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Marilyn Mushinski (born c. 1946) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was an alderman (councillor) for the city of Scarborough, Ontario from 1982 to 1994 and she served as a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003. From 1995 to 1997 she was a cabinet minister under Mike Harris.

Background

Born in England, Mushinski emigrated to Canada in 1967 at age twenty-one, and was educated at York University. She worked with the Canadian Mental Health Association before entering political life.

She was married to Paul Mushinski JP, but are now divorced.

Politics

Municipal

She served as an alderman and councillor in Scarborough, Ontario from 1982 to 1994, and was also a councillor for Metro Toronto in 1987-88. Mushinski also served as a board member of the Scarborough General Hospital and the Scarborough Women's Centre.

In 1986, Mushinski argued, albeit unsuccessfully, to retain the title alderman rather than switch to the gender neutral term councillor. She said, "My gut reaction is one of dismay because I don't know if they've ever taken into consideration the historical significance of the word alderman. I think it trivializes the language and I'm concerned to have to accommodate the quirks of a feminist movement which is trying to bastardize the English language."

In 1994, she ran for mayor of Scarborough against fellow councillors Frank Faubert and Maureen Prinsloo. Mushinski's campaign which was similar to those of her colleagues was based on freezing property taxes and increasing the police force to fight rising crime in the city. During the election, a group called the Scarborough Volunteer Citizens' Budget Advisory Committee rated the candidates. They gave Mushinski a score of 0 out of 100; Faubert was given a score of 50 out of 100. Faubert defeated Mushinski by a margin of 30,844 votes.

Provincial

Mushinski was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating incumbent New Democratic Party of Ontario David Warner by about 4,000 votes in the riding of Scarborough—Ellesmere. On June 26, 1995, she was named as Ontario's Minister of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation.

In 1995, shortly after the election, Mushinski moved to repeal the employment equity law introduced by the previous NDP government. She said, "legislated hiring and promotion quotas are unnecessary, unfair and ineffective."

In 1997, Mushinski issued a press release denouncing a gangland style shooting in her riding in which two Tamil men were injured. She said, "The Canadian tradition of consultation, co-operation and compromise seems to be lost on these individuals. Canada's strength lies in its long-held belief that immigrants to this country are starting fresh, and should embrace a new openness to diversity and respect for the law of the land." Scarborough Mayor Frank Faubert said the release went too far. He called the statement, "a smear on the entire Tamil community."

During a cabinet shuffle later that year she was dropped from cabinet. There was some speculation that although culture was part of her portfolio she had made few friends in the arts community. In 1998 she was made Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier.

In the provincial election of 1999, Mushinski was re-elected by about 4,000 votes over Liberal candidate Costas Manios; NDP candidate and labour leader Sid Ryan was third. During this term she served as Parliamentary Assistant to both the Premier and the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

In May 2000, Mushinski introduced a private members' bill called the Judicial Accountability Act. The bill called for the publication of judges' sentencing records. It would have created a list of sentences imposed by judges and their reasons for not awarding the maximum possible sentence. Upon introduction of the bill she said she wanted to "motivate lenient judges to give out tougher sentences." She warned that judges that didn't play along with this goal might be subject to performance reviews. The bill was opposed by the Criminal Lawyer's Association. Alan Gold, president of the association said, "It's a blatant attack on the independence of the judiciary, it's an attempt to intimidate judges into imposing higher sentences and that's simply inexcusable." Attorney General Jim Flaherty initially was supportive of the bill. He said, "I think the public is entitled to know what sentences are being handed down by judges." But after considerable opposition from the legal community he distanced himself from the legislation. The bill died on the order paper when the legislature recessed for the summer.

In the 2003 provincial election, she was defeated by Liberal candidate Brad Duguid by 10,012 votes.

Cabinet positions

References

1. Thompson, Allan (27 August 1986). "Municipalities one step closer to abolishing 'sexist' titles". Toronto Star. p. A16.
2. Abbate, Gay (9 November 1994). "Policing rules mayoral contest". Globe and Mail. p. A7.
3. "1994 Toronto general election results (former Metropolitan Toronto)". Former Municipality of the City of Scarborough. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
4. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 8 June 1995. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
5. "Mike Harris' cabinet". The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont. 27 June 1995. p. A7.
6. Casella, Emilia (12 October 1995). "Employment equity will soon be history, minister says". Ottawa Citizen. p. A3.
7. Mallan, Caroline (10 February 1997). "MPP in hot water". Toronto Star. p. SC1.
8. Armstrong, Jane; Girard, Daniel; Ruimy, Joel (10 October 1997). "Snobelen's out Johnson new education chief in bid to avoid war with teachers". Toronto Star. p. A1.
9. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 3 June 1999. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
10. "What this fuss is all about". Daily Mercury. Guelph, Ont. 11 May 2000. p. A7.
11. Lindgren, April (16 May 2000). "Soft judges' score cards under fire: Lawyers condemn bid to pressure judiciary to give higher sentence". The Ottawa Citizen. p. A6.
12. Urquhart, Ian (17 May 2000). "Attorney-general in hot water". The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont. p. D02.
13. "Summary of Valid Ballots by Candidate". Elections Ontario. 2 October 2003. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.

External links

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history

v t e Cabinet of Premier of Ontario Mike Harris (1995–2002)
Mike Harris John Baird Isabel Bassett Brad Clark Tony Clement Brian Coburn Dianne Cunningham Janet Ecker Brenda Elliott Ernie Eves Jim Flaherty Steve Gilchrist Ernie Hardeman Charles Harnick Chris Hodgson Tim Hudak Cam Jackson Helen Johns David Johnson Frank Klees Al Leach Margaret Marland Marilyn Mushinski Dan Newman Al Palladini Bob Runciman Rob Sampson Bill Saunderson John Snobelen Norm Sterling Gary Stewart Chris Stockwell David Tsubouchi David Turnbull Noble Villeneuve Jim Wilson Elizabeth Witmer David Young

• 1946 births
• 20th-century Canadian women politicians
• 21st-century Canadian women politicians
• Living people
• Metropolitan Toronto councillors
• Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
• People from Scarborough, Ontario
• Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
• Women government ministers of Canada
• Women MPPs in Ontario
• 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario