Marc Dalton

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Marc Dalton
Marc Dalton (14774493676) (cropped2).jpg
Dalton in 2014
Member of Parliament
for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge
Assumed office
October 21, 2019
Preceded byDan Ruimy
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Maple Ridge-Mission
In office
May 12, 2009 – May 9, 2017
Preceded byRandy Hawes
Succeeded byBob D'Eith
Personal details
Born (1960-06-03) June 3, 1960 (age 61)
CFB Baden–Soellingen, Germany
Political partyConservative
Other political
affiliations
BC Liberal (provincial)
Residence(s)Ottawa, Ontario

Marc Dalton MP is a Canadian politician. He is the current Conservative Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge after the 2019 Canadian federal election. He was a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia following the 2009 and 2013 provincial elections, for the riding of Maple Ridge-Mission.

Biography[edit]

Dalton ran as a Conservative candidate in Burnaby—New Westminster in the 2006 federal election, losing to incumbent MP Peter Julian. His nomination in the 2008 federal election in the Burnaby - New Westminster riding was refused by the Conservative Party of Canada.

Prior to his time in elected office, Dalton worked as a teacher in School District 42 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows at the elementary and high school levels. He caused much ire among fellow staff when he crossed union picket lines in 2005, midway through the BC teachers' strike.[1] Dalton was quoted as saying, "Whether or not I agreed with the [B.C.] government, they had a legal mandate to rule and make decisions," he said. "It boiled down to obeying the law."[2] Due to his service as a BC teacher, he is entitled to participate in the BC Teachers Plan and receive an estimated $30,825.[3]

In Dalton's first term as MLA, he served as parliamentary secretary for independent schools, a position created by former British Columbia Premier Christy Clark in 2012. Having been a retired public school teacher for School District 42 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, he had this to say on the appointment. "I think this position of parliamentary secretary is a reflection of the emphasis the government places on family choice -- choice of education,”[4] On the privatization of school system's in British Columbia, Dalton further added more than 11 per cent of the student population is enrolled in independent schools, and because tuition fees are paid by parents, the education ministry saves money.[5]

Dalton was on the Experience the Fraser steering committee, a trails and tourism project.[6]

In 2012, Dalton campaigned to have the BC Liberals' name changed as he felt it was confusing for voters who may not know it is a centre-right party. “There is still a lot of confusion with name brand. People who are federal Conservatives, such as myself, they just have a hard time voting (BC) Liberal," Dalton said, adding his party needs to get out the message that a vote for the BC Conservatives is not a vote for the federal Conservative Party.[7]

In February 2015, Dalton unsuccessfully ran for the federal Conservative nomination of Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, sitting as an independent MLA in the interim.[8] Dalton rejoined the BC Liberals after the nomination serving as a backbench MLA until 2017 when he lost to British Columbia New Democratic Party challenger Bob D'Eith.[9] Upon his loss as incumbent, Dalton was eligible to receive $132,000 in severance over 15-months with the British Columbia provincial legislature.[10] It was revealed by former BC cabinet minister Bill Bennett that most eligible MLA's (including Dalton) took advantage of these payments for the full period. An additional $9,000 was also permitted for job-skills retraining. Due to serving two full terms in office, Dalton was granted a British Columbia MLA estimated pension of $32,600 ($563,772 payout by the age of 80).[11] In 2019, he ran a third time for the federal Conservatives and won. As Member of Parliament serving the constituency of Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge, he now holds a base salary of $185,800.[12] If successful in the 44th Canadian Federal Election, Dalton will be eligible to attain a minimum $32,000 pension from the Parliament of Canada at age 65.[13]

Controversies[edit]

While running in the 2009 British Columbia general election, an email written to a colleague from 1996 while Dalton was a schoolteacher was released by the NDP due to "disturbingly homophobic comments", according to MLA Spencer Herbert.[14] The email was a response to concerns over overreach in proposed policy changes to address bullying in which Dalton wrote:

"I am not against homosexuals as people, but I do not support their lifestyle choices. I believe homosexuality is a moral issue. Most of us agree on many morals: respect, honesty, kindness.”[15]

Dalton released an apology, stating he didn't intend to be offensive or hurtful.[16]

In 2014, Dalton came under fire for his comments on child poverty as MLA. While debating the topic in the B.C. Legislature, then British Columbia New Democratic Party Social Development critic Michelle Mungall says, "One MLA flat out [Dalton] said he didn't know any children who were homeless, that there were no children who were homeless and no children were going hungry at a time when child food bank clients have increased by 30-percent.”[17][18] In the legislature, Dalton said, “I have not met children starving in British Columbia in the past 50-some years. If they were, then I think that would be, normally, willful or criminal negligence."[19]

During that year, Dalton voted against[20] an amendment to the Vital Statistics Act[21] that would allow transgender or gender non-binary individuals to change registered sex designation from their sex assigned at birth to reflect their gender identity.[22][23] Maple Ridge based Thomas Haney Secondary school teacher and staff liaison for the gay-straight alliance, Kathryn Ferguson, condemned his decision stating, "Thank you, Mr. Dalton, for reminding me why we do need gay-straight alliance groups in the public school system,” Ferguson further added, "I wish we didn’t have a need for these groups, but when you have a MLA making these ignorant statements, it puts fire underneath us to keep going – because we’re still needed.”[24]

On January 3, 2020, as Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge, Dalton retweeted an opinion column from The Washington Examiner on Twitter titled, "The transgender movement’s message for girls: Your privacy concerns are bigotry" The article, written by freelancer Bethany Mandel alleges, "Young women know their bathrooms and locker rooms have become unsafe, but they are told to be quiet because the feelings of biological males and transgender students matter more,"[25] Dalton defended his re-posting of the article stating he's not pushing the issue aggressively, but spoke about it previously when he was MLA. “It’s concerning for women and for children and young girls to be in a place where there’s someone undressing right in front of them … with male genitalia. I think … it has to work for everybody,” Dalton said.[26]

In his capacity as Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge, Dalton crafted a tweet met with controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada on April 13, 2020.[27] In his post, Dalton stated regarding seniors, "Most deaths are in care homes where average life expectancy is 2 yrs & 65% usually pass in the 1st yr. Time to start moving Canada back to work?" The post was removed after being up for several minutes. When questioned about the incident by media organizations, Dalton's office responded with the following, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the hundreds of Canadians who have lost loved ones because of COVID-19. I personally have an uncle in a care home who I love dearly who has contracted coronavirus."

Recall campaigns[edit]

Over Dalton's tenure as MLA for Maple Ridge - Mission, there had been two campaigns to recall and "fire" the politician from office.[28] In 2011, the group Maple Ridge FightHST, led by Wilf McIntyre and Corisa Bell,[29] launched the first push garnering roughly 2500 signatures, short of the 14,882 or 40% of required voters to begin the recall process.[30] Dalton attempted to undermine the process, claiming locals thought they were signing a petition to halt the passage of the Harmonized Sales Tax in BC. Then, campaign organizer Wilf McIntyre said the group could have collected enough names to oust Dalton. In defense of the petition, McIntyre claimed, “We were very specific because we had to be.”[31]

Four years later, Dalton faced a second recall attempt in 2015.[28] The campaign began shortly after he decided to take a failed second run for a federal seat with the Conservative Party of Canada and sit as an independent MLA. Organizer Yvonne Hale said regarding the representatives run, “I think that goes to show that he's [Dalton] more focused on himself than his constituents." The call to remove Dalton from office ended up stalling following allegations of interference from his supporters and the B.C. Liberal Party. Recall spokesperson Jennifer Heighton says interruptions began at the Maple Ridge Home Show, where people with "Marc Dalton observer" name tags would argue and scare off potential signers from their booth. Heighton further claims that harassment also took place at Maple Ridge's downtown Haney Farmer's Market and other City locations where they would discourage the public from signing the petition. Heighton and the group called for an investigation by Elections B.C. regarding the matter: “Regardless of the Maple Ridge recall withdrawal, it is critically important that the legislation be respected and the right of democratic dissent be upheld. That’s why we want Elections B.C. to fully investigate this situation.” However, according to Elections B.C., the actions of the observers didn't contain any threats of violence, so they don't contravene Sec. 157 of the recall act, and the act also doesn't regulate the actions of observers. Dalton defended the use of observers and scrutineers, claiming they are not mentioned in the recall act, there's nothing that prohibits them. "They were being watched and being respectful... if they did talk to voters, it would have happened very infrequently." Jillian Stead, spokesperson for the B.C. Liberal Party, said the observers "were asked only to monitor the proponent's behaviour to ensure they were being honest in their solicitations, and to interfere only to correct misinformation." She said under Sec.157 of the Recall and Initiative Act, no one can interfere with someone's right to sign a petition and the observers took that seriously. This recall campaign only drew less than 10 percent of the required 15,410.[30]

Political views[edit]

On June 22, 2021, Dalton along with 61 other Conservative caucus members and one independent voted against Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy).[32] This bill, if fully passed, would criminalize the act conducting conversion therapy on LGBTQ2+ individuals, even if they have consented to it. In the same session, Dalton voted against Bill C-12, An Act respecting transparency and accountability in Canada's efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.[33][34] Dalton voted against the bill on the Conservative line, despite having a history of semi-support for environmental policy, including the introduction of a carbon tax in British Columbia when he served as MLA for Maple Ridge - Mission.

Dalton has long claimed to be of Cree-Metis Indigenous heritage and touted this lineage.[35] However, in parliament he voted against Bill C-15, An Act respecting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples[36] on four occasions, April 15, 2021; April 19, 2021; May 14, 2021; and May 25, 2021.[37][38][39] This Bill would have implemented the recommendations put forward by UNDRIP.[40]

In 2020, the Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge threw his support behind the future leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Erin O'Toole. Upon O'Toole's win, Dalton claimed, "I was pleased he won. I felt he was the strongest in a very strong field," going on to further add that he [O'Toole] is "a unifier" for the Party.[41]

Personal life[edit]

He served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves and is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion.[42]

Dalton has served his community in previous years as an elder of the Maple Ridge Community Church.[43]

Marc is passionate volunteerism and helping others. He often works with the Salvation Army and helps out at the Friends in Need Food Bank. He also volunteers with his local church.

Marc attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He has a Bachelor's of Arts degree in French and History from Simon Fraser University and a Master's in Educational Leadership also from SFU.

For a decade, Marc was a member of the Teamsters working in the SFU Athletic Department. While he was studying, he also raised a family. Marc and his wife Marlene have three adult children: Hannah, Justin and Simone - plus a daughter and son in law, Kate and Chris. They have lived and worked in both Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge. They know both communities very well.

Electoral record[edit]

Federal[edit]

2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Marc Dalton 19,371 36.7 +0.5
New Democratic Phil Klapwyk 16,869 31.9 +8.0
Liberal Ahmed Yousef 13,179 24.9 -4.8
People's Juliuss Hoffmann 2,800 5.3 +4.0
Independent Steven William Ranta 453 0.9 ±0.0
Rhinoceros Peter Buddle 161 0.3 N/A
Total valid votes 52,833 99.5
Total rejected ballots 278 0.5
Turnout 53,111 64.4
Eligible voters 82,495
Conservative hold Swing -3.8
Source: Elections Canada[44]
2019 Canadian federal election: Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Marc Dalton 19,650 36.23 +4.84 $89,237.08
Liberal Dan Ruimy 16,125 29.73 -4.15 none listed
New Democratic John Mogk 12,958 23.89 -5.73 $24,526.92
Green Ariane Jaschke 4,332 7.99 +3.77 $3,184.96
People's Bryton Cherrier 698 1.29 none listed
Independent Steve Ranta 468 0.86 -0.00 $969.02
Total valid votes/expense limit 54,231 99.45
Total rejected ballots 298 0.55 +0.32
Turnout 54,529 67.74 -4.22
Eligible voters 80,494
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +4.50
Source: Elections Canada[45][46][47]
2006 Canadian federal election: Burnaby—New Westminster
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Peter Julian 17,391 38.79 +4.21 $71,414
Liberal Mary Pynenburg 13,420 29.93 -2.59 $74,580
Conservative Marc Dalton 12,364 27.58 -0.05 $70,006
Green Scott Janzen 1,654 3.68 -0.04 $1,149
Total valid votes 44,829 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 144 0.32 -0.20
Turnout 44,973 60.09 +1.14
New Democratic hold Swing +3.40

Provincial[edit]

2017 British Columbia general election: Maple Ridge-Mission
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Bob D'Eith 10,989 41.94 +2.13 $68,144
Liberal Marc Dalton 10,664 40.70 −5.89 $59,214
Green Peter Pak Chiu Tam 3,464 13.22 +5.01 $9,786
Conservative Trevor Hamilton 935 3.57 −1.80
Libertarian Jeff Monds 148 0.57
Total valid votes 26,200 100.00
Total rejected ballots 128 0.49
Turnout 26,328 61.69
Registered Voters 42,678
Source: Elections BC[48]
2013 British Columbia general election: Maple Ridge-Mission
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Marc Dalton 10,327 46.59 +0.87
New Democratic Mike Bocking 8,820 39.81 –5.58
Green Alex Pope 1,818 8.21 +1.01
Conservative Chad Thompson 1,190 5.37
Total valid votes 22,155 100.00
Total rejected ballots 152 0.68
Turnout 22,307 57.91
Source: Elections BC[49]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Opinion (2014-09-09). "Letters: Which is it, Mr. Dalton? on Marc Dalton crossing the picket lines in 2005". Maple Ridge News. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  2. ^ "Canada.Com | Homepage | Canada.Com". ocanada. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  3. ^ https://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/SalaryBenefits/Pensions/RetirementScenarios.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  4. ^ Tieleman, Bill (2014-07-15). "Why BC Libs Push to Privatize Public Education". The Tyee. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  5. ^ "Maple Ridge MLA Dalton to help in education". Maple Ridge News. 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  6. ^ Experience the Fraser Project Progressing
  7. ^ "Marc Dalton calls for BC Liberal name change". Maple Ridge News. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  8. ^ Liberal MLA to seek federal Tory nomination in Fraser Valley riding
  9. ^ "MLA recall bid set to launch against B.C. Liberal backbencher Marc Dalton". The Georgia Straight. 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  10. ^ "Retiring MLAs spend taxpayers' millions by abusing severance program". Vancouver Is Awesome. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  11. ^ https://www.taxpayer.com/media/2017-BC-MLA-pensions.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  12. ^ "Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances". lop.parl.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  13. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mps-lose-pension-early-election-1.6042861[bare URL]
  14. ^ NDPs Spencer Herbert calls for the resignation of Marc Dalton via Wayback Machine archived April 30, 2009, accessed October 11, 2019
  15. ^ Marc Dalton 1996 email via Wayback Machine archived April 30, 2009, accessed October 11, 2019
  16. ^ Liberal candidate Marc Dalton apologizes for homophobic email
  17. ^ "Liberal comments on child poverty have NDP critic fuming - NEWS 1130". www.citynews1130.com. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  18. ^ "Liberal MLA Dalton catches flack over poverty comments". Maple Ridge News. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  19. ^ Marc Dalton comments on poverty in the BC Legislature, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2020-04-14
  20. ^ "Marc Dalton voting record 2014 on Miscellaneous statutes amendment act, Nay to section 115". www.leg.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  21. ^ "Vital Statistics Act". www.bclaws.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  22. ^ "Vital Statistics Act". www.bclaws.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  23. ^ "BCLASS-Legacy see section 115, amendment to vital statistics act". www.leg.bc.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  24. ^ "'Why we still need gay-straight groups'". Maple Ridge News. 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  25. ^ "The transgender movement's message for girls: Your privacy concerns are bigotry". Washington Examiner. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  26. ^ "Maple Ridge MP retweets column on transgender change rooms and 'bigotry'". Maple Ridge News. 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  27. ^ "Tory MP notes 'most' pandemic deaths are in care homes, asks if it's time to reopen economy | CBC News".
  28. ^ a b News (2015-04-05). "Dalton facing another recall campaign". BC Local News. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  29. ^ News (2018-07-11). "Bell won't seek third term on Maple Ridge council see FightHST campaign". Maple Ridge News. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  30. ^ a b "Second Dalton recall stalls". Mission City Record. 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  31. ^ "Dalton checking recall list". Mission City Record. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  32. ^ "Vote #175 on June 22nd, 2021 | openparliament.ca". openparliament.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  33. ^ "Vote Detail - 177 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  34. ^ "Vote Detail - 181 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  35. ^ "https://twitter.com/marcdalton/status/1407020773789913088". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  36. ^ "Vote Detail - 93 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  37. ^ "Vote Detail - 91 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  38. ^ "Vote Detail - 117 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  39. ^ "Vote Detail - 119 - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  40. ^ "United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | United Nations For Indigenous Peoples". www.un.org. 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  41. ^ "Dalton endorsed new Conservative leader". Maple Ridge News. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  42. ^ Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
  43. ^ "Meet Marc". Marc Dalton, MP. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  44. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  45. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  46. ^ "Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  47. ^ "Candidate Campaign Returns". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  48. ^ "2017 Provincial General Election - Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 28 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  49. ^ "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

External links[edit]