Janet Corinne Brown(born June 23, 1947) is a former Canadian politician. She was first elected as amember of Parliamentunder theReform Party of Canadaticket in theAlbertariding ofCalgary Southeastin the1993 federal election.[1]Before entering politics, Brown was a schoolteacher and thenagribusinessexecutive. She is of Croatian descent.
Jan Brown | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forCalgary Southeast | |
| In office October 25, 1993 – June 1, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Lee Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Jason Kenney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 23, 1947 Nanaimo,British Columbia,Canada |
| Political party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Reform Party of Canada(until 1996) |
| Profession | Teacher |
Brown rose to prominence as a well-spoken and moderate member of the Reform Party, becomingCanadian HeritageCritic in itsshadow cabinetwhen it was second Opposition in the35th Canadian Parliament.She andStephen Harperwere the only two MPs to speak out against the motion to denysame-sex couplesthe same rights asheterosexualones at the 1994 Reform convention. She won much admiration for putting a yellow rose on the empty desk of rivalBloc Québécoisparty leaderLucien Bouchard,who was suffering from a life-threatening illness. The image of the solitary rose on his empty desk was broadcast around the nation. Brown was curious about gender roles within Canadian politics and subsequently wrote an article on the subject.[2]
Later that year she was voted sexiest, best-dressed, and most generous MP by theHill Timesnewspaper. Due to her success in questioningCanadian Heritage MinisterMichel Dupuy,she was promoted to critic forHuman Resources Development Canada.
Early in 1996, however, Brown, along with fellow Reform MPJim Silye,spoke out openly against theright wingof the party. The remarks were motivated byArt Hanger's planned trip toSingaporeto look into the success ofcaningat deterring crime. While the party leaders acknowledged that Brown and Silye's criticism had weight, they were attacked for publicly criticizing the party. Brown promised to deal with any future concerns within the party, and both she and Silye apologized. The next month, however, Reform MPBob Ringmamentioned that store owners should be free to movegaysand "ethnics" "to the back of the shop", or even to fire them, if it helped their business. A few days later MPDavid Chattersaroused more controversy when he suggested it would be reasonable to ban homosexuals from teaching children. Party leaderPreston Manningand the other top party officials did not censure the remarks or demand apologies from the MPs.
On May 7, 1996, the Reform executive voted to suspend Ringma and Chatters for their remarks but also voted to suspend Brown for speaking out against the party. Brown was disappointed and three days later announced she was quitting the party to sit as anindependent.She was especially critical of Preston Manning and how he managed the party.
Brown remained an independent for the rest of the parliament but co-operated closely with theProgressive Conservative Party of Canada.In the1997 election,she ran as a Progressive Conservative, moving to contest the adjacent riding ofCalgary Southwest,then represented by Reform leaderPreston Manning.
Despite drawing much attention in the sometimes bitter campaign against her former party leader, Brown lost by a significant margin, and retired permanently from politics. In 2005, she completed aPh.D.ineducationandwomen's studies.She became alifelong learningconsultant and retired in 2013.
References
edit- ^Jan Brown – Parliament of Canada biography,Accessed 14 April 2011
- ^"Changing the Gender Agenda of Politics,"Canadian Parliamentary Review,vol. 17(2): 8–10 (1994).