Marion Boyd: Difference between revisions

{{ShortUse description|Canadian politicianEnglish|date=January 2023}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|03|26}}

| residence birth_place = [[LondonToronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada

In 1985, Boyd was the [[Ontario New Democratic Party|NDP]] candidate in [[London North]] in the [[1985 Ontario general election|provincial election of 1985]], but finished third against incumbent [[Ontario Liberal Party|Liberal]] [[Ron Van Horne]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Across the province |author=Canadian Press |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=May 3, 1985 |page=A13}}</ref> She ran in [[London Centre]] in the [[1987 Ontario general election|1987 election]], and lost to sitting [[Premier of Ontario|Premier]] [[David Peterson]] by almost 9,000 votes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Here's how red tide swamped Ontario -– riding by riding; Peterson's Liberals romp to victory|newspaper=The Gazette|location=Montreal|date=September 11, 1987|page=A6}}</ref> She campaigned as a federal [[New Democratic Party of Canada|New Democrat]] in the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 general election]], finished third behind [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] [[Joe Fontana]] and [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] [[Jim Jepson]] in [[London East]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Riding-by-riding look at election results from across the country|newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen|date=November 22, 1988|page=B6}}</ref>

Boyd sought a rematch against Peterson in the [[1990 Ontario general election|1990 provincial election]]. This time she won, defeating the Premier by more than 8,000 votes.<ref name="1990 Election Results">{{cite news|title=Ontario election: Riding-by-riding voting results|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=September 7, 1990|page=A12}}</ref> It was almost unheard of for a provincial premier to be defeated in his own riding, and the size of Boyd's victory was all the more surprising. The NDP won the election, and the new Premier, [[Bob Rae]], appointed her as [[Minister of Education (Ontario)|Minister of Education]] on October 1, 1990.<ref name="1990RaeCabinet">{{cite news |title=Ontario cabinet|newspaper=The Windsor Star|date=October 1, 1990 |page=A4}}</ref>

When fellow cabinet member [[Anne Swarbrick]] resigned due to health issues, Boyd took over responsibility for [[Women's Issues (Ontario ministry)|Women's Issues]] on September 11, 1991.<ref>{{cite news|title=Swarbrick gives up women's portfolio|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=September 12, 1991|page=A12}}</ref> Boyd launched a high-profile campaign against domestic abuse in the same year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ontario ads may be triggering assaults |newspaper=The Hamilton Spectator |date=November 3, 1992 |page=A1}}</ref> She was transferred to the [[Minister of Community and Social Services (Ontario)|Ministry of Community and Social Services]] on October 15, 1991, when [[Zanana Akande]] resigned due to a conflict of interest.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rae reassigns cabinet ministers|newspaper=Edmonton Journal|date=October 16, 1991|page=A16}}</ref>

Boyd was promoted to [[Attorney General of Ontario]] on February 3, 1993, the first woman to hold that position as well as the first non-lawyer.<ref name="1993RaeCabinet">{{cite news|title=Rae chops 10 ministries 'leaner' cabinet sworn in|first=William|last=Walker|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=February 3, 1993|page=A1}}</ref> In this capacity she was responsible for the [[Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act]] (Bill 167), that would have provided same-sex couples with rights and obligations mostly equal to those of opposite-sex [[Common-law marriage|common law couples]].<ref>{{cite news|title=NDP bill to grant more spousal rights to same-sex couples|first=Bruce|last=DeMara|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=June 11, 1993|page=A1}}</ref> The bill failed on a [[free vote]] when twelve NDP members voted with the opposition parties against the bill.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ontario rejects same-sex bill; Angry gay activists shout `'shame' after compromise defeated|last=Powell|first=Betsy |newspaper=The Gazette|date=June 10, 1994|page=A1}}</ref> The bill's failure was a personal disappointment for Boyd, who had invested considerable effort in promoting its passage. The Progressive Conservative Party, whowhich voted unanimously against Bill 167, formed government after the next election and ultimately passed similar legislation five years later when required by the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]'s ruling in ''[[M v H]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Same-sex couples granted new rights; Bill's passage follows order by top court to end discrimination|last=Mallan|first=Caroline|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=October 28, 1999|page=1}}</ref>

Boyd remained as Attorney General until the Rae government was defeated in the [[1995 Ontario general election|1995 election]]. She was one of seventeen NDP MPPs to successfully retain their seats in that election, defeating PC candidate Patrick McGuinness by 1,732 votes.<ref name="1995 Election Results">{{cite web|url=http://results.elections.on.ca/results/1995_results/valid_votes.jsp?e_code=36&rec=0&district=london+centre&flag=E&layout=G|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031131304/https://results.elections.on.ca/results/1995_results/valid_votes.jsp?e_code=36&rec=0&district=london+centre&flag=E&layout=G|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 31, 2020|title=Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate|publisher=Elections Ontario|date=June 8, 1995}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Boyd remained a high-profile MPP, serving as the NDP's Health Critic from 1997-99 to 1999.<ref name="OLA bio"/>

{{CANelec|CA|PC|Jim Jepson|19,445|37.5% |-9−9.7%}}

{{CANelec|CA|NDP|'''Marion Boyd'''|12,667|24.4% |-2−2.5%}}

{{CANelec|XX|Independent|Peter Ewart|201|0.4% |+0.4% |}}

{{CANelec|ON|Progressive Conservatives|George Auold|11,433|30.3%|-7−7.7%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Progressive Conservatives|Dennis McKaig|3,864|11.7%|-14−14.8%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Liberal|David Peterson|9,671|27.8%|-27−27.4%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Freedom|Lloyd Walker|589|1.4%|-0−0.4%}}

{{CANelec|ON|NDP|'''Marion Boyd'''|11,096|36.8%|-14−14.5%}}

{{CANelec|ON|Liberal|Ron Postian|7,559|25.1%|-2−2.7%}}

In 2000, sheBoyd was appointed as chair to the ''Task Force on the Health Effects of Woman Abuse'' in 2000. It was convened in response to the problem of domestic violence against women.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Abuse against women a public health issue: MD |lastlast1=Swanson |firstfirst1=Lynne |journal=CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal |volume=162 |issue=6 |date=March 21, 2000 |pagepages=848 |pmid=10750474 |pmc=1231285 |issn=0820-3946}}</ref> Later that year the task force produced a report with 29 recommendations. The key conclusion was that doctors should begin screening female patients as young as 12 years old for signs of abuse.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Task force recommends screening females for abuse beginning at age 12 |lastlast1=Swanson |firstfirst1=Lynne |journal=CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal |volume=163 |issue=11 |date=November 28, 2000 |pagepages=1492 |pmc=80431 |issn=0820-3946}}</ref>

In December 2003, it came to light that religious tribunals had some legal basis under the Arbitration Act. Some argued that this interpretation allowed for Muslim [[Sharia]] law to be applied in settling family disputes.<ref name="CWS2006">{{cite journal|title=Arbitration and Family Laws: Muslim Women Campaign to Eliminate the Use of Religious Laws in Legally-Binding Arbitration|last=Hogben|first=Alia|journal=Canadian Woman Studies|volume=25|issue=Summer 2006|pages=133–136}}</ref> In the spring of 2004, the issue flared up even more with some claiming that the use of Sharia law tribunals was infringing on the rights of Muslim women.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ontario sharia tribunals assailed; Women fighting use of Islamic law But backers say rights protected|last=Hurst|first=Lynda|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=May 22, 2004|page=A1}}</ref> In the summer of 2004, Premier [[Dalton McGuinty]] asked Boyd to investigate the issue.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former Attorney General And Women's Issues Minister To Review Arbitrations Processes|url=https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/25409/former-attorney-general-and-womens-issues-minister-to-review-arbitrations-processes|date=June 25, 2004|accessdate=October 14, 2022|publisher=Government of Ontario}}</ref>

In December 2004, sheBoyd released a report that found no evidence of complaints with regards to faith-based arbitration. She concluded that no changes to the act were needed with respect to religious tribunals. She made 46 recommendations for changes to the Arbitration Act primarily dealing with arbitrator training and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of tribunals.<ref name="CWS2006"/> In 2005, in response to public opinion, McGuinty ignored Boyd's main conclusion and tabled changes to the act under the ''Family Statute Law Amendment Act''.<ref>{{cite news|title=McGuinty government rules out use of sharia law|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/mcguinty-government-rules-out-use-of-sharia-law/article18247682/|first1=Colin|last1=Freeze|first2=Karen|last2=Howlett|date=September 12, 2005|access-date=October 14, 2022|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|location=Toronto}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Legal Integration of Islam: A Transatlantic Comparison|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9nxADcOfIoMC&pg=PT92|publisher=Harvard University Press|date=April 1, 2013|last=Joppke|first=Christian|isbn=9780674074934}}</ref>

While incorporating many of Boyd's recommendations, the act specifically removed any legal status for the arbitration of custodial and marital disputes by religious tribunals.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sharia, pensions, health care on MPPs' agenda|first=Ian|last=Urquhart|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=February 11, 2006|page=F5}}</ref> The act mandated that all family law arbitrations in Ontario be conducted only in accordance with Canadian law.<ref>{{cite news|title=McGuinty Government Modernizes Provincial Laws|publisher=Canada NewsWire|location=Ottawa|date=June 22, 2006}}</ref> Some critics argued that this was a missed opportunity to incorporate aspects of Islamic law into the Canadian judicial system.<ref>{{cite journal |ssrn=1749046|title=The Myth and Reality of 'Shari'a' Courts in Canada: A Delayed Opportunity for the Indigenization of Islamic Legal Rulings |url=http://ir.stthomas.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1235&context=ustlj |journal=University of St. Thomas Law Journal |volume=7 |issue=3 |page=559 |lastdate=2010 |last1=Kutty |firstfirst1=Faisal }}</ref>

{{Reflist|2}}

* {{OntarioMPPbio|IDid=318marion-boyd}}

[[Category:20th-century2022 Canadian legislatorsdeaths]]

[[Category:Attorneys Generalgeneral of Ontario]]

[[Category:WomenGlendon governmentCollege ministers of Canadaalumni]]