BIOGRAPHY OF PETER GOLDRING
Peter Goldring has served the people of Edmonton East as their Member of Parliament since being first elected in 1997. He has been a strong voice for the riding in Ottawa, bringing national attention to constituents’ concerns on many issues, such as Canadian unity, veterans affairs, housing affordability, health care and criminal justice.
His present parliamentary roles include serving as a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development since 2006 and as an executive member of several Parliamentary groups, including Canada-Ukraine, Canada-Chile, Canada-Argentina, Canada-Caribbean and Canada-Poland.
In 2006 Peter led a Parliamentary group to Haiti for the election, but also to examine the state of Canada’s foreign aid projects. He was discouraged at the utter lack of progress in 10 years of Canadian aid and reported his findings in a 25-page report to the government.
In December 2010 Peter’s motion to re-study Haiti was accepted by the Foreign Affairs Committee. In preparation for the study Peter travelled with Engineers Without Borders to learn best practices at Canadian aid projects in Ghana and to learn from the people of Ghana what might help the people of Haiti.
On the Foreign Affairs Committee he has been involved in the preparation and writing of reports on Canada’s role in Afghanistan; the Americas; democracy development; studies on human rights in China, Cuba, Sri Lanka and Iran; a look at the corporate social responsibility of Canadian companies operating overseas; the implications and ramifications of the referendum in Sudan and the effectiveness and viability of public service partnerships between nations.
Other Parliamentary Roles
As Joint Chair of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, Mr. Goldring took the lead in a study of the role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which led to a rare unanimous Senate and House of Commons report.
He is active in numerous Parliamentary Associations, including Canada-Europe, Canada-Chile, Canada-Argentina, Canada-Cuba, Canada-Mexico, Canada-Azerbaijan, Canada-Kazakhstan and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, while serving as the Vice-Chair of the Canada-Caribbean, Vice-Chair of Canada-Poland and Vice-Chair (and former Chair) of the Canada-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group (which had a membership of more than 145 Members of Parliament and Senators under his leadership). He is also a member of several inter-parliamentary organizations, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCEPA), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association and the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA).
Working On The National Stage
In 2003 Mr. Goldring launched the “Cattle Drive to Parliament Hill” – a farm awareness campaign in which he led a cattle truck transport more than 9,000 kilometres, speaking at 34 functions in 17 days, from British Columbia to Parliament Hill.
Mr. Goldring has worked extensively for the rights of the victims of notorious pedophile Karl Toft and his associates at the Kingsclear Training School in New Brunswick. His work led to a $1.5 million investigation by the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP into an alleged cover-up of RCMP involvement. The investigation led to changes being made to improve RCMP investigative methods.Representing Canada
In 2003, Mr. Goldring took on the Turks and Caicos debate, which in effect was a call for greatly enhanced foreign trade and renewed development opportunities for Canada in the Caribbean region. Mr. Goldring’s efforts were recognized by Conservative Party leader, Stephen Harper, who appointed him as Foreign Affairs Critic for the Caribbean.
He has been working to facilitate closer trade ties between Canada and Eastern Europe as well as Canada and the Caribbean.
On April 23, 1999, Peter Goldring was the first Member of Parliament to call the 1932-33 planned famine inflicted by the USSR on Ukraine a genocide – a fact that has since been accepted by Parliament.
Mr. Goldring was asked by then Foreign Affairs Critic, Stockwell Day to represent the Conservative Party as an observer in the run-off presidential election in Ukraine on November 21, 2004. This historical event grew into the “Orange Revolution,” during which Mr. Goldring stayed in Ukraine after the election to monitor and report from the streets of the revolution to international media on the crisis. He stayed until the Supreme Court of Ukraine ruled ten days later for a new election. Mr. Goldring returned to Ukraine as a parliamentary observer for that December 26, 2004 election and has returned six times since.
In 2006 he was selected to observe the Ukraine parliamentary election in March, with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and to represent the government on a special Foreign Affairs Canada fact finding and election monitoring mission to Haiti. He has since served as an election monitor for the Organization of American States (OAS) in Guyana and with the OSCE in elections in Ukraine (six times), Georgia (twice), Azerbaijan and Albania.
At the 2008 OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Astana, Kazakhstan, Peter spoke out strongly and forcedly at length against Russia’s delegates attempts to water down or have withdrawn Ukraine’s Holodomor Resolution which spoke of the truth of Stalin’s complicity in the planned famine of 1932-33. The majority of the assembly representing 56 countries ultimately agreed passing the resolution in its entirety. The Ukrainian Parliamentary delegation was overjoyed at the support given by Peter and the positive outcome of the joint effort.
He has also represented Canada at meetings of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (in Ukraine, Lithuania, Greece, Kazakhstan and Serbia) and the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) in Ilulissat, Greenland in 2009 and again in Komi, Russia in 2011, speaking forcefully on issues of concern to Canada.
In the Community
Mr. Goldring has been very active in raising awareness of affordable housing issues and resolutions. In 2000 he published a book on the matter called – “Housing Affordability: An Edmonton Concern and a National Challenge.” In 2008 he wrote a sequel – “Housing Affordability: Still An Edmonton Concern and a National Challenge.” Mr. Goldring believes in challenging convention in a rational dispassionate manner to encourage better use of funds to help those most in need. Mr. Goldring wears his social conscience on his sleeve day by day, and says we must help those that cannot help themselves, but we must also help as many as possible to develop their own self-worth and independence, giving them the opportunity to grow in society with a hand up not just a hand out. He was also instrumental in saving the McCauley Community Hockey Rink, the only full-size rink in the inner city, from demolition by the social non-profit housing industry.
In 2008 Mr. Goldring was unanimously chosen by his Edmonton caucus colleagues to serve as the federal government representative on the Edmonton Committee to End Homelessness. He advocated for the consideration of cost-effective private sector solutions to the growing need and has continued to work with private and non-profit sector developers who desire to develop and provide affordable rental housing.
In February 2009 Mr. Goldring took up the cause of the private sector, which wanted to develop affordable rental housing. After 65 interventions and 18 months or promotion in Ottawa, at the Alberta Legislature and Edmonton City Hall the project was approved: The “Mayfair Village,” 237 units of affordable rental housing was developed by ProCura, saving taxpayers $40 million over comparable non-profit projects. Subsequently Mr. Goldring was informed by the Alberta Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs that this “Mayfair Village model” of efficiency was now being encouraged for many more projects, at great taxpayer savings.
Awards
Mr. Goldring has been recognized on numerous occasions for his contributions to the Edmonton East community, Alberta, Canada and the world. Peter received a plaque from the Mayor of Ortona, Italy, for his work bringing about the “Christmas in Ortona” dinner and the life-size monument “The Price of Peace” by artist Robert Surette in 1998. He then received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002, the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005, the Ukrainian Community Award in 2005 in recognition and appreciation of outstanding contribution and support to the Ukrainian community in Alberta during his years of public service and the “Tak” award for his work in Ukraine during the Orange Revolution. He also has received awards from the Loyal Edmonton Regiment for his work with veterans, and another from the Korea War veterans association, numerous community awards and three homelessness awards, the last for his extra work on the Edmonton Committee to End Homelessness.
Personal Life
Mr. Goldring was born in Toronto in 1944 and lived in Ontario and Quebec for 28 years and still owns property in Ontario to this date. Since 1972 he has been residing in Edmonton. As a successful businessman, Peter has extensive community and business ties in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. He was an advocate of Canadian Unity long before his political career began and has been successful in standing up for Quebecers to help defend against separation and earlier weak federal representation.
Mr. Goldring’s first job was in Oshawa, Ontario but then served with the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1962 to 1965 where he received
electronics and police training.
After his military service he worked out of the Toronto marketing office of Unelco Systems Ltd., an electrical systems manufacturer, based in Pointe Claire, Quebec, travelling extensively in Ontario for many years. In 1972, he was transferred to Edmonton to open and manage Unelco’s new Alberta office. In 1973 Mr. Goldring ran a successful campaign to have smoke detectors mandated in Edmonton’s apartment buildings, the first city in Canada to do so. In 1974, after completing his commitment to work two years for Unelco in Alberta, he left to start his own business, Systems by Sentron (Canada) Ltd. Sentron was a supplier and manufacturer of electrical systems for thousands of buildings in western Canada. Over the next 23 years, he built it into a successful electrical system manufacturing, distribution and servicing company. He sold the last component of his company to run for public office in 1997.
Mr. Goldring has been a member of the Associated Commercial Travellers Association since 1972. He also served on the Alberta Government Suppression Systems Regulatory Development Committee and as Vice-President of the Alberta Sound Contractors Association.
Mr. Goldring founded the Edmonton Chapter of the Montreal based Special Committee for Canadian Unity, after travelling to Quebec City for the 1995 referendum vote and being appalled at the level Canadian unity and pride had sunk to. Following that suspenseful evening, an epiphany, he flew back to Edmonton, determined to add his voice to Canadian Unity efforts. The possibility of a Canadian break-up drove Mr. Goldring to rethink his life, his priorities, his family responsibility and plunge into National politics. He then succeeded to be elected in his first election contest in 1997 on a platform to support Canadian unity, a strong united Canada of equal citizens. He subsequently was re-elected in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011.
His hobbies and interests include hunting, fishing, target shooting, boating and he has motor homed extensively throughout North America. Mr. Goldring has a strong interest in and belief that Canada’s history at war and in peace has not been factually taught in Canada’s schools. “Canada’s history, truthfully told, would help foster Canadian pride and unity,” says Mr. Goldring.
Mr. Goldring has been married to his wife Lorraine for more than 37 years. They have two daughters, Corinna and Kristina, son-in-law Tom and three granddaughters, Katelin, Alexandra and Eleanor.
In the 2009 riding nomination Mr. Goldring received the overwhelming majority support (over 80%) of Conservative members in Edmonton East to once again represent them in the next election. In the May 2, 2011election Mr. Goldring received the highest level of support of his six election victories, 53%, which is also the highest level of support in 31 years since Bill Yurko’s 54% support in 1980.
Updated November 2011
