Reginald B. Alcock, (April 16, 1948 – October 14, 2011) was 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 ...
politician. He represented the riding of
Winnipeg South
Winnipeg South (french: Winnipeg-Sud) is a Canadian federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1979, and since 1988. It covers the southernmost part of the city of Wi ...
in 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 ...
from 1993 to 2006 and was a
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the government of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
The son o ...
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...
and a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...
from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. He was the director of Manitoba Child and Family Services from 1983 to 1985 and in this capacity spearheaded an effort to rewrite the province's child protection legislation. As a result of his efforts, Manitoba became the first province in Canada to introduce official protocols to deal with instances of child sex abuse. Alcock has also been active with the Harvard Policy Group, which studies the effects of
Information Technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
on the public sector. He began his political career at the provincial level, working as an organizer for the
Osborne
Osborne may refer to:
* Osborne (name)
Places Australia
* Osborne, South Australia (disambiguation), places associated with the suburb in the Adelaide metropolitan area
* Osborne, New South Wales, a rural community in the Riverina region
Can ...
in the 1988 provincial election, in which the Manitoba Liberal Party rose from one seat to twenty under the leadership of
Sharon Carstairs
Sharon Carstairs (born April 26, 1942) is a Canadian politician and former Senator.
Early life
Carstairs was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the daughter of former Nova Scotia Premier and federal Senator Harold Connolly and his wife Vivian. She ...
. He later worked as campaign manager for high-profile Liberal incumbent
official opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
house leader and finance critic and was re-elected in the 1990 provincial election despite a shift against his party. He endorsed
's bid to lead the federal Liberal Party in 1990, and declared his own intention to enter federal politics in 1992.
Alcock won the Liberal nomination for Winnipeg South in early 1993, defeating rival candidate
Linda Asper
Linda Asper (born 1 December 1943) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She joined the Liberal Party and then later returned to the New Democratic Party during the 1990s. She was a member of the Manitoba legislature from 1999 to 2003.
Asper ...
by only five votes on the third ballot of what proved to be a divisive contest. He won a convincing victory over incumbent Progressive Conservative incumbent Dorothy Dobbie in the 1993 federal election and entered parliament as a government
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 " ...
er.
Government backbencher
Alcock soon developed a reputation as one of the most technologically savvy members of parliament. In 1994, he became the first MP to electronically coordinate his parliamentary office from his riding instead of relying on permanent staff in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. At around the same time, he became the first Canadian MP to host an official
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
The minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities (french: Ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the federal government's relations wi ...
. In 1998, he brought forward a private member's bill to overturn
's conviction for high treason and recognize him as a
Father of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006.
The son o ...
George Radwanski
George Radwanski (February 28, 1947 – September 18, 2014) was a Canadian public servant, policy adviser, journalist and author.
Journalism
In 1965 he began working as a reporter for the ''Montreal Gazette'' subsequently becoming a columnist, ass ...
to resign from office after revelations of lax spending habits.
Cabinet minister
When Paul Martin became Prime Minister of Canada on December 12, 2003, he appointed Alcock to cabinet as
President of the Treasury Board
The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury B ...
,
Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
The Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board is the member of the Canadian Cabinet who has the responsibility of supervising and setting policy for the Canadian Wheat Board and appointing the government representatives who sit on the body ...
, and political minister responsible for Manitoba. He was also named to the government's priorities and planning committee, described as the "inner circle" of cabinet, and was appointed chair of a cabinet committee that conducted a comprehensive review of government spending.
Policy
As president of the Treasury Board, Alcock was responsible for overseeing the Canadian civil service and the spending details of government agencies. He also played a leading role in coordinating the Martin government's response to the federal
sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006.
T ...
, in which some public monies were misappropriated by bureaucrats and advertising agents in
with ties to the Liberal Party. Alcock announced a new appointment process for crown corporation executives in 2004, and the following year he issued a new policy of management control for government agencies. He argued that these reforms would prevent similar scandals from occurring in the future. One of his more notable initiatives was the establishment of a chief audit executive for each government department and agency.
In total, Alcock brought forward 158 separate reforms for the public service in late 2005, and promised that another eighty would follow. Critics considered this to be excessive and some suggested that Alcock was micro-managing his department.
Alcock also released a comprehensive proposal for reforming Canada's regulatory system in March 2005. He argued that his reforms would reduce delays for patent drug approval and avoid the duplication of existing foreign research without compromising safety standards. Critics of the plan suggested that it could jeopardize Canadian sovereignty and lead to the adoption of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
regulatory standards.
In February 2004, the ''
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
In early 2005, Alcock publicly criticized his government's position against the legalization of
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
, saying, "If we actually wanted to break the back of organized crime, we would be better off to control it. When you have these things underground, what you end up fuelling is organized crime."
2006 election
Alcock was unexpectedly defeated in the 2006 federal election, losing to Conservative Rod Bruinooge by just 111 votes in Winnipeg South. He took personal responsibility for the loss and acknowledged that he did not spend enough time campaigning in his own riding. Alcock also said that being the government's point man for the sponsorship scandal did not help his electoral prospects, though he ultimately defended his government's actions.
One of Alcock's final acts in office was to approve a payment of up to $40,000 to assist
Jean Pelletier
Jean Pelletier, (; February 21, 1935 – January 10, 2009) was a Canadian politician who served as the 37th mayor of Quebec City, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister's Office, and chairman of Via Rail. He was a leading organizer of the Libe ...
with legal fees in a court challenge against the
Gomery Commission
The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006.
...
. Representatives of other parties criticized this payment, saying that the government should only cover legal costs for working civil servants. Pelletier's lawyer argued that it followed a long-standing government policy for high-ranking functionaries in judicial proceedings.
Out of parliament
In March 2006, Alcock announced that he would support
Belinda Stronach
Belinda Caroline Stronach (Born May 2, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and a former Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the fl ...
if she entered the contest to succeed Paul Martin as Liberal leader. Stronach announced in early April that she would not be a candidate. Several of members of Alcock's political organization later worked for
Ken Dryden
Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, businessman, author, and former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was a Liber ...
's campaign, and Alcock himself endorsed Dryden at the
leadership convention {{Politics of Canada
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.
Overview
In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...
. Dryden dropped off after the second ballot and endorsed
Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
.
In January 2007, Alcock was appointed to the faculty of the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.I. H. Asper School of Business. He was also appointed as a research affiliate with the Leadership Network at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
*In September 2005, Alcock donated an original painting entitled, "The view from my seat in the House of Commons, May 19, 6:10 p.m.", to a charity auction in Winnipeg. The work, a parody of
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
's
The Scream
''The Scream'' is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including ...
, depicted Alcock's impression of the opposition Conservative caucus moments after the Liberals won a crucial confidence vote that could have forced early elections. Alcock acknowledged that the painting was mostly traced. It sold for $2,200.
*Alcock suffered weight-related health problems during his political career. Facing the prospect of severe diabetes, he reduced his weight from 430 pounds to 295 pounds in the mid-2000s.John Ivison, "Losing the election was 'my own damn fault'" , ''National Post'', 26 January 2006, online edition.
Electoral record
All electoral information is taken from
Elections Canada
Elections Canada (french: Élections Canada)The agency operates and brands itself as Elections Canada, its legal title is Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (). is the non-partisan agency responsible for administering Canadian federal electio ...
and
Elections Manitoba
Elections Manitoba (french: Élections Manitoba) is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Manitoba responsible for the conduct and regulation of provincial elections in Manitoba.
Its responsibilities are to operate free of political influe ...
. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.