Claire Trevena - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Claire Trevena is the current MLA

Member of the Legislative Assembly

A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....

for North Island

North Island (provincial electoral district)

North Island is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.- Demographics :- Member of Legislative Assembly :Its MLA is Claire Trevena. She was first elected in 2005, and was re-elected in 2009...

in the Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

province of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. She was first elected to the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

in the 2005 election

British Columbia general election, 2005

The 38th British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia , Canada. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...

and re-elected in the 2009 election

British Columbia general election, 2009

The 39th British Columbia general election was held on May 12, 2009 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The BC Liberal Party formed the government of the province prior to this general election under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell...

. She is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. In the 38th Parliament of British Columbia

38th Parliament of British Columbia

The 38th Parliament of British Columbia sat from 2005 to 2009, replacing the 37th parliament and being succeeded by the 39th parliament. It was composed of two elements, Her Majesty The Queen represented in her absence by the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, currently the Hon...

, she sat on the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture and the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, as well as serving as the opposition critic on the Employment and Income Assistance ministry, followed by the critic on child care, early childhood development, and women's issues. In the 39th Parliament

39th Parliament of British Columbia

The 39th Parliament of British Columbia is the current Parliament of British Columbia and composes of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as elected by the general election of May 12, 2009, and Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point...

she was selected as a deputy speaker.

Originally from England, Trevena has a background in journalism having worked as a Canadian correspondent for British media. After she immigrated, she worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

and then as a public information officer for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...

. After moving to British Columbia with her husband, she started her own business specializing communication strategies. She unsuccessfully filed a complaint with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal

British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal is a quasi-judicial human rights body in British Columbia, Canada. It was established under the British Columbia Human Rights Code...

after being fired from a job because of her political affiliation. She was a strong advocate of renovations to the hospitals in Campbell River

Campbell River, British Columbia

Campbell River is a coastal city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the important coastal Inside Passage shipping route...

and Comox

Comox, British Columbia

Comox is a town of 12,000 people located on a small peninsula in the Georgia Strait on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil and abundant sea life attracted First Nations thousands of years ago, who called the area kw’umuxws...

, opposing the health authority's plans to replace them with a new regional hospital near Courtenay

Courtenay, British Columbia

Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and it is the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District...

. In November 2010, Trevena was one of thirteen party members to ask for a leadership convention, leading to the resignation of Carole James

Carole James

Carole Alison James, MLA is a Canadian politician and former public administrator. She is the former Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia and former leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party , a social democratic political party...

and the
BC NDP leadership election

British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership election, 2011

The British Columbia New Democratic Party leadership convention of 2011 was prompted by Carole James's announcement on December 6, 2010 that she would be resigning as leader of the party...

Background

Trevena was raised in a town in Northern England

Northern England

Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...

. She worked as an editor for the BBC World Service

BBC World Service

The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

and came to Canada as a Canadian correspondent for the BBC and other British media outlets. She eventually went to work for CBC Newsworld International in Toronto and became a Canadian citizen. At the same time, in the late-1990s, she worked for a strategic communications

Strategic Communication

Strategic Communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using international telecommunications or dedicated global...

firm. Between 1999 and 2004, she was involved with the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

as a public information officer for their missions in the Balkans. In 2003, she was awarded a Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal

Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal

The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal is a campaign medal created in 1988 to recognize the contributions of all Canadian Peacekeepers towards the ultimate goal of peace, after the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations was awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize.-History:In 1988, the...

(Civilian) for her efforts in Macedonia.

With her husband, Mike McIvor, she moved to British Columbia and settled on Quadra Island

Quadra Island

Quadra Island is an island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, part of the Discovery Islands. It is separated from Vancouver Island by Discovery Passage, and from Cortes Island by Sutil Channel...

where they started their own business, Start Communicating Strategies. She was hired in 2003 by the BC government as the communications director of the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform

Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform (British Columbia)

The Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform is a group created by the government of British Columbia, Canada to investigate changes to the provincial electoral system...

. When the assembly chair discovered she had joined the Green Party of British Columbia

Green Party of British Columbia

The Green Party of British Columbia is a political party in British Columbia, Canada. It is led by former Esquimalt municipal councillor, university professor and businessperson Jane Sterk, she was elected by the party in 2007. Penticton realtor and columnist Julius Bloomfield serves as the deputy...

she was fired on the belief, as a party member, she would not be able to perform with the political neutrality the job demanded. Trevena filed a complaint with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal

British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal is a quasi-judicial human rights body in British Columbia, Canada. It was established under the British Columbia Human Rights Code...

claiming she was being discriminated against due to her political beliefs. In April 2004, the tribunal sided in favour of Citizens' Assembly.

In September 2004, with the British Columbia New Democratic Party starting their nomination process for the up-coming provincial elections, Trevena put her name forward as a candidate. Brian Giles (a former assistant to Attorney General of British Columbia

Attorney General of British Columbia

The Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia is a provincial government department responsible for the oversight of the justice system within the province of British Columbia, Canada...

Colin Gabelmann) and Comox-Strathcona Regional District director Brenda Leigh were also nominated. Giles withdrew in February 2005 and Gabelmann endorsed Trevena. Leigh, a Campbell River

Campbell River, British Columbia

citizen, was endorsed by former-MLA Glenn Robertson

Glenn Robertson

Glenn Robertson is a former Canadian politician, who served as a New Democratic Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1996 to 2001, representing the riding of North Island.-References:...

and focused her campaign in the urban areas and with labour organizations. Trevena campaigned more in the rural areas and with environmental groups. She won the nomination with 53% of the vote. Shortly afterwards, campaigning for the 38th Provincial General Election

British Columbia general election, 2005

began where she faced the incumbent MLA BC Liberal Party

British Columbia Liberal Party

The British Columbia Liberal Party is the governing political party in British Columbia, Canada. First elected for government in 1916, the party went into decline after 1952, with its rump caucus merging with the Social Credit Party for the 1975 election...

Rod Visser

Rod Visser is a former Canadian politician, who served as a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2001 to 2005, representing the riding of North Island.-External links:*...

, Discovery Islander publisher and Green Party candidate Philip Stone, Democratic Reform BC

Democratic Reform British Columbia

Democratic Reform British Columbia is a progressive–centrist political party in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.-Formation of the party:...

and Port McNeill

Port McNeill, British Columbia

Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 2,623 . Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait, it was originally a base camp for loggers, Port McNeill became a settlement in 1936...

town councillor Dan Cooper, and Independent candidate and Campbell River logger Lorne Scott. Trevena won the North Island

North Island (provincial electoral district)

riding in the May 17 election, with 45% of the vote, with her victory being attributed to a strong grassroots campaign that focused on the islands and rural areas, while her main opponent, Vissar, won majorities in Campbell River

Campbell River, British Columbia

, Port Hardy

Port Hardy, British Columbia

Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 3822 at last census...

and Port McNeill

Port McNeill, British Columbia

38th Parliament

In the 38th Parliament of British Columbia

38th Parliament of British Columbia

the BC NDP, with Trevena, formed the Official Opposition. She was selected for the bi-partisan Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture to deliver recommendations on the development of fish farms in BC. NDP leader Carole James

Carole James

assigned Trevena to be the official critic to the Employment and Income Assistance ministry, headed by BC Liberal Claude Richmond

Claude Richmond

Claude Richmond is a former BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Canadian province of British Columbia. He represented the riding of Kamloops from 1981 to 1991 and from 2001 to 2009....

. She supported the 2005 review of welfare rates in which she advocated for earning exemptions and opposed the ministry providing welfare recipients with "free socks, T-shirts and travel mugs" in exchange for authorizing direct deposits of welfare cheques into a bank account. She chastised Richmond after an internal survey of ministry employees reported very morale and revealed he was ignoring staff recommendations. On local issues, Trevena lobbied the government to intervene in the bankruptcy of a Port Alice pulp mill. While the mill was 87 years old at the time and required equipment upgrades and environmental remediation, it also comprised 80% of Port Alice

Port Alice, British Columbia

Port Alice is a small, quiet, town of approx. 821 located off on Neroutsos Inlet, northwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural beauty, pulp mill, and salt water fishing.-History:It was named...

's tax base and was one of only a few mills in the world that produced specialty products using dissolving sulphite pulp

Sulfite process

The sulfite process produces wood pulp which is almost pure cellulose fibers by using various salts of sulfurous acid to extract the lignin from wood chips in large pressure vessels called digesters. The salts used in the pulping process are either sulfites , or bisulfites , depending on the pH...

; the province eventually directed $800,000 to Port Alice to cover the loss of the 2005 property taxes, facilitated the sale of the mill to a Swiss investment company for $1, and provided $7.5 million for site remediation. When another mill was facing closure (Elk Falls sawmill in February 2008), Minister of Forests Rich Coleman

Rich Coleman

Rich Coleman is British Columbia's Minister of Energy and Mines, minister responsible for Housing and MLA for the riding of Fort Langley-Aldergrove...

declined to offer provincial assistance but recognized Trevena for her efforts helping keep the Port Alice mill open. Trevena backed the creation of the North Coast Trail

North Coast Trail

The North Coast Trail is a 43.1 km wilderness hiking trail in Cape Scott Provincial Park on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.- The Trail :...

through Cape Scott Provincial Park

Cape Scott Provincial Park

Cape Scott Provincial Park is a provincial park located at the cape of the same name, which is the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. First established in 1973 with c. of area, later boundary revisions form an area of 22,290 ha...

, but opposed efforts at developing private accommodations in the park. During the debate over whether the Vancouver Island Health Authority

Vancouver Island Health Authority

Vancouver Island Health Authority is the publicly-funded health care provider in an area in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The region includes the communities of:* Vancouver Island* Gulf Islands* Johnstone Strait* Central Coast...

should build a new hospital or renovate existing facilities in Campbell River and Comox

Comox, British Columbia

, Trevena campaigned in support of renovating the existing hospitals. When the Health Authority chose to build a new $306-million, 230-bed facility near Courtenay

Courtenay, British Columbia

instead, Trevena lobbied Minister of Health George Abbott

George Abbott (politician)

George Abbott is a BC Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. He represents the riding of Shuswap, which he has held since 1996...

not to approve the decision, and continued to publicly campaign in support of the renovations. She delivered an 18,775 signature petition to the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....

requesting Abbott to not approve the Health Authority's plan; the Health Authority eventually relented and upgraded the two smaller hospitals.

In July 2006, Carol James re-assigned Trevena to be critic of child care, early childhood development, and women's issues. In 2007, Trevena lobbied against budget cuts to child care programs by Minister of State for Child Care Linda Reid

Linda Reid

Linda Reid is a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. She has represented the riding of Richmond East since the 1991 election. She is currently serving as Minister of State for Childcare.- References :...

; after significant opposition some cuts were restored later in the year. Trevena spoke out against a Ministry of Children and Family Development project to use MLA offices belonging exclusively to BC Liberal Party members to distribute 2,000 free automobile booster seats for children at public events. Trevena and party leader Carol James traveled the province hosting open houses regarding women's issues; they advocated for the "restoration of funding for women's centers" and the "reinstatement of cancelled victims' services programs". On local issues, Trevena criticized the split of the Comox-Strathcona Regional District into two separate regional districts as being "sudden and arbitrary decision" by the Minister of Community Affairs Ida Chong

Ida Chong

Ida Chong is British Columbia's Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and was Minister Responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative as well as Minister of Technology, Trade, and Economic Development. She has served in this position since June 2008...

made without public consultation; Trevena backed the CSRD request for a one-year delay which was denied. After Trevena complained about the lack of provincial spending on highways and roads in her constituency, the Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon

Kevin Falcon

Kevin Falcon is a Canadian politician and is the current Deputy Premier of British Columbia, Canada. He is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the district of Surrey-Cloverdale and is a member of the BC Liberals...

questioned her ability as a MLA, and she, in return, questioned his abilities as a minister. Beginning in 2008, Trevena sat on the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts, during the 4th and 5th Parliamentary sessions. In the Spring she again traveled across the province with Carol James, this time discussing child care issues and promoting the party platform which advocates for universal child care.

39th Parliament

With the 39th BC general election

British Columbia general election, 2009

coming in May 2009, Trevena was acclaimed as the BC NDP candidate in October 2008. The BC Liberals selected former chief of the Kwakiutl First Nation

Kwakiutl First Nation

The Kwakiutl First Nation is a First Nations government based on northern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, focused on the community of Port Hardy, British Columbia in the Queen Charlotte Strait region, and also known as the Fort Rupert Band, known in traditional Kwakwaka'wakw terms as...

Marion Wright to face Trevena in what was projected to be a competitive race but which Trevena easily won. In the 39th Parliament of British Columbia

39th Parliament of British Columbia

Trevena became one of two assistant deputy speakers. She joined with fellow NDP MLAs Scott Fraser and Lana Popham

Lana Popham

Lana Popham is Canadian politician representing the riding of Saanich South in the 39th Parliament of British Columbia. She was elected as the British Columbia New Democratic Party candidate in the British Columbia general election, 2009 and has served on the Select Standing Committee on Public...

, in conjunction with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Western Canada Wilderness Committee

The Western Canada Wilderness Committee is a non-profit environmental education organization that aims to protect Canada's wild spaces and species. Paul George, the founding director, formed the Wilderness Committee in the province of British Columbia in 1980...

, in lobbying for the stop to old-growth logging on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
In the Harmonized Sales Tax

Harmonized Sales Tax

The Harmonized Sales Tax is the name used in Canada to describe the combination of the federal Goods and Services Tax and the regional Provincial Sales Tax into a single value added sales tax in five of the ten Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British...

debate, Trevena called for Select Standing Committee on Finance to conduct public consultation across the province but ultimately opposed its implementation on the basis its fewer exemptions compared to Provincial Sales Tax

Sales taxes in Canada

In Canada, three types of sales taxes are levied. These are as follows:*Provincial sales taxes , levied by the provinces*Goods and Services Tax , a value-added tax levied by the federal government...

and the increased control the HST would give to the federal government on taxation matters. In November 2010, Trevena emerged as one of thirteen NDP MLAs to call for a leadership convention over the leadership of Carol James. Trevena had been critical of the party a year earlier at a BC NDP convention where she criticized the neglect of the party's "Sustainable BC" vision during the 2009 election but did not publicly come out against James' leadership, as Bob Simpson was removed from caucus in October for public dissent, until Katrine Conroy

Katrine Conroy

Katrine Conroy is a former MLA for West Kootenay-Boundary in the Canadian province of British Columbia.She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election. She is a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party...

resigned as caucus whip. After threats of discipline and mediation efforts failed and James resigned, Trevena immediately stated she was not running for the leadership position. Instead, in mid-March 2011, she endorsed John Horgan

John Horgan (Canadian politician)

John Horgan is the New Democratic Party MLA for the constituency of Malahat-Juan de Fuca in the Canadian province of British Columbia.Horgan was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election....

in the leadership race, though Adrian Dix

Adrian Dix

Adrian Dix is a Canadian politician, currently serving as MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway in British Columbia and as leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election.-Aide to Glen Clark:...

went on to win. Dix moved Trevena from assistant deputy speaker to opposition critic of children and family development.

Electoral history

British Columbia Liberal Party

Green Party of British Columbia

|Philip Stone
|align="right"|1,670
|align="right"|7%
|align="center"|0
|align="right"|$2,716

|Independent
|William Walter Mewhort
|align="right"|333
|align="right"|1%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$1,643
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes
!align="right"|22,805
!align="right"|100%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right"|102
!align="right"|0.5%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout
!align="right"|22,907
!align="right"|57%
|}
|-

|New Democrat
|Claire Trevena
|align="right"|11,464
|align="right"|45%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$70,428
|-

| style="width: 130px" |BC Liberal

British Columbia Liberal Party

|Rod Visser

Rod Visser

|align="right"|10,804
|align="right"|43%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$151,219

|Green

Green Party of British Columbia

Democratic Reform British Columbia

Democratic Reform British Columbia is a progressive–centrist political party in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.-Formation of the party:...

|Dan Cooper
|align="right"|699
|align="right"|3%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$4,760

|Independent
|Lorne James Scott
|align="right"|471
|align="right"|2%
|align="center"|n/a
|align="right"|$456
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes
!align="right"|25,312
!align="right"|100%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots
!align="right"|101
!align="right"|0.4%
|- style="background:white;"
! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout
!align="right"|25,413
!align="right"|66%
|}

External links

North Island MLA - Claire Trevena
BC New Democratic Party - Claire Trevena
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia - Claire Trevena

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