Dave Barrett

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people with the same name, see David Barrett (disambiguation).
For the radio journalist, see Dave Barrett (journalist).

Dave Barrett
British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Dewdney
In office
September 12, 1960 – September 12, 1966
Preceded byLyle Wicks
Succeeded byGeorge Mussallem
Personal details
Born( 1930-10-02)October 2, 1930
Social worker
OBC ribbon

David Barrett

social worker in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 26th premier of British Columbia
from 1972 to 1975.

Early life and career

Barrett was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Rose (Hyatt or Hait)[1] and Samuel Barrett, a peddler. His family was Jewish. His mother was from Odesa, and his paternal grandparents were immigrants from Russia.[2][3][4]

Barrett described his father as a

Communist who voted CCF.[5][6]

Barrett graduated from

St Louis University and earned a master's degree in social work.[5][6]

The couple and their two children (a third would be born in 1960) returned to British Columbia in 1957 where he found work at Haney Correctional Institute as a personnel and staff training officer. He was asked to run for the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation after giving a party member a tour of the facility.[5]

Political career

Election to the legislature

Barrett was first elected to British Columbia's legislature in the

New Democratic Party of British Columbia) member for the electoral district of Dewdney. He had been fired from his job by the provincial government in 1959 after it became known that he was running for a CCF nomination and had to fight for reinstatement as at the time civil servants were barred from running for office.[5]

He became known for his public speaking ability and held his seat through four elections. He ran for the provincial leadership of the NDP, but lost to Tom Berger. However, Berger lost the 1969 election, a contest that the NDP had been expected to win. He resigned, and there was a quick campaign to draft Barrett as party leader.

Premier

Barrett led the NDP to its first provincial victory against the stagnating Social Credit government of W. A. C. Bennett in the 1972 election. He became Premier on September 15, 1972.

The Barrett government substantially reformed the welfare system, initiated a number of reforms such as establishing the province's Labour Relations Board, the

Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) to protect the small supply of farmland in BC, all of which were retained by subsequent Social Credit and Liberal governments.[6] The NDP also introduced more democracy into the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia through the introduction of question period and full Hansard transcripts of legislative proceedings in the province.[7]

On social policy, in 1973, B.C. banned

French immersion in schools.[6][8]

Barrett's government also introduced a mineral royalties tax, which inflamed the mining industry and helped mobilize it into organizing to defeat the NDP electorally.[6]

The NDP passed 367 bills, an average of a new law every three days, while in power.[6]

Return to Opposition

Barrett called a snap election in 1975, and was defeated by the Social Credit Party, then led by Bill Bennett, son of the man Barrett had defeated in the previous election. Bennett's campaign focused on attacking the Barrett government's handling of provincial finances. Businesses and other free market supporters had united the opposition to the NDP under a revitalized Social Credit with both Liberal and Conservative (MLAs) crossing the floor to join the Socreds prior to the election.

In terms of raw numbers (but not percentage), the NDP increased its popular vote in the 1975 election. However, its vote outside of the Vancouver area plummeted, costing it 20 seats and its majority. Barrett was personally defeated in the Coquitlam seat he had held since its creation in a 1965 redistribution, losing to Socred challenger George Herman Kerster by only 18 votes. In June 1976, he was returned to the legislature in a by-election in Vancouver East, after sitting NDP MLA Robert Arthur Williams stepped aside. He remained an MLA for that riding until 1984, continuing to lead the NDP against Bennett's Socreds in the 1979 and 1983 elections.

On October 6, 1983, Barrett was forcibly removed from the Legislative Assembly chamber by the

Serjeant-at-Arms, during a raucous debate on the Social Credit government's austerity program, for failing to abide by the Speaker's ruling and was banned from the legislature for several months.[6] This was the first incident in the legislature's history where security staff had to intervene and remove a member from chamber.[9]

Federal politics

Barrett was elected Member of Parliament for the riding of

Western alienation, rather than focusing its attention on Quebec. The Quebec leadership of the NDP strongly opposed Barrett's candidacy, and future Quebec MP Phil Edmonston threatened to resign from the party if Barrett became leader.[11]

During contentious attempts to amend Canada's constitution, Barrett opposed the 1987 Meech Lake Accord, but reluctantly endorsed the 1992 Charlottetown Accord to comply with party policy. He later referred to the party's support for the Accord as a mistake.

He lost his seat in the

Keith Martin
.

Post-political life

From 1998 to 2000, Barrett chaired two inquiries into the Leaky condo crisis in BC entitled The Commission of Inquiry into the Quality of Condominium Construction in British Columbia. The first of what became known as the "Barrett Commissions" was to investigate the cause of the crisis and make recommendations to prevent reoccurrence. The second was to make recommendations following the collapse of the New Home Warranty program.[12][13]

Barrett retired from active politics and, for health reasons beginning in 2010, from public life altogether. In 2000, Barrett was appointed to American Income Life Insurance Company's Labour Advisory Board as an Honorary Member.[14] In 2003, he supported Bill Blaikie's bid to become leader of the federal NDP. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 2012 a member of the Order of British Columbia. In 2014, it was announced that Barrett had Alzheimer's disease and was living in a care facility in Victoria, British Columbia.[15] He died on February 2, 2018, aged 87.[16]

A state memorial service was held for former B.C. premier Dave Barrett. The service took place at the University of Victoria's Farquhar Auditorium on Saturday, March 3, 2018 at 10 a.m.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Marriage Records". BC Archives. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Barrett: Still cheeky as he turns 80". Times Colonist. October 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Fonds RBSC-ARC-1026 - Dave Barrett fonds Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  4. The Canadian Jewish News
    . 7 February 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Bailey, Ian (2 February 2018). "Dave Barrett, B.C.'s first NDP premier, was a lively figure". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "First NDP premier of B.C., Dave Barrett, dead at 87". Vancouver Sun. February 2, 2018. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  7. ^ "Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. Hansard Services. FAQ". Leg.bc.ca. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  8. ^ Wilson, Deborah (February 2, 2018). "'Outrageous, flamboyant, always very quotable': Former B.C. premier Dave Barrett dead at 87". CBC News. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "1983: NDP leader booted from BC legislature". Archives.cbc.ca. October 6, 1983. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  10. ^ "First woman to lead a national party - CBC Archives". Archives.cbc.ca. December 2, 1989. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  11. ^ "David Barrett". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  12. ^ BARRETT TO LEAD SECOND INQUIRY INTO LEAKY CONDOS, British Columbia Construction Association, Issue Update August 1999[permanent dead link]. (PDF) Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  13. ^ BC Law Institute, NWH Interim. (PDF) Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  14. ^ "Labour Advisory Board". American Income Life Insurance Company. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  15. ^ Les Leyne (October 4, 2014). "Former B.C. premiers Barrett, Bennett face common foe in Alzheimer's". Times Colonist. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  16. ^ "First NDP premier of B.C., Dave Barrett, dead at 87". vancouversun.com. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  17. ^ "State memorial service for former B.C. premier Dave Barrett to be held in Victoria Saturday, March 3". 21 February 2018.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dave_Barrett&oldid=1219995825"