Gary Lunn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hon. Gary Vincent Lunn | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1997 Federal Election |
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| Preceded by | Jack Frazer |
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| Born | May 8, 1957 Trail, British Columbia |
| Political party | CPC |
| Spouse | Alexandra Lunn |
| Residence | North Saanich, British Columbia |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Cabinet | Minister of Natural Resources |
Gary Vincent Lunn, PC, LL.B, MP (born May 8, 1957, in Trail, British Columbia) is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the British Columbia riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands and Minister of Natural Resources in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He was the Official Opposition Critic for Métis and Non-Status Indians, Minister of State for Northern Development, and Critic of the Secretary of State for Human Resources Development. He is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
He attended the University of Victoria, where he completed a Bachelor of Law. He has practised law in Victoria, and resides in Sidney, British Columbia.[1]
He was first elected to Parliament in the federal election of 1997 as a member of the Reform Party of Canada and was re-elected in 2000 as a member of the Canadian Alliance. In April 2001, Lunn was one of the first Alliance MPs to openly criticize the leadership of Stockwell Day, and was suspended from caucus in May of the same year as a result. He briefly sat with the Democratic Representative Caucus under the leadership of Chuck Strahl, but in November 2001, he left to rejoin the Alliance after Day agreed to hold a leadership race. He was permitted to return to the party in January 2002, during the leadership of John Reynolds, following Day's resignation.
In the federal election of 2006, he won re-election against Liberal Candidate Sheila Orr and NDP candidate Jennifer Burgis.
On February 6, 2006, he was sworn in as Natural Resources Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. With his appointment to Cabinet he was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada giving him the right to use the honorific "The Honourable" and the Post Nominal Letters "PC" for life.
On October 9, 2007 a grassroots campaign began in Lunn's home riding. Based on two subsequent minority election victories and the Minister's agenda with Nuclear Power Proliferation, Tar Sands Exploitation, Asbestos Production and the Tanker Moratorium on the British Columbia coast, a group of concerned citizens launched a campaign to overcome the vote split in the riding and replace the Minister in the next Federal Election. The stop the vote split and defeat the Conservatives campaign in Saanich-Gulf Islands is known as the "Shun Lunn Campaign."
Lunn fired Linda Keen, the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, on January 15, 2008. Keen, who was due to appear before a parliamentary committee the next day, had ordered a shutdown of the NRU reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, which is operated by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, in November, 2007, over AECL's failure to perform safety upgrades. AECL falls under Lunn's management as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. The reactor shutdown caused problems with supply shortage of medical radioisotopes, which are used for testing to determine whether a patient has a disease. Canada produces more than half the world's supply. The Canadian House of Commons passed emergency legislation in mid-December, 2007, with unanimous support, to get NRU restarted quickly. There has been no backup reactor for NRU since NRX was decommissioned in 1992, making it very difficult for upgrades and maintenance to be performed on NRU. AECL has been underfunded for more than a decade (The Globe and Mail, January 17, 2008, p. A1).
[edit] External links
- Gary Lunn's Official Website
- Federal Political Biography from the Library of Parliament
- Shun Lunn Campaign
| 28th Ministry - Government of Stephen Harper | ||
| Cabinet Posts (1) | ||
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| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| John Efford | Minister of Natural Resources (2006–present) |
incumbent |
| Parliament of Canada | ||
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| Preceded by Jack Frazer |
Members of Parliament from Saanich—Gulf Islands 1997–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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