David R. Cooke (born August 4, 1937) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1985 to 1990.He is not to be confused with another Dave Cooke, who served as a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

Member of Provincial Parliament Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures: * Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada) * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape) In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of P ...

(MPP) in Ontario during the same period.

Background

Cooke was educated at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree, and a law degree. He worked as a lawyer before entering political life.

Politics

He ran for the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the 1979 federal election as a candidate of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, but lost to Progressive Conservative John Reimer by about 7,000 votes in the riding of

Kitchener Kitchener may refer to: People * Earl Kitchener, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), British Field Marshal and 1st Earl Kitchener ** Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener (1846–1937) ...

. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election, defeating Progressive Conservative Don Travers by about 4,500 votes in the provincial constituency of Kitchener. He was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1987 provincial election. During his time in the legislature, Cooke served as a backbench supporter of David Peterson's government. He served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Citizenship in 1989. David Cooke was appointed Chair of the Select Committee on Free trade when the Peterson government came into being in the Summer of 1985. As such he became the principal source of facts for the concern which the government expressed during all the negotiations. Cooke and the committee would cite problems; the US negotiators kept an ongoing vigil as to those concerns, and the Canadian federal negotiators would eventually respond. When the FTA was finally signed, Cooke became the first chair of the first Standing Committee on Economic Affairs in Ontario. As such he pioneered the pre-budget hearings which continue to this day. The Liberals were defeated by the

in the 1990 provincial election, and Cooke lost his seat to NDP candidate Will Ferguson by 6,019 votes. Cooke was later appointed as an immigrant

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

in the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada by Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

. (Opinion book)

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, David R. 1937 births Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Living people Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Oshawa