Jan Brown
Encyclopedia
Janet Corinne Brown (born June 22, 1947 in Nanaimo
, British Columbia
) is a former Canadian
politician
. She was first elected as a Member of Parliament under the Reform Party of Canada
ticket in the Alberta
riding of Calgary Southeast
in the 1993 federal election
. Before entering politics, Brown was a schoolteacher and then agribusiness executive.
Brown rose to prominence as a well-spoken and moderate member of the Reform Party, becoming Canadian Heritage
Critic in its shadow cabinet
. She was one of only two MPs, the other being Stephen Harper
, to speak out against the motion to deny same-sex couple
s the same rights as heterosexual ones at the 1994 Reform convention. She won much admiration for putting a yellow rose on the empty desk of rival party leader Lucien Bouchard
, who was suffering from a life-threatening illness. The image of the solitary rose on his empty desk was broadcast around the nation.
Later that year she was voted sexiest, best-dressed, and most generous MP by the Hill Times newspaper. Due to her success in badgering Canadian Heritage Minister
Michel Dupuy
, she was promoted to critic for Human Resources Development Canada, one of the largest ministries in the federal government.
In 1996, however, Brown, along with fellow Reform MP Jim Silye
, spoke out openly against the right wing of the party. The remarks were motivated by Art Hanger
's planned trip to Singapore
to look into the success of caning
at deterring crime. While the party leaders acknowledged that Brown and Silye's criticism had weight, they were attacked for publicly criticizing the party. Brown promised to deal with any future concerns within the party.
The next month, however, Reform MP Bob Ringma
mentioned that store owners should be free to move gay
s and "ethnics" "to the back of the shop", or even to fire them, if it helped their business. A few days later MP Dave Chatters aroused more controversy when he suggested it would be reasonable to ban homosexuals from teaching children. Party leader Preston Manning
and the other party notables did not censure the remarks or demand apologies from the MPs. Brown again went to the media, threatening that she, and other moderate Reformers, would leave the party if these views should continue to be tolerated. Soon after Manning condemned Brown and Silye, and they apologized.
On May 7, 1996, the Reform executive voted to suspend Ringma and Chatters for their remarks, but also voted to suspend Brown for speaking out against the party. Brown was furious and three days later announced she was quitting the party to sit as an independent. She was especially critical of Preston Manning and how he managed the party.
Brown remained an independent for the rest of the parliament, but began to cooperate closely with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
. In the 1997 election
, she ran as a Progressive Conservative, moving to contest the adjacent riding of Calgary Southwest
, then held by Reform leader Preston Manning.
Despite drawing much attention in the sometimes bitter campaign against her former party leader, Brown lost by a significant margin, and retired permanently from politics. Since then she completed in 2005 a Ph.D.
in education
and women's studies
and is now a lifelong learning
consultant.
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...
, 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...
) is a former 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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She was first elected as a Member of Parliament under the Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
ticket in the Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
riding of Calgary Southeast
Calgary Southeast
Calgary Southeast is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. The district is in the southeast part of the City of Calgary...
in the 1993 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
. Before entering politics, Brown was a schoolteacher and then agribusiness executive.
Brown rose to prominence as a well-spoken and moderate member of the Reform Party, becoming Canadian Heritage
Department of Canadian Heritage
The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage |department]] of the Government of Canada with responsibility for policies and programs regarding the arts, culture, media, communications networks, official languages , status of women, sports , and multiculturalism...
Critic in its shadow cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
. She was one of only two MPs, the other being Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, to speak out against the motion to deny same-sex couple
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
s the same rights as heterosexual ones at the 1994 Reform convention. She won much admiration for putting a yellow rose on the empty desk of rival party leader Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard, is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the Leader of Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001...
, who was suffering from a life-threatening illness. The image of the solitary rose on his empty desk was broadcast around the nation.
Later that year she was voted sexiest, best-dressed, and most generous MP by the Hill Times newspaper. Due to her success in badgering Canadian Heritage Minister
Minister of Canadian Heritage
The Minister of Canadian Heritage is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads the Department of Canadian Heritage, the federal government department responsible for Canada's Arts, Culture, Media, Communications network, and Sport....
Michel Dupuy
Michel Dupuy
Michel Dupuy, PC is a Canadian diplomat, journalist, academic and politician.Dupuy was a long time diplomat in the Department of External Affairs...
, she was promoted to critic for Human Resources Development Canada, one of the largest ministries in the federal government.
In 1996, however, Brown, along with fellow Reform MP Jim Silye
Jim Silye
Jim Silye is a Canadian politician, businessman, and former professional football player for the Canadian Football League....
, spoke out openly against the right wing of the party. The remarks were motivated by Art Hanger
Art Hanger
Arthur "Art" Hanger is a Canadian politician.Hanger is a former member of the Conservative Party of Canada in the Canadian House of Commons, having represented the riding of Calgary Northeast since 1993 until his retirement in 2008. He has also been a member of the Reform Party of Canada , and the...
's planned trip to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to look into the success of caning
Caning
Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or hand . Application of a cane to the knuckles or the shoulders has been much less common...
at deterring crime. While the party leaders acknowledged that Brown and Silye's criticism had weight, they were attacked for publicly criticizing the party. Brown promised to deal with any future concerns within the party.
The next month, however, Reform MP Bob Ringma
Bob Ringma
MGen Robert "Bob" Ringma was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1997. By career, he was a soldier for the Canadian Forces....
mentioned that store owners should be free to move gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s and "ethnics" "to the back of the shop", or even to fire them, if it helped their business. A few days later MP Dave Chatters aroused more controversy when he suggested it would be reasonable to ban homosexuals from teaching children. Party leader Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
and the other party notables did not censure the remarks or demand apologies from the MPs. Brown again went to the media, threatening that she, and other moderate Reformers, would leave the party if these views should continue to be tolerated. Soon after Manning condemned Brown and Silye, and they apologized.
On May 7, 1996, the Reform executive voted to suspend Ringma and Chatters for their remarks, but also voted to suspend Brown for speaking out against the party. Brown was furious and three days later announced she was quitting the party to sit as an independent. She was especially critical of Preston Manning and how he managed the party.
Brown remained an independent for the rest of the parliament, but began to cooperate closely with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
. In the 1997 election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, she ran as a Progressive Conservative, moving to contest the adjacent riding of Calgary Southwest
Calgary Southwest
Calgary Southwest is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1988. The district is in the southwest part of the City of Calgary, south of Glenmore Trail, and west of the Canadian Pacific railway.The seat is held by Prime...
, then held by Reform leader Preston Manning.
Despite drawing much attention in the sometimes bitter campaign against her former party leader, Brown lost by a significant margin, and retired permanently from politics. Since then she completed in 2005 a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
and is now a lifelong learning
Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is the continuous building of skills and knowledge throughout the life of an individual. It occurs through experiences encountered in the course of a lifetime...
consultant.