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Moe Amery

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Moe Amery
Amery in 2010
Member of the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
for Calgary-East
In office
June 15, 1993 – May 5, 2015
Preceded byNew district
Succeeded byRobyn Luff
Personal details
Born
Mohammed Amiri

(1954-09-20)September 20, 1954
Lebanon
DiedOctober 19, 2023(2023-10-19) (aged 69)
Political partyProgressive Conservative
SpouseMary
Children5 (including Mickey Amery)
ResidenceCalgary, Alberta
OccupationRealtor, politician

Mohammed Amery (né Amiri; September 20, 1954 – October 19, 2023) was a Canadian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. He represented the constituency of Calgary-East as a Progressive Conservative.

Early life

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Amery was born Mohammed Amiri (he changed his name sometime between 1989 and 1993)[1][2] in Lebanon on September 20, 1954, and came to Canada in 1974.[3] He studied at the University of Alberta from 1975 until 1977, after which time he relocated to Calgary to become a realtor until his election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1993.[3]

Provincial politics

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Electoral record

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Amery's first two bids for elected office were unsuccessful; he sought provincial election in Calgary-Forest Lawn in the 1986 and 1989 elections, but was defeated both times, finishing second to New Democrat Barry Pashak each time.[4] He was more successful in 1993, when he more than doubled Pashak's vote count in the newly formed Calgary-East.[4] He was handily re-elected in each of the 1997, 2001, 2004, and 2008 elections.[4]

Legislative initiatives

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In 1994, Amery introduced two different bills called the Maintenance Enforcement Amendment Act.[5] The first, a private member's bill, would have made it impossible for individuals in arrears on child support payments to register their vehicles or renew their drivers' licenses. The second, a government bill, included the objectives of the first, but also took other measures, including ending a provision by which money held in a joint bank account could not be drawn upon to satisfy child support payments owed by one of the account-holders.[6] The government bill passed with the support of the Progressive Conservatives and some Liberals, including Sine Chadi and Michael Henry.[6][7] Other Liberals - including Gary Dickson, Debby Carlson, Bettie Hewes, Mike Percy, Percy Wickman, Ken Nicol, Nicholas Taylor, and Colleen Soetaert - opposed the bill on the grounds that it didn't go far enough in taking measures to recover payments, promoted animosity in an already adversarial process, and was written with insufficient consultation with the recently privatized registries centres.[6][7][8] After the government bill passed, the private member's bill was ruled redundant by Speaker Stanley Schumacher.[9]

Amery introduced a number of private member's bills designed to extend primary education to include kindergarten, requiring school boards to provide it and making attendance compulsory. The first two of these - both called the School Amendment Act, sponsored in 1995 and 1997 - failed to reach second reading before the legislature adjourned.[10][11] Amery's third attempt, the School (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Act, was defeated on second reading.[12] Liberals were unanimous in their support of the bill, pointing to similar bills that had previously been sponsored by Liberal MLAs Grant Mitchell and Michael Henry.[13][14][15][16] Several of Amery's Progressive Conservative colleagues, including Mary O'Neill,[13][14] Albert Klapstein,[15] and Wayne Cao,[15] also lent their support.[16] However, the bill was defeated on second reading with a majority of the Progressive Conservative caucus voting against.[16] Victor Doerksen, the only Conservative to speak in opposition to the bill, expressed concern that instituting mandatory attendance at the kindergarten level constituted an infringement on parental autonomy.[14] New Democrat Raj Pannu, the only member of his caucus present for the vote, also opposed the bill, on the grounds that it would allow private groups to provide kindergarten with the approval of the Minister of Learning.[14][16]

In 1996, Amery sponsored the Wildlife Amendment Act,[17] a government bill that created a scientific committee to make recommendations on the designation of endangered and threatened species, expanded fish and wildlife agents' abilities to check for infractions of firearms regulations by hunters, and downloaded several government powers that had previously resided with the Lieutenant Governor by Order in Council to the Minister of Environmental Protection.[18] Some Liberals, including Duco Van Binsbergen and Bruce Collingwood, raised concerns that the bill didn't go far enough,[19][20] but it was passed into law.[17]

Committee duties

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Amery sat on numerous committees since being elected. In addition to his regular responsibilities as an MLA, he served as chair of the Environmental Protection Advisory Committee and co-chair of the Secondary Suites Committee as well as a member of the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing, the Standing Committee on Private Bills, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, the Standing Committee on Government Services, the Standing Policy Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Standing Policy Committee on Energy and Sustainable Development, and the Cabinet Policy Committee on Community Services in addition to serving as a member of the International Governance Office Advisory Committee, the Glenbow-Museum Advisory Committee, the MLA Committee To Review Low-income Programs, and the MLA Implementation Team on the Future Selection of RHA Members. He was also the MLA representative on the City of Calgary's 2005 World Fair bid. Amery served as a member of the Standing Committee on the Economy, the Standing Committee on Private Bills, and the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.[3]

Political views

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Amery broke with his party on several occasions regarding issues that mattered to his constituents. In March 2006 he was critical of the Ralph Klein government for insufficiently funding school maintenance after the roof of a school in his riding collapsed.[21] In 2007 and during the 2008 election campaign, he advocated rent controls to deal with the tight housing market in urban Alberta, although the position of the Ed Stelmach government was that they would be unhelpful.[22]

Passport incident

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In 2002, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began investigating whether Amery acted as guarantor for the passport application of a constituent who he had not known for the required two years.[1] He was charged with doing so in 2004.[1] The case went to trial in March 2005, when Amery alleged that, by telling him not to use character references from his colleagues, Progressive Conservative whip Denis Ducharme undermined "Amery's ability to make full answer and defence".[23] The charges were ultimately stayed.[22]

Federal politics

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In December 2017, Amery announced that he would challenge sitting Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai for the nomination in Calgary Forest Lawn.[24]

Personal life and death

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Amery was married to Mary, and the couple has five children: Mickey, Lila, Leena, Laura, and Malaak. Mickey was elected as the Member of the Alberta Legislature in the 2019 election in the riding of Calgary-Cross.[3] He was involved in his community, including the community associations in Calgary-East.[3] He identified Winston Churchill as his political hero.[25]

Moe Amery died on October 19, 2023, at the age of 69.[26]

Election results

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1986 Alberta general election: Calgary-Forest Lawn
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Barry Pashak 2,492 35.86% 24.57%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amiri 2,410 34.68% -39.45%
Liberal Gene Czaprowski 1,111 15.99% 13.59%
Independent Mikey Graham 271 3.90% –
Representative Douglas Williams 237 3.41% –
Independent Gerald K. Lee 224 3.22% –
Independent Dorothy Bohdan 109 1.57% –
Independent Jim Othen 67 0.96% –
Communist Bruce Potter 28 0.40% -0.02%
Total 6,949 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 26 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 22,614 30.84% -19.91%
New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative Swing -30.83%
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-Forest Lawn Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
1989 Alberta general election: Calgary-Forest Lawn
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Barry Pashak 3,994 44.14% 8.28%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amiri 3,177 35.11% 0.43%
Liberal Gene Czaprowski 1,584 17.50% 1.52%
Independent Jim Othen 294 3.25% 2.29%
Total 9,049 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 25 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 23,968 37.86% 7.02%
New Democratic hold Swing 3.92%
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-Forest Lawn Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
1993 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 5,503 54.48% –
New Democratic Barry Pashak 2,306 22.83% –
Liberal Dale Muti 1,689 16.72% –
Social Credit Lera G. Shirley 366 3.62% –
Independent Alain Horchower 237 2.35% –
Total 10,101 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 34 – –
Eligible electors / turnout 20,638 49.11% –
Progressive Conservative pickup new district.
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-East Official Results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
1997 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 4,857 60.19% 5.71%
Liberal Kelly McDonnell 1,990 24.66% 7.94%
Social Credit Raymond (Chick) Hurst 613 7.60% 3.97%
New Democratic Marg Elliot 609 7.55% -15.28%
Total 8,069 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 50 15 6
Eligible electors / turnout 21,214 38.30% -10.81%
Progressive Conservative hold Swing 1.94%
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-East Official Results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (1997). Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, November, 1996 general enumeration and Tuesday, March 11, 1997 general election Twenty-fourth Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. pp. 100–101.
2001 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 6,038 70.82% 10.63%
Liberal Brendan Dunphy 2,010 23.57% -1.09%
New Democratic Giorgio Cattabeni 328 3.85% -3.70%
Social Credit Alan Schoonover 109 1.28% -6.32%
Communist Jason Devine 41 0.48% –
Total 8,526 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 27 15 33
Eligible electors / turnout 20,509 41.86% 3.56%
Progressive Conservative hold Swing 5.86%
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-East Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2001). The report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2000 provincial confirmation process and Monday, March 12, 2001, Provincial General Election of the twenty-fifth Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. pp. 72–73.
2004 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 4,484 53.82% -17.00%
Liberal Bill Harvey 2,357 28.29% 4.71%
Alberta Alliance Brad Berard 606 7.27% –
New Democratic Paul Vargis 464 5.57% 1.72%
Green Rick Michalenko 365 4.38% –
Communist Bonnie-Jean Collins 56 0.67% 0.19%
Total 8,332 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 56 43 3
Eligible electors / turnout 22,759 36.87% -5.00%
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -10.86%
Source(s)
Source: "Calgary-East Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2005). Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the General Enumeration and General Election of the Twenty-sixth Legislative Assembly (Report). Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. pp. 100–103.
2008 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 4,583 53.85% 0.04%
Liberal Bill Harvey 2,433 28.59% 0.30%
Wildrose Alliance Mike McCracken 681 8.00% 0.73%
New Democratic Christopher Dovey 425 4.99% -0.57%
Green Ross Cameron 333 3.91% -0.47%
Communist Bonnie-Jean Collins 55 0.65% -0.03%
Total 8,510 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 37 24 11
Eligible electors / turnout 28,616 29.99% –
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -0.13%
Source(s)
Source: "06 - Calgary-East, 2008 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Chief Electoral Officer (2008). The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-Seventh Legislative Assembly (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 190–193. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
2012 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 5,924 45.57% -8.29%
Wildrose Alliance Jasbir (Jesse) Minhas 4,995 38.42% 30.42%
New Democratic Robyn Luff 1,136 8.74% 3.74%
Liberal Ali Abdulbaki 780 6.00% -22.59%
Communist Bonnie Devine 166 1.28% 0.63%
Total 13,001 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 143 42 29
Eligible electors / turnout 30,196 43.62% 11.27%
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -9.06%
Source(s)
Source: "08 - Calgary-East, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Chief Electoral Officer (2012). The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2011 Provincial Enumeration and Monday, April 23, 2012 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-eighth Legislative Assembly (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 120–123. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
2015 Alberta general election: Calgary-East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Robyn Luff 5,506 39.18% 30.44%
Progressive Conservative Moe Amery 3,971 28.26% -17.31%
Wildrose Ali Waissi 3,633 25.85% -12.57%
Liberal Naser Al-Kukhun 806 5.74% -0.26%
Communist Bonnie Devine 138 0.98% -0.29%
Total 14,054 – –
Rejected, spoiled and declined 61 40 32
Eligible electors / turnout 34,585 40.91% -2.72%
New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative Swing 1.89%
Source(s)
Source: "08 - Calgary-East, 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
Chief Electoral Officer (2016). 2015 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 116–120.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Alberta MLA denies committing passport offence". CBC News. August 5, 2004. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Politics1 Canada:Moe Amery". Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Amery's Legislative Assembly of Alberta biography". Archived from the original on October 5, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ a b c "Alberta's past election results". Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  5. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 23rd Legislature - 2nd Session (1994)" (PDF). Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 22: Maintenance Enforcement Amendment Act, 1994" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 19, 1994. p. 1308.
  7. ^ a b "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 22 Maintenance Enforcement Amendment Act, 1994" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. May 11, 1994. p. 1907.
  8. ^ "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 22: Maintenance Enforcement Amendment Act, 1994" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. May 4, 1994. p. 1724.
  9. ^ "Oral Question Period – Speaker's Ruling: Deleting Item from Order Paper" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. October 26, 1994. p. 2601.
  10. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 23rd Legislature - 3rd Session (1995)" (PDF). Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  11. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 24th Legislature - 1st Session (1997)". Archived from the original on August 3, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  12. ^ "Bill Status Report for the 24th Legislature - 3rd Session (1999)". Archived from the original on August 3, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  13. ^ a b "Public Bills and Orders Other than Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 205: School (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Act, 1999" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 13, 1999. p. 960.
  14. ^ a b c d "Public Bills and Orders Other than Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 205: School (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Act, 1999" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 20, 1999. p. 1116.
  15. ^ a b c "Public Bills and Orders Other than Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 205: School (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Act, 1999" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 21, 1999. p. 1175.
  16. ^ a b c d "Public Bills and Orders Other than Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 205: School (Early Childhood Services) Amendment Act, 1999" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. April 27, 1999. p. 1279.
  17. ^ a b "Bill Status Report for the 23rd Legislature - 3rd Session (1996)". Archived from the original on August 3, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  18. ^ "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 42: Wildlife Amendment Act, 1996" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. May 14, 1996. p. 1842.
  19. ^ "Government Bills and Orders, Second Reading – Bill 42: Wildlife Amendment Act, 1996" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. May 14, 1996. p. 1851.
  20. ^ "Government Bills and Orders, Second and Third Readings – Bill 42: Wildlife Amendment Act, 1996" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Legislative Assembly of Alberta. May 22, 1996. pp. 2061, 2090.
  21. ^ Fekete, Jason (March 27, 2006). "Klein faces murky future: Premier's party ready to vote on his record". Calgary Herald. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  22. ^ a b Myers, Sean (March 4, 2008). "Amery hails PC mandate". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  23. ^ "Alberta politician alleges political meddling in court case". CBC News. March 31, 2005. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  24. ^ Wood, James (December 20, 2017). "Former PC MLA Amery takes on Obhrai in battle for federal Conservative nomination". Calgary Herald. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  25. ^ "Calgary candidate profiles, Alberta election 2008". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
  26. ^ Sherif, Omar (October 19, 2023). "Long-time Calgary MLA Moe Amery dies at 69". CBC News. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
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