Scott Brison

Hon. Scott A. Brison

Scott Brison Scott Brison
Riding	Kings—Hants
Political parties:	Progressive Conservative (1997-2003) Liberal (2003-present)
Terms:	1997-Jul. 24, 2000; 2000-present
Profession(s):	Businessman, investment banker

Scott A. Brison, PC, MP, BComm (born May 10, 1967, Windsor, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian politician. He was Minister of Public Works and Government Services under Paul Martin and is running to succeed Martin as party leader in the 2006 Liberal leadership convention.

Brison represents the Nova Scotia riding of Kings—Hants as a Liberal Member of Parliament. The first openly gay member of the Cabinet of Canada (though not the first gay Canadian MP—see below), he notes that he is "not a gay politician, but a politician who happens to be gay."

Biography

Brison obtained a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University. While there, he started and operated a successful business renting small fridges. Brison then worked in corporate sales for ten years. He entered politics as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the Nova Scotia riding of Kings—Hants in the 1997 election. Brison was one of a handful of new PC "Young Turk" MPs (along with John Herron, André Bachand and Peter MacKay) who were considered the future youthful leadership material that would restore the ailing Tories to their glory days.

In July 2000, Brison resigned his seat on behalf of PC leader Joe Clark, so that Clark could gain a seat in the House of Commons. In the interim, Brison was appointed co-chair of the Tories' Election Policy Platform Committee, and became vice-president of investment banking at Yorkton Securities in Toronto.

When the 2000 election was called in October, Clark stood for election in a Calgary, Alberta riding. Brison returned as the PC candidate in Kings—Hants, and was returned to Parliament. In 2001, he served as the party's Finance and Industry critic, and was vice-chairman of the House of Commons Finance committee. Brison came out as gay in 2002, becoming the fourth sitting Member of Parliament to do so after Svend Robinson, Réal Ménard and Libby Davies. He was the first openly gay Progressive Conservative MP.

In 2003, following Clark's retirement, Brison ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives on a platform of "new ideas", that consisted of Employment Insurance reform, more private involvement in healthcare, integrated defense strategy with the US, and socially liberal policies. Although he was widely judged to have run a strong campaign, at the leadership convention, he came in fourth place and threw his support to Jim Prentice. Prentice lost on the final ballot to MacKay (who won with the support of David Orchard). He fought publicly with other members of his party, particularly Elsie Wayne, over their opposition to same-sex marriage.

On December 10th, 2003, four days after Brison voted in favour of the PCs merging with the Canadian Alliance to form the new Conservative Party of Canada, Brison announced that he would cross the floor and sit as a Liberal MP. He stated that he had reservations about the perceived dominance of former members of the more socially conservative Canadian Alliance in the new party. Brison was criticized for this move, however, especially because he had actively supported the merger when it was first proposed.

On December 12, he was appointed as a parliamentary secretary and sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. In the 2004 election, Brison was re-elected, his first victory as a Liberal. On July 20, 2004, Brison was named to cabinet as Minister of Public Works in Martin's post-election shuffle. In doing so, he became Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister.

He announced in October 2005 that he and his partner, Maxime Saint-Pierre, intended to marry. They have not yet set a date. [1]

In March 2006, it was revealed that Brison had sent emails to a CIBC banker the day before the government's announcement on the taxation of income trusts. Brison said to the banker that "I think you will be happier very soon... this week probably". Although Brison claimed not to have any insider knowledge of the announcement, the emails created the perception that he had leaked the news in advance of the announcement, and the ensuing controversy damaged Brison's image.

On April 22, 2006, he entered the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. His Liberal leadership platform emphasises both environmentalism and economic reform calling for "green" platform that calls for personal and corporate tax cuts, to prompt business growth and curb pollution.[2].

External links

• Official Leadership Campaign Site
• Official Site
• How'd They Vote?: Scott Brison's voting history and quotes

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