Mike Harcourt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 30thPremier of British Columbia | |
| In office November 5, 1991 – February 22, 1996 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Lieutenant Governor | David Lam Garde Gardom |
| Preceded by | Rita Johnston |
| Succeeded by | Glen Clark |
| Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia | |
| In office April 12, 1987 – November 5, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Skelly |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Wilson |
| Leader of theBritish Columbia New Democratic Party | |
| In office April 12, 1987 – February 22, 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Skelly |
| Succeeded by | Glen Clark |
| Member of theBritish Columbia Legislative Assembly forVancouver-Mount Pleasant Vancouver Centre (1986-1991) | |
| In office October 22, 1986 – May 28, 1996 Serving with Emery Barnes(1986-1991) | |
| Preceded by | Gary Lauk Emery Barnes |
| Succeeded by | Jenny Kwan |
| 34thMayor of Vancouver | |
| In office January 1, 1981 – December 8, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | Jack Volrich |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Franklin Harcourt (1943-01-06)January 6, 1943 (age 82) Edmonton, Alberta |
| Political party | The Electors' Action Movement (municipal; until 1976) Civic Independents (municipal; 1984–1986)[1] New Democratic |
| Spouse | Becky Harcourt |
| Education | University of British Columbia (BA &LLB) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Michael Franklin HarcourtOC (born January 6, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 30thpremier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34thmayor of Vancouver, British Columbia's largest city, from 1980 to 1986.
Harcourt was student council president atSir Winston Churchill Secondary School and studied at theUniversity of British Columbia, where he graduatedBA andLLB. He founded and became the first director (1969–1971) of the Vancouver Community Legal Assistance Society, reputedly Canada's first community law office.[2]
Harcourt served as aVancouver alderman from 1973 to 1980. He was first elected as a member ofthe Electors' Action Movement (TEAM).[3] He left the party in 1976 after he lost the party's nomination for mayor toJack Volrich.[4] He wasMayor of Vancouver from 1980 to 1986. As mayor, his term in office was dominated by planning forExpo 86, an event that saw many new developments come to the city, and an event he adamantly opposed coming to the city in the first place.[citation needed]
He was first elected to theBritish Columbia Legislature in the1986 British Columbia election. He became the leader of theBritish Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP) and the leader of theOfficial Opposition in the following year. He was considered to be a moderate within the ranks of hissocial democratic party.
In the1991 provincial election, Harcourt led the NDP back to power, defeating theSocial Credit party led byRita Johnston. That marked the second time that the NDP had ever been in power inBritish Columbia (BC) and the first since 1975.
On taking office, Harcourt's government increased the basic rate of monthly social assistance by 5%, from $500 to $525.[5] By 1993, it had reached $535 per month, coupled with increases in other rates and a relaxation ofmeans testing of applicants. AsRalph Klein introduced severe spending cuts in neighbouringAlberta, Harcourt accused him in December 1993 of driving Albertan welfare recipients into British Columbia.[6] An increase in out-of-province applications for income assistance and surge in welfare rolls and spending (The Vancouver Sun noted in 1993 that almost 10% of the population were claiming social assistance),[5] coupled with a shift towards an intolerant view ofwelfare fraud inCanadian politics,[7] affected the government's standing. A controversial news story about welfare fraud among British Columbia'sSomali Canadian community, after the government had denied that system abuse was taking place, further hurt its standing.[6]
Harcourt reacted by abandoning his social democratic policy and moving to the right on welfare. He firedJoan Smallwood as Minister of Social Services, replaced her withJoy MacPhail, reduced welfare rates, and made it more difficult for families to claim assistance.[5][7][8] Announcing the policy shift in September 1993, he infamously described it as a crackdown on "cheats, deadbeats and varmints".[5][7] He later expressed regret for those comments by blaming a "relentless" coverage of welfare fraud causes by the media for the action.[5][7] The resulting BC Benefits welfare reform package, which included budget cuts, new restrictions, and a reduction in the basic rate to $500 per month, the same it had been when Harcourt took office, proved hard to accept for the NDP[5] and had a lasting effect on its reputation by hampering its attempts to condemn later governments for undertaking similar welfare crackdowns.[9]
The NDP government under Harcourt entered into a contract with Carrier Lumber to build roads and construct new mills to handle an increased volume of wood because of the infestation of the mountain pine beetle. On May 13, 1992, Harcourt ignored the contract between his government and Carrier Lumber and promised several First Nations that no timber would be harvested and that no roads would be built without their agreement. Phillip Halkett, deputy minister of forests, testified at trial, "The Premier had no authority to make that promise." The courts awarded Carrier Lumber $156 million and ruled that there had been a deliberate attempt to destroy the company and that government officials had conspired to withhold 2,000 pages of documents in an attempt to defeat Carrier's damage suit. Justice Glenn Parrett of theSupreme Court of British Columbia in his reasons stated of the NDP government, "It is difficult to conceive of a more compelling and cynical example of duplicity and bad faith."[10]
Harcourt resigned as premier in February 1996 as the result of "Bingogate", a scandal in whichDavid Stupich, a former NDPmember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) andmember of Parliament (MP) from BC, used money raised by a charity bingo to fund the party. While it was determined by a BC Ministry of Justice special prosecutor that Harcourt was not directly responsible for the scandal, he took political responsibility for it. He was succeeded as premier byGlen Clark in 1996.[11] He did not run for another term as MLA in the1996 British Columbia general election;Jenny Kwan succeeded him as the NDP candidate and later MLA ofVancouver-Mount Pleasant.
Harcourt's challenges as premier, with both the legislature and the media, were chronicled in Vancouver journalistDaniel Gawthrop's bookHighwire Act: Power, Pragmatism, and the Harcourt Legacy,[12] which was published shortly after his resignation as the NDP was preparing for theleadership convention in which Clark was named his successor.
After serving as premier, Harcourt became associated with theUniversity of British Columbia (UBC). He was involved in research relating to sustainable development and cities.
Harcourt was severely injured in a near-fatal fall at his cottage[13][14] onPender Island in November 2002, which resulted in a severespinal-cord injury. After 13 years as a partial quadriplegic, he describes 20 percent of his body as still paralyzed.[15] The former premier received a widespread outpouring of empathy and support from his fellow British Columbians and his rapid recovery astonished doctors. He spent several months at the world-renowned facilityGF Strong. He later published a book about his ordeal, calledPlan B.
He was named as a special advisor toPrime MinisterPaul Martin on cities on December 12, 2003.
His bookCity Making in Paradise was released in August 2007.[citation needed]
In November 2007, he received anhonorary doctoral degree in law (LLD) from UBC. In February 2009, he was appointed associate director of the new UBC Continuing StudiesCentre for Sustainability, where his mandate was to contribute to the development of educational programs that emphasized practical knowledge intackling climate change and other sustainability issues.[16]
In 2008, Harcourt became a key adviser to then–newly elected mayor of VancouverGregor Robertson, including topics about transparency and transportation.[17][18]
In 2011, Harcourt joined five other former mayors of Vancouver to urge the federal government to halt its efforts to closeInsite.[19]
In the January 31, 2014, issue ofHigh Country News[20] Harcourt stated he was recruited in the 1960s by an activist group to oppose a freeway that would have connected the Trans-Canada Highway to downtown Vancouver. "'You've been hired to stop the freeway'", he recalled being told.
Harcourt revealed in April 2014 that he had allowed his NDP membership to lapse and now considers himself an independent. "I don't know whether it's a trial separation or a decree absolute", he told theGlobe and Mail in an interview.[21] Harcourt cited several complaints against his former party, including former leaderAdrian Dix's decision to oppose the Kinder Morgan pipeline and the party's general disposition against mining, logging and other resource-extraction industries, the party's 2009 opposition to the BC Liberal government's proposedcarbon tax, and the 2010 caucus revolt that forced the resignation of then-leaderCarole James.[21]
Harcourt had repeatedly supported the legalization ofcannabis and, in May 2014, announced that he would be an advisor to True Leaf Medicine, aVernon-based start-up company seekingHealth Canada approval to produce and sellmedicinal marijuana.[22] Harcourt admitted previous personal use of marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s.[15]
Media related toMike Harcourt at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in the British Columbia Legislature 1987–1991 | Succeeded by |
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