Linda Duncan
Encyclopedia
Linda Francis Duncan is a Canadian
lawyer and politician, currently serving as a Member of Parliament
for the riding of Edmonton—Strathcona
in Alberta
. She is a member of the New Democratic Party
and, since 2008
, she has been the only MP from an Alberta riding not a member of the Conservative Party
. Since her election to 40th Parliament
in October 2008, she has served as a member of the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development
, as well as the NDP caucus' Environment Critic. Prior to her election, she ran unsuccessfully in the same riding in 2006
.
Duncan has spent most of her life in Edmonton
. She graduated the University of Alberta
's undergraduate and law programs and founded Edmonton's Environmental Law Centre. She practiced law, specializing in environmental law
, in the city until 1987 when she moved to Ottawa to work for Environment Canada
. She spent time in Whitehorse
working as an assistant deputy in the Yukon government, then Montreal working in NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Cooperation
. She attained a Masters of Law at Dalhousie Law School
and spent several years on the Sierra Legal Defence Fund's Board of Directors.
on June 25, 1949. Her father, Darcy Duncan, a second-generation lawyer, supported the family which included a brother, a younger sister and an older sister, along with their mother. She grew up in the south side of Edmonton. She attended the University of Alberta
, graduating from their law school. With an interest in environmental law
she passed upon the opportunity to join a law firm and founded the Environmental Law Centre in 1982 to assist Albertans concerned with environmental and natural resources law.
In 1987, Duncan was recruited by the federal Minister of Environment
to establish a new enforcement unit at Environment Canada
. After a year in Ottawa, she move onto Whitehorse
where she worked as the assistant deputy Minister for Renewable Resources in the Yukon government. She moved to Montreal after she accepted a position helping lead the enforcement department of NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Cooperation
. Through projects by the World Bank
and the Asian Development Bank
she helped establish environmental law enforcement systems in Jamaica, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. During this time, in the 1990s, she earned a Master of Laws from Dalhousie Law School
and taught several courses. Following the death of her father and two sisters she moved back to Edmonton in 1999.
On the local level, in addition to her work at the Environmental Law Centre in Edmonton, she worked on projects with the Edmonton Social Planning Council, Alberta's Clean Air Strategic Alliance, and the Canadian Council on Human Resources for the Environment Industry
. She served on the Board of Directors the Sierra Legal Defence Fund from 2001 to 2007. Her family has had a cottage at Wabamun Lake
since her youth and she has participated on the Lake Wabamun Enhancement and Protection Association. Acting as their vice-president during the August 2005 CN Rail oil spill she was interviewed in the media on behalf of the land owners and lake users. With the association and the Sierra Legal Defence Fund she helped make a submission to the United Nations Environment Programme
noting Canada was not enforcing the legally-binding Heavy Metals Protocol, making specific reference to high levels of mercury being released from coal-fired power plants.
, in January 2006, Duncan ran as the New Democratic Party
candidate for the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona. The contest was expected to be close so in the final days of the campaign the party shifted resources there and the party leader, Jack Layton
, traveled the riding, his second visit during the campaign. Nevertheless, incumbent Conservative
Rahim Jaffer
won the riding over Duncan by almost 5,000 votes.
On January 19, 2007, Duncan accepted the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona, by acclamation, to again seek election to Parliament in the 40th Canadian federal election
. The election campaign began in September 2008. To make environmental protection an election issue, Duncan and Jack Layton flew over the tar sands
area noting environmentally damaging practices. Duncan made support for public health care, enforcement of environmental laws, and driving the economy with 'green jobs' priorities in her campaign. She drew upon support from a large volunteer network built since the last election and strategic voting from Liberal
supporters. With the polls showing a close race, incumbent Conservative candidate launched an attack ad
against Duncan. On election night, October 14, the results showed Jaffer as the leader, by 1,000 votes with over half the polls reporting. Jaffer delivered his victory speech around 10 p.m. and several people were calling the election a win for Jaffer. However, late polls, which included residences around the University of Alberta, put Duncan ahead. Following a few days of silence and after his fiancee, fellow Conservative Member of Parliament Helena Guergis
, flew to Edmonton and quietly married him, Jaffer conceded defeat to Duncan. With a 463-vote margin, Duncan became the only non-Conservative MP in Alberta.
During the ensuing 40th Canadian Parliament
Duncan was appointed to the position of NDP critic on the Environment. In the Parliament's aborted first session she strongly opposed the government's proposed fiscal update, especially the proposed changes to pay equity claims, four-year wage cap, and suspension of the right to strike for federal employees. She supported the proposed coalition government
and condemned the Prime Minister
, Stephen Harper
, for labeling the coalition government as "treasonous" and "criminal". When Parliament resumed in January 2009, Duncan sat as a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. She supported Ecojustice and the Sierra Club's lawsuit against the government's waiver of federal environmental assessment reviews on infrastructure projects arguing that it required an act of Parliament, rather than the Conservative government's Order in Council. She vocally supported the opposition's Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act that would hold Canadian companies accountable in Canadian courts for human rights and environmental abuses committed in other countries. Duncan has introduced two bills into the House of Commons: the first proposing that the third Friday of February be declared National Hockey Day, and the second establishing an Environmental Bill of Rights. On a private member's bill to abolish the federal gun registry, Linda Duncan was the only MP from Alberta who voted against abolishing the gun registry.
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...
lawyer and politician, currently serving as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the riding of Edmonton—Strathcona
Edmonton—Strathcona
Edmonton—Strathcona is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton.-Geography:...
in 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...
. She is a member of the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
and, since 2008
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
, she has been the only MP from an Alberta riding not a member of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
. Since her election to 40th Parliament
40th Canadian Parliament
The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011, and was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008...
in October 2008, she has served as a member of the House Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development
Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development
The Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is a standing committee in the Canadian House of Commons.- Membership :Clerk of the Committee: Guyanne L. DesforgesDepartments under the committee's scrutiny:...
, as well as the NDP caucus' Environment Critic. Prior to her election, she ran unsuccessfully in the same riding in 2006
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
.
Duncan has spent most of her life in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
. She graduated the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
's undergraduate and law programs and founded Edmonton's Environmental Law Centre. She practiced law, specializing in environmental law
Environmental law
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
, in the city until 1987 when she moved to Ottawa to work for Environment Canada
Environment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
. She spent time in Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
working as an assistant deputy in the Yukon government, then Montreal working in NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation was established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation , the environmental side accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement...
. She attained a Masters of Law at Dalhousie Law School
Dalhousie Law School
The Schulich School of Law is part of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Formerly called Dalhousie Law School, it was established in 1883, making it the oldest university-affiliated common law school in the Commonwealth. It is the primary law school in Atlantic Canada and...
and spent several years on the Sierra Legal Defence Fund's Board of Directors.
Early life and career
Linda Duncan was born in EdmontonEdmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
on June 25, 1949. Her father, Darcy Duncan, a second-generation lawyer, supported the family which included a brother, a younger sister and an older sister, along with their mother. She grew up in the south side of Edmonton. She attended the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
, graduating from their law school. With an interest in environmental law
Environmental law
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
she passed upon the opportunity to join a law firm and founded the Environmental Law Centre in 1982 to assist Albertans concerned with environmental and natural resources law.
In 1987, Duncan was recruited by the federal Minister of Environment
Minister of the Environment (Canada)
The Minister of the Environment is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's environment department, Environment Canada...
to establish a new enforcement unit at Environment Canada
Environment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
. After a year in Ottawa, she move onto Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
where she worked as the assistant deputy Minister for Renewable Resources in the Yukon government. She moved to Montreal after she accepted a position helping lead the enforcement department of NAFTA's Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation was established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation , the environmental side accord to the North American Free Trade Agreement...
. Through projects by the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
she helped establish environmental law enforcement systems in Jamaica, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. During this time, in the 1990s, she earned a Master of Laws from Dalhousie Law School
Dalhousie Law School
The Schulich School of Law is part of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Formerly called Dalhousie Law School, it was established in 1883, making it the oldest university-affiliated common law school in the Commonwealth. It is the primary law school in Atlantic Canada and...
and taught several courses. Following the death of her father and two sisters she moved back to Edmonton in 1999.
On the local level, in addition to her work at the Environmental Law Centre in Edmonton, she worked on projects with the Edmonton Social Planning Council, Alberta's Clean Air Strategic Alliance, and the Canadian Council on Human Resources for the Environment Industry
ECO Canada
ECO Canada was established in 1992 as part of Canada's sector council initiative. Sector councils are organizations that address human resource challenges facing the Canadian economy...
. She served on the Board of Directors the Sierra Legal Defence Fund from 2001 to 2007. Her family has had a cottage at Wabamun Lake
Wabamun Lake
Wabamun Lake is one of the most heavily used lakes in Alberta, Canada. It lies west of Edmonton, Alberta. It is long and narrow, covers and is 11 meters deep at its deepest, with somewhat clear water....
since her youth and she has participated on the Lake Wabamun Enhancement and Protection Association. Acting as their vice-president during the August 2005 CN Rail oil spill she was interviewed in the media on behalf of the land owners and lake users. With the association and the Sierra Legal Defence Fund she helped make a submission to the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
noting Canada was not enforcing the legally-binding Heavy Metals Protocol, making specific reference to high levels of mercury being released from coal-fired power plants.
Politics
For the 39th Canadian federal electionCanadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, in January 2006, Duncan ran as the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
candidate for the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona. The contest was expected to be close so in the final days of the campaign the party shifted resources there and the party leader, Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
, traveled the riding, his second visit during the campaign. Nevertheless, incumbent Conservative
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
Rahim Jaffer
Rahim Jaffer
Rahim Nizar Jaffer is a former Canadian politician and a former Member of Parliament. He served in the Canadian House of Commons from 1997 to 2008, representing the Alberta riding of Edmonton—Strathcona as a member of the Conservative Party. He was the first Muslim elected to the Canadian Parliament...
won the riding over Duncan by almost 5,000 votes.
On January 19, 2007, Duncan accepted the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona, by acclamation, to again seek election to Parliament in the 40th Canadian federal election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
. The election campaign began in September 2008. To make environmental protection an election issue, Duncan and Jack Layton flew over the tar sands
Athabasca Oil Sands
The Athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada - roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray...
area noting environmentally damaging practices. Duncan made support for public health care, enforcement of environmental laws, and driving the economy with 'green jobs' priorities in her campaign. She drew upon support from a large volunteer network built since the last election and strategic voting from Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
supporters. With the polls showing a close race, incumbent Conservative candidate launched an attack ad
Attack ad
In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement whose message is meant as a personal attack against another candidate or political party...
against Duncan. On election night, October 14, the results showed Jaffer as the leader, by 1,000 votes with over half the polls reporting. Jaffer delivered his victory speech around 10 p.m. and several people were calling the election a win for Jaffer. However, late polls, which included residences around the University of Alberta, put Duncan ahead. Following a few days of silence and after his fiancee, fellow Conservative Member of Parliament Helena Guergis
Helena Guergis
Helena C. Guergis, PC, is a Canadian politician. She has represented Simcoe—Grey in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004, and was appointed Minister of State on October 30, 2008, following the October 14, 2008 Canadian federal election...
, flew to Edmonton and quietly married him, Jaffer conceded defeat to Duncan. With a 463-vote margin, Duncan became the only non-Conservative MP in Alberta.
During the ensuing 40th Canadian Parliament
40th Canadian Parliament
The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011, and was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008...
Duncan was appointed to the position of NDP critic on the Environment. In the Parliament's aborted first session she strongly opposed the government's proposed fiscal update, especially the proposed changes to pay equity claims, four-year wage cap, and suspension of the right to strike for federal employees. She supported the proposed coalition government
2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute
The 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute was a political dispute during the 40th Canadian Parliament. It was triggered by the expressed intention of the opposition parties to defeat the Conservative minority government on a motion of non-confidence six weeks after the federal election on...
and condemned the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, 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...
, for labeling the coalition government as "treasonous" and "criminal". When Parliament resumed in January 2009, Duncan sat as a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. She supported Ecojustice and the Sierra Club's lawsuit against the government's waiver of federal environmental assessment reviews on infrastructure projects arguing that it required an act of Parliament, rather than the Conservative government's Order in Council. She vocally supported the opposition's Corporate Accountability of Mining, Oil and Gas Corporations in Developing Countries Act that would hold Canadian companies accountable in Canadian courts for human rights and environmental abuses committed in other countries. Duncan has introduced two bills into the House of Commons: the first proposing that the third Friday of February be declared National Hockey Day, and the second establishing an Environmental Bill of Rights. On a private member's bill to abolish the federal gun registry, Linda Duncan was the only MP from Alberta who voted against abolishing the gun registry.