Pat Martin

Patrick D. "Pat" Martin (born December 13, 1955 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party.

This article is about the politician. For the baseball player, see Pat Martin (baseball). For the broadcaster, see Pat Martin (broadcaster).

Pat Martin
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Winnipeg Centre
In office 1997–2015
Preceded by	David Walker
Succeeded by	Robert-Falcon Ouellette
Chairman of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates
In office 5 February 2015 – 19 October 2015
Minister	Diane Finley
Preceded by	Pierre-Luc Dusseault
Succeeded by	Tom Lukiwski
In office 9 June 2011 – 24 October 2013
Minister	Rona Ambrose Diane Finley
Preceded by	John McKay
Succeeded by	Pierre-Luc Dusseault
Personal details
Born	(1955-12-13) December 13, 1955 Winnipeg, Manitoba
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	New Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Jennifer Prince
Residence	Winnipeg
Profession	carpenter, trade unionist
Website	patmartin.ca

Career

Martin graduated from Argyle High School in 1974. He worked as a journeyman carpenter for several years, and was employed in forest service, mines and construction. Martin also served as business manager of the Manitoba Carpenters Union from 1989 to 1997, and was vice-president of the Manitoba Federation of Labour for a time.[1] He has been a member of the executive of the Manitoba Building Trades Council,[1] and was part of the Winnipeg 2000 Economic Development Committee.

Martin was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1997 federal election, defeating Liberal incumbent David Walker by a margin of 10,979 votes to 9,895. Martin was re-elected in the 2000 federal election, defeating Liberal Kevin Lamoureux by 11,263 votes to 9,310. He increased his margin of victory in the 2004 election, defeating Liberal candidate David Northcott by about 3,000 votes.

He supported Bill Blaikie for the NDP leadership in 2002-03.[2]

He called for Svend Robinson to be removed from the NDP's foreign affairs portfolio in 2002, after Robinson's controversial visit to the Palestinian Authority.[3]

Martin is an outspoken critic of the Canadian monarchy, both in parliament and in the media, citing the marriage of the Prince of Wales to the Duchess of Cornwall as a reason to abolish the institution.[4]

In his book, Speaking Out Louder: Ideas That Work For Canadians, Jack Layton, then the Leader of the NDP, thanked Martin and his wife for loaning their Saltspring Island farmhouse for secluded writing."[5]

When Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe received donations totalling $108,000 from Apotex executives and their wives and children, Martin suggested that these donations had the appearance of fraud. He filed an official complaint on May 29, asking elections commissioner Raymond Landry to investigate whether an attempt had been made to circumvent the Elections Act which banned corporate donations. Volpe responded by promising to return any donations that contravened the letter or spirit of the law.[6]

In June 2008, Martin introduced a motion into the House of Commons calling on the government to amend the royal arms of Canada to incorporate symbols representing Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.[7]

Martin introduced a private member's bill, C-248, in parliament to exonerate Louis Riel [8][9][10][11] On May 5, 2011 at the Royal Ontario Museum Martin debated Tom Flanagan on the topic "Louis Riel deserved to Hang".[12] In a National Post article he argued that Riel was a hero, not a traitor and, in reference to George R. D. Goulet's 1999 book on Riel, that Riel's execution was a "case of both justice and mercy denied".[13]

Maclean's ranked him as runner up for best orator in parliament in 2011 behind John Baird.[14]

On February 5, 2015, Martin stated that he would file a lawsuit against anyone who claimed he lived on Salt Spring Island. "They're going to get their asses sued," said Martin adding "I know a thing or two about libel," referring to his issue with a defamation suit, which he settled for an undisclosed sum with an Edmonton telemarketer.[15] Martin owns a hobby farm on Salt Spring Island that he bought with his former wife and currently resides in Osborne Village in the riding of Winnipeg South Centre.[15] When asked about a Salt Spring community event calendar from the local NDP association inviting people to "Come by and hear an Ottawa update from Salt Spring's unoffical [sic] MP Pat Martin,"[16] by Winnipeg Free Press journalist Mia Rabson, Martin stated that the Riding Association President "was being funny by calling him that."[17]

Within a day of the writ drop for the 2015 federal election, Martin was endorsed by the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg president Alex Forrest.[18] Martin lost re-election in 2015.

Controversy

Youth For Christ

In 2010, while Youth For Christ was in the development stages of building a youth centre at the corner of Higgins and Main that would include a multi-sport gym, dance studio, fitness centre, skate-and-BMX park, drop-in centre, theatre, classroom, counselling facilities and a job-training centre, Martin stated that the social-service organization were "evangelical fundamentalists" who were "preying on vulnerable kids" [19] and that the organization "offering much-needed sports opportunities is just their way of luring in young prospects."[20] Martin also stated that the Federal government and City of Winnipeg providing funding to the inner city development equated to "taxpayer-funded proselytization." [20] An article by the Winnipeg Free Press Editorial Board stated that if "the MP believes [Youth For Christ] should not receive any taxpayer money because he faithfully believes the organization is trying to convert "vulnerable, impressionable kids" to fundamentalist Christian views. If the good parliamentarian has any evidence to support his allegations, he should produce it immediately, or withdraw his comments."[21] One week after criticising the organization and facing mounting criticism, Martin said he supported the development at Higgins and Main by stating that "Anything happening in the inner city is better than nothing."[22]

Twitter

On November 17, 2011, Martin was criticized for using profane language on his Twitter account expressing anger over the Conservative government's use of closure in limiting debate in the House of Commons tweeting: "This is a fucking disgrace" and "There’s not a democracy in the world that would tolerate this jackboot shit." He also used profane language to criticize those on Twitter that had challenged his use of profanity tweeting "Fuck you" to one Twitter user.[23] Martin refused to apologize.[24] On December 20, 2012, Pat Martin tweeted: I'm not 'worked up' so much as 'fed up' with the rat faced whores in the [Conservative Party of Canada] who neglect to invite me to ancemnts [sic] in my riding" and "Look...Given the parliamentary session we've just endured, the term 'rat faced whores' is using a great deal of restraint…" after not receiving an invitation to an event in his riding.[25]

After a heated exchange, Martin swore off Twitter and tweeted "I apologize for my regrettable and inappropriate language", and "It seems some people shouldn’t tweet so with this, I sign off."[26] An NDP spokesperson confirmed Martin's decision stating "these comments were simply inappropriate and unacceptable," and that "Mr. Martin agrees and we understand that he has decided to stop using his Twitter account."[26]

Defamation lawsuit and donations

Upon revelations about the robocall scandal in February, Martin publicly accused Racknine of being behind the automated calls that saw voters misdirected to non-existent polling locations during the May 2011 federal election. Racknine filed a defamation lawsuit for $5 million in damages.[27] Martin ended up settling the defamation lawsuit against him and publicly apologized and stated that Racknine was "merely an innocent intermediary not a participant in electoral fraud".[28] Due to the costs awarded to Racknine, Martin received a loan from the NDP and accepted donations from unions to help fund his defamation suit and pay for the settlement. Documents filed with the federal ethics commissioner showed Martin accepted contributions to a legal defence fund from the Canadian Labour Congress, the United Steelworkers and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and 14 other unions or locals.[29]

Duff Conacher, founder of Democracy Watch, asked Martin to disclose the exact amount each of the two dozen organizations has donated to the trust fund set up to pay off his legal bill. "You're not allowed to be in the appearance of a conflict of interest, even if the gift does not change your mind from what you already believed. You can't have it. If you have that, you don't have democracy. You have a system of where the dollar wins and that's not democracy," said Conacher.[30] Martin said it would be "ludicrous" to think the donations would influence his position on labour issues saying that "If anybody thinks I could become more friendly to trade unions, then they don’t know me very well," adding "I’m a socialist and trade unionist and former head of the carpenters’ union in Manitoba."[29] In two instances, the ethics commissioner directed Martin to return more than $20,000 involving donations from two unions that he had dealings with as an MP.[30]

Underwear comments in House of Commons

After standing in the House of Commons during a procedural vote, which is against protocol, Martin said that his tight underwear required him to stand.[31] The comments trended across Twitter and made international headlines including CNN’s Ridiculist.[32] Martin later admitted that the story was fabricated.[33]

Comments during 2015 federal election

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, Martin called Don Woodstock, the Green Party candidate, a "son of a bitch" and at a later time was caught calling him a "fucking prick" during a debate on issues affecting downtown Winnipeg in which Woodstock questioned Martin's record on mental health issues.[34] Martin also called Robert-Falcon Ouellette, the Liberal candidate, "full of shit" and a "political slut" for considering other parties before choosing to run for the Liberals. Martin then targeted Ouellette's wife and accused her of being afraid to venture into the riding because of fear of theft.[35] Martin later apologized for his comments.[35]

Electoral record

2015 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Robert-Falcon Ouellette	18,471	54.51	+43.44	–
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	9,490	28.00	-25.66	–
	Conservative	Allie Szarkiewicz	4,189	12.36	-15.28	–
	Green	Don Woodstock	1,379	4.07	-2.98	–
	Christian Heritage	Scott Miller	221	0.65	n/a	–
	Communist	Darrell Rankin	138	0.41	-0.18	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			–	100.0		$191,132.58
Total rejected ballots			–	–	–
Turnout			–	–	–
Eligible voters			54,719
Source: Elections Canada[36][37]

2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	13,928	53.66%	+4.74%
	Conservative	Bev Pitura	7,173	27.64%	+5.99%
	Liberal	Allan Wise	2,872	11.07%	-4.55%
	Green	Jacqueline Romanow	1,830	7.05%	-4.01%
	Communist	Darrell Rankin	152	0.59%	+0.12%
Total valid votes/Expense limit			25,955	100.00%
Total rejected ballots			248	0.95%
Turnout			26,203	49.02%

2008 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	12,285	48.9%	+0.5%	$42,608
	Conservative	Kenny Daodu	5,437	21.7%	+2.1%	$20,177
	Liberal	Daniel Hurley	3,922	15.6%	-8.7%	$37,980
	Green	Jessie Klassen	2,777	11.1%	+4.0%	$2,733
	Independent	Joe Chan	226	0.9%	--
	First Peoples National	Lyle Morrisseau	212	0.8%	--
	Independent	Ed Ackerman	135	0.5%	--
	Communist	Darrell Rankin	119	0.5%	-0.2%
Total valid votes/Expense limit			25,113	100.0%	$77,206

2006 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	13,805	48.4%	+3.02%	$58,778
	Liberal	Ray St. Germain	6,940	24.3%	-10.38%	$27,375
	Conservative	Helen Sterzer	5,554	19.5%	+5.94%	$37,740
	Green	Gary Gervais	2,010	7.1%	+2.81%	$2,651
	Communist	Anna-Celestrya Carr	199	0.7%	+0.27%	$295
Total valid votes			28,508	100.00%
Total rejected ballots			231
Turnout			28,739

2004 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	12,149	45.38%	$51,914
	Liberal	David Northcott	9,285	34.68%	$67,134
	Conservative	Robert Eng	3,631	13.56%	$7,572
	Green	Robin (Pilar) Faye	1,151	4.29%	$2,087
	Marijuana	John M. Siedleski	346	1.29%
	Communist	Anna-Celestrya Carr	114	0.42%	$654
	Independent	Douglas Edward Schweitzer	92	0.34%
Total valid votes			26,768	100.00%
Total rejected ballots			188	0.70%
Turnout			26,956	45.08%

2000 Canadian federal election: Winnipeg Centre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	11,263	41.26	$55,756.93
	Liberal	Kevin Lamoureux	9,310	34.11	$55,979.28
	Alliance	Reg Smith	3,975	14.56	$8,032.54
	Progressive Conservative	Michel Allard	1,915	7.02	$1,460.02
	Green	Mikel Magnusson	698	2.56	$1,572.64
	Communist	Harold Dyck	134	0.49	$288.78
Total valid votes			27,295	100.00
Total rejected ballots			236
Turnout			27,531	52.56
Electors on the lists			52,383
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

1997 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic	Pat Martin	10,979	40.9%
	Liberal	David Walker	9,895	36.9%
	Reform	Reginald A. Smith	3,095	11.5%
	Progressive Conservative	Campbell Alexander	2,442	9.1%
	Independent	Greg Krawchuk	148	0.6%
	Marxist–Leninist	Glenn Michalchuk	136	0.5%
	Independent	Darrell Rankin	108	0.4%
	Independent	Didz Zuzens	44	0.2%
Total valid votes			26,847	100.0%

References

1. "Canada Votes 2008 - Winnipeg Centre - Candidate Profiles". CBC News. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-03-22. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
2. "Bill Blaikie deserves our support" (fee required). Globe and Mail. Toronto. December 13, 2002. section A, p. 25. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
3. Friscolanti, Michael (April 18, 2002). "NDP MPs say Robinson must be demoted: Manitoba premier agrees". National Post. Toronto. section A, p. 12.
4. MacCharles, Tonda (February 11, 2005). "Cheers, jeers in Ottawa greet marriage plan". Toronto Star. section A, p. 6.
5. Layton, Jack (2011-09-13). Speaking Out Louder: Ideas That Work for Canadians. ISBN 9780771046162.
6. Bryden, Joan (May 31, 2006). "Volpe vows to return donations if they violate spirit of law". Canadian Press. Martin initially accused Volpe of deliberately orchestrating fraudulent donations, but withdrew these comments after he was threatened with a libel suit.
7. "Coat of arms ignores aboriginal people, MP says". CBC News. May 22, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
8. "Private Member's Bill C-248 (40th Parliament, 3rd Session)". LEGISinfo. Parliament of Canada. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
9. Rabson, Mia (November 17, 2010). "Riel was a hero, not a traitor". Winnipeg Free Press. section A, p. 6. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
10. "Louis Riel 'murdered by the Crown,' MP says". CTV. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-04-17. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
11. Taber, Jane (November 16, 2010). "Correcting the record on Louis Riel and separatist coalitions". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
12. "History Wars at the ROM: Four Debates on Canada's History". Cvltvre. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
13. Martin, Pat (May 6, 2011). "A hero, not a traitor". National Post. Toronto. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
14. http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/11/21/parliamentarians-of-the-year-best-orator-john-baird/
15. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/mp-fed-up-with-malicious-tale-290882661.html
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-05-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. Carlene Variyan [@carlena] (5 February 2015). ".@mrabson some folks get the idea #Winnipeg MP Pat Martin lives on Salt Spring Island when he does events like this:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
18. Larkins, David (3 August 2015). "Voters Question Long Campaign". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
19. http://www.winnipegsun.com/comment/columnists/2010/02/19/12955296.html
20. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/mp-takes-aim-at-youth-centre-84681052.html
21. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/mr-martins-outburst-irrational-84764497.html
22. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/mp-gets-behind-youth-for-christ-centre-85325347.html
23. http://metronews.ca/news/132369/ndp-mp-pat-martins-twitter-tirade-takes-off/
24. http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/17/ndp-mp-pat-martin-not-sorry-after-expletive-laced-twitter-rant/
25. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/mp-pat-martins-latest-twitter-tirade/article6599421/
26. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/abusive-twitter-exchange-prompts-mp-pat-martin-to-swear-off-tweeting/article6599203/
27. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/racknine-sues-pat-martin-and-ndp-for-5-million-1.1152522
28. https://www.ndp.ca/news/apology-behalf-patrick-martin-and-ndp-to-mr-matt-meier-and-racknine-inc
29. http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/09/24/mp-pat-martin-received-loan-from-ndp-donations-from-unions-to-help-fund-robocalls-defamation-suit/
30. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/give-back-the-money-ethics-expert-tells-mp-225307802.html
31. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pat-martin-says-tight-underwear-led-him-to-leave-seat-during-vote-1.2963294
32. http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/03/11/ac-sot-ridiculist-canadian-parliament-underwear-defense.cnn
33. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/edited-the-great-underwear-caper-of-2015-292869271.html?device=mobile
34. "Candidate wants apology, NDP to dump Pat Martin for 'son of a bitch' comment". CBC News. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
35. Prest, Ashley (21 September 2015). "Pat Martin apologizes for 'intemperate' language". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
36. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Winnipeg Centre, 30 September 2015
37. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates

External links

• Pat Martin – Parliament of Canada biography