Arthur Howard Potts (born ) is a former politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. He was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018 who represented the riding of

Beaches—East York Beaches—East York (formerly Beaches—Woodbine) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. This riding is situated east of ...

. He announced that he was running for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership in October 2019, but bowed out days later.

Background

Potts attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political philosophy. He then obtained a master's degree in industrial relations from Queen's University. He worked as a lobbyist in the city of Toronto and at the provincial level; and gained some notoriety by buying dinner with the mayor at an auction. Among his clients was the Open Shop Contractors Association of Ontario, an organization that sought to open up tendering to all qualified contractors, regardless of their union affiliation. Potts was a registered lobbyist for the Open Shop Contractors Association, following the merger of the Toronto Independent Contractors Association, which he founded, with OSCA. He also represented The Beer Store, assisting them in convincing the Ontario government to implement a deposit/return system on LCBO containers, as well as firms in the film, recycling and construction industries, During this time he also served as President of BioWaste Treatment Technologies, which owned the Ontario rights to an Israeli-based anaerobic digestion technology that can divert upwards of 75% of mixed municipal waste from landfill, while creating clean water, energy and compost. He also co-founded Woodwaste Solutions, a firm specializing in waste wood reuse and recycling. He lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

with his partner Lisa Martin, who has three children, while he has two daughters of his own, Robin and Dara.

Politics

In the 1994 municipal election he ran for councillor on

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The c ...

in Ward 8 (Riverdale) but lost to incumbent Peter Tabuns. In the

2014 Ontario election The 2014 Ontario general election was held on June 12, 2014, to elect the members of the 41st Parliament of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal Party won a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, legislature, allowing its ...

, he was elected in the riding of

in a tight race, beating incumbent

New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...

Michael Prue by 431 votes. In July 2014, he was appointed as

Parliamentary Assistant In UK politics, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan member of staff employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the ...

(PA) to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Subsequently, he served as Parliamentary Assistant for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. In September 2016, Potts introduced a private member's bill called "Protecting Rewards Points Act" that would prevent loyalty points from expiring. Earlier in the year, Air Miles Canada announced that points collected but not used that were older than five years would expire. Potts introduced his bill to prevent this from happening. The bill was passed with unanimous approval in December 2016. Faced with the impending legislation, Air Miles announced that they would reverse their earlier decision. However the legislation still passed to prevent Air Miles and other loyalty point schemes from doing so in the future. Potts was defeated in the 2018 Ontario election.

Election results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Arthur 1957 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Living people Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Toronto Queen's University at Kingston alumni University of Toronto alumni