Duane Nicol | 4,224 | 10.04 | $2,006.24 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Geoffrey Lambert | 3,599 | 8.55 | $4,149.75 | ||
| Independent | Didz Zuzens | 183 | 0.43 | $355.12 | ||
| Total valid votes | 42,077 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 145 | |||||
| Turnout | 42,222 | 66.43 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 63,562 | |||||
| 1997 federal election : Winnipeg South edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures | ||
| Liberal | (x)Reg Alcock | 18,800 | 49.57 | $53,378 | ||
| Reform | Greg Yost | 7,510 | 19.80 | $35,545 | ||
| Progressive Conservative | Bill Mackness | 6,547 | 17.26 | $38,748 | ||
| New Democratic Party | Iris Taylor | 4,629 | 12.21 | $3,062 | ||
| Ind. (Rhinoceros) | M. Rhino Olito | 191 | 0.50 | $0 | ||
| Natural Law | Larry Decter | 153 | 0.40 | $582 | ||
| Marxist-Leninist | Diane Zack | 94 | 0.25 | $11 | ||
| Total valid votes | 37,924 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 252 | |||||
| Turnout | 38,176 | 67.37 | ||||
| Electors on the lists | 56,670 | |||||
| 1993 federal election : Winnipeg South edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
| Liberal | Reg Alcock | 25,950 | 49.60 | |||
| Reform | Mark Hughes | 14,822 | 28.33 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | (x)Dorothy Dobbie | 6,432 | 12.29 | |||
| National | Shirley Loewen | 2,512 | 4.80 | |||
| New Democratic Party | Rose Buss | 2,180 | 4.17 | |||
| Natural Law | Richard Lepinsky | 197 | 0.38 | |||
| Ind. (Rhinoceros) | Mike Olito | 113 | 0.22 | |||
| Marxist-Leninist | Rubin Kantorovich | 68 | 0.13 | |||
| Canada Party | Bill Martens | 44 | 0.08 | |||
| Total valid votes | 52,318 | 100.00 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 214 | |||||
| Turnout | 52,532 | 72.35 | ||||
| Electors on lists | 72,611 | |||||
| 1990 Manitoba provincial election : Osborne edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
| Liberal | (x)Reg Alcock | 3,941 | 40.21 | |||
| New Democratic Party | Donald Bailey | 2,861 | 29.19 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Sondra Braid | 2,859 | 29.17 | |||
| Libertarian | Jim Weidman | 139 | 1.42 | |||
| Total valid votes | 9,800 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 41 | |||||
| Turnout | 9,841 | 71.64 | ||||
| Registered voters | 13,737 | |||||
| 1988 Manitoba provincial election : Osborne edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
| Liberal | Reg Alcock | 4,334 | 44.90 | |||
| New Democratic Party | (x)Muriel Smith | 2,753 | 28.52 | |||
| Progressive Conservative | Rosemary Vodrey | 2,421 | 25.08 | |||
| Libertarian | Clancy Smith | 145 | 1.50 | |||
| Total valid votes | 9,653 | 100.00 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 38 | |||||
| Turnout | 9,691 | 78.85 | ||||
| Registered voters | 12,291 | |||||
All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada and Elections Manitoba. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.
[edit] Footnotes
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