Percy Alonzo Paris is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former politician from
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 four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. He represented the constituency of
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
It was created in 2003 from Bedford-Fall River and Sackville-Beaver Bank. In 2013, it lost ...
in the
Nova Scotia House of Assembly
The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...
for the
Nova Scotia New Democratic Party
The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C ...
between 2006-2013.
A native of
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
, Paris has worked in a variety of jobs. He was a small business owner, having owned and operated a bar in
Lower Sackville, as well as the ''Jet Journal'', a local publication. Paris also worked as a municipal employee for the
City of Halifax
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, and as a hockey scout with the
International Hockey League and the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...
. Paris worked for
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 ...
in a variety of positions: director of the Diversity Initiative, Black Student Advisor, instructor in
Black History, and was involved with the Transition Year Program.
Paris has been an active community volunteer and was the recipient of a human rights award from the Human Rights Commission of Nova Scotia for his work bringing communities together through sport. Paris has held positions on a number of boards of directors including the Riverlake Residents' Association, the Black Business Initiative, National Access Awareness Week, Network for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities, the
King's-Edgehill School
King's-Edgehill School is a Canadian private university-preparatory boarding and day school located in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. It is the oldest English independent school in the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom, founded by United ...
Alumni Association, Team Work Co-operative, Halifax Black Community Workshop, Dartmouth East Black Learning Centre and the Metro Committee for Persons with Disabilities.
Political career
In 2006 Paris successfully ran for the
Nova Scotia New Democratic Party
The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C ...
nomination in the riding of
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
It was created in 2003 from Bedford-Fall River and Sackville-Beaver Bank. In 2013, it lost ...
. He was elected in the
2006 provincial election, defeating the incumbent
Progressive Conservative Gary Hines with 46.39% of the vote. Paris was re-elected in the
2009 provincial election with 54.47 per cent of the vote. During this period Paris was the only African-Nova Scotian elected to the provincial legislature.
While serving as a member of the official opposition from 2006-2009, Paris was the NDP's
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
for Education and Early Childhood Development, as well as African Nova Scotian Affairs.
On June 19, 2009 Paris was appointed to the
Executive Council of Nova Scotia
The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is sim ...
where he served as Minister of Economic and Rural Development, as well as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, and as Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs.
On May 9, 2013, Paris resigned from cabinet following an incident at the House of Assembly earlier in the day. Paris revealed that he "lost his composure" in the hallway outside the legislature chamber involving a fellow member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Later that same day, a spokesman for
Halifax Regional Police
The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) is one of a number of law enforcement agencies operating in the Halifax, Nova Scotia; the other primaries being the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Forces Military Police. The city also is home to a ...
confirmed they were investigating an alleged assault at the legislature building, issuing a statement saying that they had charged a 65-year-old man from
Windsor Junction with uttering threats and assault after receiving a complaint.
On May 10, 2013,
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 Nova Scotia legislature
Keith Colwell
Keith Wayne Colwell (born October 3, 1947) is a Canadian politician, who served as a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, representing the riding of Preston-Dartmouth for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, from 1993 to 1999 and from 2003 to ...
stated "Yesterday in the House of Assembly, I was assaulted and threatened by the Minister of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism", adding that he did not know what prompted the attack. According to Paris, the pair had a "heated exchange" near the doorway of a washroom for members of the legislative assembly, admitting that he momentarily lost his temper and stating "I regret I lost my cool for a few seconds". Colwell has been a member of the legislature since 1993. Paris's lawyer appeared in court June 18, 2013 on his behalf where the case was adjourned to July 4, 2013. Paris's lawyer appeared in court July 4, 2013 on his behalf and stated that he was accepting responsibility for a minor assault and making threats against Colwell, and by doing so, could end up with no criminal record. The Crown prosecutor recommended that Paris enter the adult diversion program. Paris successfully completed the adult diversion program and it was announced on October 24, 2013 that the charges were being dropped.
Paris was not re-elected in the
2013 provincial election, having placed third behind candidates for the PC Party and the winning Liberal Party.
References
Black Business Initiative NewsletterNDP Caucus Website Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Percy
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Black Canadian politicians
Black Nova Scotians
Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs
People from Windsor, Nova Scotia
Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia
Black Canadian businesspeople
21st-century Canadian politicians