Gary Filmon

Gary Albert Filmon, PC, OC, OM ( born August 24, 1942 in Winnipeg, Manitoba ) is a Canadian politician of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba ( Tories ). From 1977 to 1999 he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He ruled the province of Manitoba on May 9, 1988 to October 5, 1999 as Prime Minister. Party leader of the Tories he was from 1983 to 2000.

Biography

Professional and local politics

Filmon, who comes from a Polish immigrant family, studied post-school at the University of Manitoba and then worked as a civil engineer. In addition, he was from 1969 to 1980 Vice President and President of Success Business College. He was involved in local politics and was from 1975 to 1979 the City Council of Winnipeg. In this he was Chairman of the Committee for municipal facilities and operations.

Minister and opposition leader

1979 Filmon entered for the Tories in a by-election in the constituency of River Heights and was elected a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. On January 16, 1981 he was appointed Sterling Lyon from Cabinet and appointed him Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and the Environment and the Minister of Housing. His term lasted only until 30 November 1981. Filmon was true two weeks earlier re-elected in the newly created constituency Tuxedo, but the Tories as a whole lost the elections and had to leave the formation of a government of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP ).

After Lyons resignation delegates Filmon selected as the new party leader of the Tories, with which he was leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly at the same time. After he was able to hold in the party congresses in 1986 and 1987 against challenger as chairman, he was the top candidate of the party in the elections on 26 April 1988. Filmon was drawing upon his popularity in urban delegates, although the rural elected a majority in the parliamentary faction presented.

Prime minister

Although the Tories won a seat less than in the last election, they were strongest power in the Legislative Assembly, and were able to form a minority government. Filmon was elected on May 9, 1988 the 19th Prime Minister of Manitoba. This was due to the fact that the new NDP chairman Gary Doer renounced the formation of a coalition government with the Manitoba Liberal Party and, instead, the minority government supported FilmOn. The intra-party tensions between urban and rural deputies of the Tories, however, led as well as the constant willingness to compromise with other parties to the fact that the government always ran the risk of being overthrown by a motion of censure.

During his tenure as Prime Minister Filmon was also minister for relations between the federal and provincial, and from 1991 Minister of government services in French. He took part in the debate on the revision of the Constitution of Canada, the Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had set in motion. First, he spoke out against the Meech Lake Accord of which would have strengthened the status of French-speaking province of Quebec, but then agreed to a negotiated by Jean Charest compromise. Ultimately failed the audit, as the NDP MPs and Indian representatives Elijah Harper prevented the unanimity required by law.

Filmon was able to rely on a narrow majority after the elections of 1990 and 1995. He took a tax politically conservative and socially progressive political course, which was characterized by moderate pragmatism of its programs in terms of a political center. Recently it was during his tenure on the privatization of state-owned telephone company. In addition, a law allowed the exit of individual locations from the Winnipeg metropolitan area. Filmon and his party were involved in a scandal in 1998. Various "independent" candidates had been supported in the election three years earlier secret of progressive- conservative party functionaries to diminish the electoral chances of the NDP candidates.

Filmon himself was not involved in the scandal, yet his government suffered a reputational damage, including rising unemployment contributed. In addition, the majority gave its announcements of tax cuts and simultaneous multi- investment in the social system no faith. In the elections of 21 September 1999, the Tories were defeated and Filmon had handed over the premiership to Gary Doer. Following this he remained until 2002, opposition leader and retired after largely from politics.

Last Filmon from 2005 to 2010 Chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee ( SIRC ), an independent government authority to control the Canadian Security Intelligence Service ( CSIS). For his services he was awarded in 2009 the Order of Canada.