Member of Parliament
Masse joined the federal New Democratic Party in 1997, and was first elected to the Canadian parliament in a by-election held on May 13, 2002. The election was called after the resignation of Herb Gray, a long-time Liberal cabinet minister who had been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1962. Masse won the NDP nomination without opposition, and defeated Liberal candidate Richard Pollock by 2,477 votes to win the seat. He was re-elected by a greater margin in the 2004 general election. Masse's success in 2002 was partly due to support from Joe Comartin, a fellow Windsor New Democrat who was elected to the House of Commons in the 2000 federal election. In 2002-03, Masse supported Comartin's bid for the NDP leadership.
Masse served as the NDP critic for Auto Policy, Canada Border Services, and Customs in the 38th Canadian parliament. He also became a member of the newly formed all-party "Border Caucus", examining aspects of Canada-U.S. trade relations. He introduced a motion in 2004 to restrict large pharmaceutical companies from renewing their patent protection, and has worked in support of Stephen Lewis's efforts to bring affordable AIDS drugs to Africa.
During his first campaign for the House of Commons, the Windsor Star newspaper ran an editorial opposing him as "a bench-warmer, a yes-man, a political careerist". Two years later, however, a leading Star columnist wrote that Masse had "vastly exceeded expectations and quickly developed into an able, hard-working representative who has stayed on top of riding issues".
Masse was re-elected in the 2006 federal election with an increased majority over Liberal Werner Keller. He currently serves as NDP Deputy Industry Critic. After the election, Masse and Comartin spoke out against the provincial NDP's decision to remove Canadian Auto Workers leader Buzz Hargrove from the party.
Masse has criticized Industry Minister Maxime Bernier's plans to deregulate Canada's telecommunications market and ease restrictions on foreign ownership, arguing that the reforms could result in a small number of companies controlling the Canadian industry.
Read more about this topic: Brian Masse
Famous quotes containing the words member of, member and/or parliament:
“While waiting to get married, several forms of employment were acceptable. Teaching kindergarten was for those girls who stayed in school four years. The rest were secretaries, typists, file clerks, or receptionists in insurance firms or banks, preferably those owned or run by the family, but respectable enough if the boss was an upstanding Christian member of the community.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)
“Oh, had I received the education I desired, had I been bred to the profession of the law, I might have been a useful member of society, and instead of myself and my property being taken care of, I might have been a protector of the helpless, a pleader for the poor and unfortunate.”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“The war shook down the Tsardom, an unspeakable abomination, and made an end of the new German Empire and the old Apostolic Austrian one. It ... gave votes and seats in Parliament to women.... But if society can be reformed only by the accidental results of horrible catastrophes ... what hope is there for mankind in them? The war was a horror and everybody is the worse for it.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)