Brian Charlton

Brian Albert Charlton (born May 22, 1947) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1995 who represented the riding of Hamilton Mountain. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae. He serves on the board of directors of a sustainable living non-profit called Green Venture.

Brian Charlton
Ontario MPP
In office 1977–1995
Preceded by	New riding
Succeeded by	Marie Bountrogianni
Constituency	Hamilton Mountain
Personal details
Born	May 22, 1947 Hamilton, Ontario
Political party	New Democrat
Spouse(s)	Chris Charlton
Residence	Hamilton, Ontario
Occupation	Non-profit executive

Background

Charlton worked as a property assessor before entering political life.[1] His father, John Charlton, was a candidate for the Ontario NDP in the 1963 provincial election in the riding of Wentworth.[2] His wife Chris Charlton has campaigned for federal, provincial and municipal office numerous times since 1997, being elected in 2006 and re-elected since as Federal NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain.

Politics

In opposition

Charlton ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1975, but lost to Progressive Conservative John Smith by 1,667 votes in Hamilton Mountain. He ran again in the 1977 provincial election, and defeated Smith by 373 votes.

In 1979, Charlton sponsored a private member's bill that would have given domestic workers the same protection as regular workers including a minimum wage of $3. At the time domestic workers were excluded form such protections as human rights, worker's compensation and minimum pay. The governing Tories killed the bill saying that many people could not afford to pay these workers such a high wage.[3] In 1980, he proposed an affirmative action bill that would have promoted equal pay for women and other job protections. The bill was blocked by the Tories.[4]

He was re-elected over Progressive Conservative Duncan Beattie in the 1981 provincial election by 197 votes.[5] He was appointed as the party's environment critic.[6] In 1982, Charlton proposed a bill called the Safe Drinking Water Act that would have protected water sources for human consumption. The bill was never passed but was a forerunner for legislation passed twenty years later in response to the Walkerton Inquiry.[7] Charlton supported Bob Rae for the provincial NDP leadership in 1982.

He was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1985 provincial election, and defeated Liberal Jane Milanetti by 1,632 votes in the 1987 election. After the election he was appointed as the party's energy critic.[8]

In government

The NDP won a majority government in the 1990 provincial election, and Charlton was re-elected by a landslide. After the election he was named as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Energy, Jenny Carter.[9]

He was appointed to cabinet on March 18, 1991, as Minister of Financial Institutions.[10] He was also named Minister Responsible for Auto Insurance.[11] He was named acting Minister of Energy on February 14, 1992, finally being appointed to the full portfolio on September 23 of the same year.[12][13] Following a cabinet shuffle on February 3, 1993, he was named Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet as well as government House Leader.[14]

After campaigning on a platform of publicly funded automobile insurance, the New Democrats backtracked due to the recession in the 1990s. Charlton took over management of the issue in 1991 and handled it through to the passing of Bill 164 in July 1993. The bill increased benefits for accident victims under the new no-fault system.[15]

As Chair of the Management Board, Charlton faced a broad range of issues that concerned the public. However, one issue in particular raised a few eyebrows. In 1993 the government published a job advertisement for a management board director. The ad read that competition was limited to, "...aboriginal peoples, francophones, persons with disabilities, racial minorities and women." Many read this to mean that "white males" would be excluded and that this was a broad-minded government policy. Charlton said, "Most of the backlash was in fact the impression that all government jobs were going to be handled in that way, which wasn't correct." The government pulled the ad after the ensuing controversy.[16]

In February 1995, Charlton suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized but returned to work three weeks later.[17] He ran in the June 1995 provincial election but he finished third behind Liberal Marie Bountrogianni and the winner, Progressive Conservative Trevor Pettit.[18]

Cabinet positions

Later life

After leaving office, Charlton worked as an executive assistant to Howard Hampton, the Ontario NDP leader who followed Bob Rae.[19]

As of 2012, Charlton is the past chair of Green Venture, a non-profit group which focuses on sustainable living initiatives. and has chaired employment adjustment committees for the Hamilton Steelworkers Area Council and the Canadian Auto Workers.[1]

Electoral record

1977 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Brian Charlton	12,681	38.2
	Progressive Conservative	John Smith	12,308	37.1
	Liberal	Kris Chaman	7,919	23.9
	Communist	Mike Mirza	247	0.7
Total valid votes			33,155	100.00
Source:Canadian Press.[20]

1981 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Brian Charlton	11,008	36.0
	Progressive Conservative	Duncan Beattie	10,811	35.4
	Liberal	Vince Agro	8,738	28.6
Total valid votes			30,557	100.00
Source:Windsor Star.[21]

1985 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Brian Charlton	13,871	44.3
	Progressive Conservative	Steve Oneschuk	9,729	31.0
	Liberal	Dominic Agostino	24.7	38.08
Total valid votes			31,345	100.00
Source:Ottawa Citizen.[22]

1987 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Brian Charlton	14,743	42.82
	Liberal	Jane Milanetti	13,111	38.08
	Progressive Conservative	John Smith	6,580	19.11
Total valid votes			34,434	100.00
Source: Toronto Star.[23]

1990 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Brian Charlton	22,488	59.76	+16.95
	Progressive Conservative	Grant Darby	7,709	20.49	+1.38
	Liberal	Al Bailey	7,432	19.75	-18.33
Total valid votes			37,629	100.00
Source: Toronto Star.[24]

1995 Ontario general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Progressive Conservative	Trevor Pettit	13,852	36.60	+16.14
	Liberal	Marie Bountrogianni	12,824	33.88	+14.16
	New Democratic	Brian Charlton	9,837	25.99	-33.81
	Family Coalition	Michael O'Grady	1,329	3.51
Total valid votes			37,822	100.00
Source: Elections Ontario.[18]

References

1. "Board of Directors". Green Venture. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
2. Canadian Press (1963-09-26). "78 in Tory Blue Wave -- 23 Is All Grits Saved". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 25. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
3. "Tories scrub better-wages bill for domestics". The Globe and Mail. 12 October 1979. p. 5.
4. Stead, Sylvia (14 November 1980). "Bill on equal pay proposed by NDP blocked by Tories". The Globe and Mail. p. 5.
5. Platiel, Rudy (21 March 1981). "Final verdict awaited in Parry Sound". The Globe and Mail. p. 5.
6. "Cabinet order means Ontario Energy Corp. can skirt pollution law". The Globe and Mail. 21 January 1982. p. 4.
7. Keating, Michael (8 June 1983). "How safe water quality fight faces complex labyrinth". The Globe and Mail. p. 4.
8. Rickwood, Peter (7 July 1985). "Liberal caucus split over abandoning Darlington A-plant". Toronto Star. p. A9.
9. Brennan, Richard (2 October 1990). "The new era has started: A cabinet of just regular folks". The Windsor Star. p. A1.
10. "Firing may not change NDP plans, insurer says". Kitchener - Waterloo Record. 18 March 1991. p. A4.
11. Hall, Chris (18 March 1991). "Rae fires Kormos". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A1.
12. "A fourth local support? Wobbly cabinet". The Hamilton Spectator. 17 February 1992. p. A6.
13. Casella, Emilia (24 September 1992). "Bell Cairn job 1 for Christopherson". The Hamilton Spectator. p. B1.
14. Brennan, Richard (3 February 1993). "Cooke glad to shed old job: He gets new super education ministry". The Windsor Star. p. A1.
15. "Bill 164 critics see big premium hike". Canadian Underwriter. September 1993. p. 6.
16. "Ontario pulls minority hiring job ad: Civil service recruiting policy draws fire". Kitchener - Waterloo Record. 16 November 1993. p. A3.
17. "Brian Charlton Pause to consider". The Spectator. 23 February 1995. p. A8.
18. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate (1995)". Elections Ontario. June 8, 1995. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015.
19. Poling, Jim (2 August 1996). "Charlton walks halls of Queen's Park again". The Spectator. p. A6.
20. Canadian Press (1977-06-10). "Results across Ontario show few changes". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. p. A10.
21. Canadian Press (1981-03-20). "It was a ho-hum turnout". The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. 21. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
22. Canadian Press (1985-05-03). "The night the Tories tumbled; riding by riding results". Ottawa Citizen. Toronto. p. 43. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
23. "Winners Across Ontario". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1987-09-11. p. A13.
24. "Results from across the province". The Toronto Daily Star. Toronto. 1990-09-07. p. A11.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)