Marietta Lola Doreen Roberts (January 9, 1943 – October 4, 2020) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. She 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 1987 to 1990.

Background

Roberts was educated at the University of Western Ontario, the

Ontario College of Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research, located in Toronto, Ontario. It is located directly above the St. George subway sta ...

and

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

. She taught at Alma College for three years, and then practiced law in the Elgin County area from 1971 to 1987. She also worked as a farmer. She was a founding member of the Ontario Child Representation Program, and served as the acting crown attorney for Elgin. Roberts also chaired the Elgin County Board of Education.

Politics

She 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 ...

for the federal Liberal Party in the 1974 federal election, and lost to Progressive Conservative John Wise by 2,502 votes in the riding of Elgin. She ran for the Ontario legislature in the 1975 provincial election, and lost to Progressive Conservative incumbent

Ron McNeil Ronald Keith McNeil (January 15, 1920 – March 18, 2003) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1958 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Background McNeil was born in ...

by 1,831 votes in the provincial riding of the same name. She tried again in the 1987 provincial election this time defeating McNeil by 2,447 votes. She served as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

supporter of David Peterson's government for the next three years, and was chair of the Liberal Caucus in 1988 and 1989. She served as Vice-Chair of Select Committee on Constitutional Reform from 1987 to 1989 and as Deputy Government

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

in 1989-1990. The Liberals were defeated by the

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 ...

in the 1990 provincial election, and Roberts lost to NDP candidate Peter North.

Later life

In 1991, Roberts was appointed as an

Ontario Court of Justice The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and provincial offences. ...

judge. She has been an Associate Chief Justice associate chief judge and coordinator of justices of the peace since 1995. She died on October 4, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Marietta 1943 births Dalhousie University alumni Candidates in the 1974 Canadian federal election 2020 deaths Ontario Liberal Party MPPs People from Elgin County University of Western Ontario alumni Women MPPs in Ontario 20th-century Canadian women politicians Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons