Jeremy Cockrill
Jeremy Cockrill | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly for The Battlefords | |
| Assumed office October 26, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Herb Cox |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chilliwack, British Columbia |
| Political party | Saskatchewan Party |
| Residence(s) | North Battleford, Saskatchewan |
| Alma mater | Trinity Western University |
| Profession | Management |
Jeremy Cockrill is a Canadian politician. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan (MLA), representing the electoral district of The Battlefords as a member of the Saskatchewan Party.[1][2] He has served in the cabinet of Premier Scott Moe since 2022, and is currently the Minister of Education.
Early life and career
[edit]Cockrill was raised in Chilliwack, British Columbia and graduated from Trinity Western University (TWU) with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2012.[3] He served on the board of director of the alumni association of TWU.[4] Cockrill played high school and college basketball, including with the TWU Spartans, and later coached youth basketball.[3]
From 2010 to 2012, he served as the president of Vital Lines Ltd., a line-painting company in Abbotsford, BC.[citation needed] While in BC, Cockrill also worked in the agriculture and agri-food industries.[2] Before he was elected in 2020, he managed his family's business, Fortress Windows and Doors, in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.[1]
Political career
[edit]Cockrill won the Saskatchewan Party nomination for The Battlefords ahead of the 2020 provincial election after two-term incumbent Herb Cox announced his retirement.[5] In the fall election, Cockrill held the seat for the Saskatchewan Party, receiving 66% of votes.[1]
On May 31, 2022 Cockrill joined Scott Moe's cabinet when he was named Minister of Highways and the minister responsible for the Water Security Agency.[6]
Minister of Education
[edit]In a cabinet shuffle on August 29, 2023, Cockrill became Minister of Education, taking over from veteran MLA Dustin Duncan.[7] Cockrill took over the education portfolio as the Saskatchewan Party government was working towards passing new legislation called the "Parents' Bill of Rights". The legislation places restrictions on sexual health education in schools—including banning third-party participation, such as experts on sexual assault—and requires parental consent for students under the age of 16 wishing to have their chosen names and pronouns affirmed at school.[8] After an injunction was granted against the proposed policy by a Court of King's Bench justice on September 28, stating a concern that the policy came with the risk of causing "irreparable harm" to vulnerable students, the government recalled the Legislature two weeks early to invoke the notwithstanding clause to have the legislation put in effect.[9] In October, Cockrill was criticized for incorrectly claiming that "every single government MLA" had heard from constituents that they had children who had been using different pronouns without their knowledge;[10][11] fellow MLA Everett Hindley immediately refuted this in response to a question, and in an October 3 interview, Premier Moe stated that he had not been made aware of any such discussions with parents.[12][13] Cockrill also claimed, without providing evidence, that the government had heard from "tens of thousands" of people in support of the policy. A sworn affidavit in court showed that the Ministry of Education had received 18 letters expressing concern about pronouns in school between June and the introduction of the policy in August.[11] However, a national Christian lobbying group called Action4Canada claims to have sent more than 10,000 messages to Moe and Duncan and to have met with Duncan's staff earlier in 2023 to push for the policy.[14] The bill passed into law on October 20, 2023.[15]
The Parents' Bill of Rights, which amended the province's Education Act, also contained a provision making it a legal requirement for schools to fly the Saskatchewan provincial flag. Cockrill stated that the government hoped that this would help to ensure that children "not only are they proud of the country they live in, but also the province they live in".[16]
Cockrill's time as education minister saw negotiations with the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) on a new collective bargaining agreement. The STF, which initiated job action beginning in January 2024, accused Cockrill of lying about the federation withdrawing from negotiations, and criticized the government for stonewalling negotiations.[17][18] Cockrill faced calls to resign after suggesting to a Saskatchewan mother whose child had died that the STF was asking for his "firstborn child"; Cockrill apologized in the Legislature for the comment.[19][20]
Conflict of Interest investigations
[edit]In 2024, Cockrill became the subject of two separate conflict of interest investigations by the province's Conflict of Interest Commissioner. The first investigation, publicly announced in August, centred on Cockrill's continued connections to Fortress Windows and Doors, which had received public contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars after Cockrill was elected.[21] The second investigation, announced in September, targeted Cockrill's personal investments in two helium companies partnering with and receiving tax breaks from the provincial government.[22]
Electoral results
[edit]| 2020 Saskatchewan general election: The Battlefords | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Saskatchewan | Jeremy Cockrill | 4,477 | 66.19 | |||||
| New Democratic | Amber Stewart | 1,931 | 28.55 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Harry Zamonsky | 231 | 3.41 | |||||
| Green | Joey Reynolds | 125 | 1.85 | |||||
| Total | 6,764 | 100 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Saskatchewan | ||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Cairns, John (2020-10-26). "Strong win for Jeremy Cockrill in the Battlefords". Battlefords News-Optimist. Archived from the original on 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ a b Piller, Thomas (2020-10-26). "Rookie MLA Jeremy Cockrill wins The Battlefords riding in Saskatchewan election". Global News. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ a b Welsh, Eric (2020-12-10). "TWU alumnus Jeremy Cockrill elected MLA of Saskatchewan riding | Trinity Western University". The Chilliwack Progress. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Alumni Association Board of Directors member Jeremy Cockrill". Trinity Western University Archives and Special Collections. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
- ^ Brown, Angela (2020-02-28). "Jeremy Cockrill wins Battlefords Sask. Party nomination". Battlefords Now. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ "New Provincial Cabinet Sworn in | News and Media". Saskatchewan.ca. 2022-05-31.
- ^ Anton, Jessie; Hunter, Adam (2023-08-29). "Duncan, Merriman among Sask. MLAs moved to new portfolios in cabinet shuffle". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ Quon, Alexander (2023-08-22). "Youth advocate reviewing Sask. policy requiring schools to get parental permission for pronoun changes". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ Salloum, Alec; Harder, Brandon; Kurz, Larissa (2023-09-28). "Moe vows to use notwithstanding clause after court injunction halts pronoun policy". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ Kurz, Larissa (2023-08-29). "Moe, new Sask. education minister defend pronoun consent policy". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ a b Tank, Phil (2023-10-19). "Sask. education minister needs lessons in math, credibility". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ "The Morning Edition with Stefani Langenegger". CBC Listen. 2023-10-03. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ Amato, Angela (2023-10-04). "Premier Moe doubles down on wide support for pronoun policy change". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ Simes, Jeremy (2023-09-08). "'We are not backing down': Premier Moe says legislation on parental rights coming this fall". CBC News. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ Hunter, Adam (2023-10-20). "Sask. government passes Parents' Bill of Rights". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-20.
- ^ "Saskatchewan flag legally required to be flown at schools as part of parental rights' bill". CBC News. 2023-10-22. Archived from the original on 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
- ^ "STF refutes education minister's claim teachers left the bargaining table". Regina Leader-Post. 2024-02-13. Archived from the original on 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Patterson, Dayne; Larson, Scott (2024-04-18). "Sask. Teachers' Federation, education minister remain at odds ahead of vote on contract proposal". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Schick, Lisa (2024-04-22). "Sask. NDP calling for Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill's job". CJME. Archived from the original on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Mandryk, Murray (2024-04-23). "Cockrill, other cabinet ministers have become the problem". Regina Leader-Post. Archived from the original on 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Talati, Shlok (2024-08-29). "Conflict of interest commissioner moves ahead with inquiry on 2 Sask. Party MLAs". CBC News. Archived from the original on 2024-08-30. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Benson, Andrew (2024-09-25). "Jeremy Cockrill subject of 2nd conflict of interest investigation". Global News. Archived from the original on 2024-09-26. Retrieved 2024-10-02.