Jack Flaherty (born 1931) is a politician and former member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

. Flaherty graduated with a Bachelor of Education, a Bachelor of Physical Education, and a Master's of Education from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. He worked as a teacher in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

before becoming a consultant for the government's Department of Education. He later became an administrator, acting as associate superintendent of schools in Edmonton and the superintendent of schools in

Fort McMurray Fort McMurray ( ) is an urban service area in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Alberta, Canada. It is located in northeast Alberta, in the middle of the Athabasca oil sands, surrounded by boreal forest. It has played a significant ...

. Flaherty first ran for office in the 2004 Alberta provincial election, when he ran for the

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...

in St. Albert against incumbent Progressive Conservative

Mary O'Neill Mary O'Neill may refer to: * Mary O'Neill (Canadian politician), member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta * Mary Devenport O'Neill, American poet * Mary O'Neill (fencer), American Olympic fencer * Mary-Anne O'Neill, Australian politician See a ...

. Flaherty won an upset victory of just over four hundred votes. Once in office, Flaherty became the Liberal education critic, in which capacity he has argued that provincially mandated achievement tests should no longer be given to grade three students, and that the government should put increased focus on diagnostic testing of children at that age. He has also advocated for a broader range of programs for high school students and better support for vocational programs. In March 2007, he sponsored the School (Restrictions on Fees and Fundraising) Amendment Act (Bill 208), which would prohibit schools from charging fees or conducting fund-raising for the support of curricular activities. The bill was defeated in May 2007. In September 2006, Flaherty announced that he would seek re-election during the next provincial election. However, he was defeated by the Progressive Conservative candidate, former city councillor

Ken Allred George Kenneth (Ken) Allred (born December 30, 1940 in Pincher Creek, Alberta) is a politician in Alberta, Canada, who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, in which he sat as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus. He i ...

References

Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Canadian educators University of Alberta alumni Living people 1930s births 21st-century Canadian politicians {{Alberta-politician-stub