Rob Nicholson

Rob Nicholson

Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson, PC, QC, MP (born April 29, 1952 in Niagara Falls, Ontario), the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, is a Canadian politician. He is a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Niagara Falls for the Conservative Party and the current Minister of Justice after serving for one year as Government House Leader. He replaced Vic Toews as Justice Minister during a Cabinet shuffle on January 4, 2007. Peter Van Loan replaced him as Government House Leader.

Nicholson has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University and a law degree from the University of Windsor. He practiced law before entering politics, and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

He was first elected to parliament in the federal election of 1984 as a Progressive Conservative, easily defeating New Democrat Richard Harrington and incumbent Liberal Al MacBain. He was re-elected by a narrower margin in the 1988 election, defeating Liberal Gary Pillitteri by fewer than 2,000 votes.

Nicholson served as parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons from 1989 to 1990, and as parliamentary secretary to the Attorney General from 1989 to 1993. On June 25, 1993, he was appointed Minister for Science and Minister responsible for Small Business in the short-lived government of Kim Campbell.

He was defeated in the 1993 election, finishing third against Pillitteri and Reformer Mel Grunstein. He ran again in the 1997 election, but again finished third.

Nicholson was elected as a trustee for the Niagara Catholic District School Board in 1994. He was elected to the Niagara Regional Council later in 1997, and was re-elected in 2000, and 2003. He ran for Chairman of the Regional Municipality of Niagara in late 2003, but lost to St. Catharines Regional Councillor Peter Partington.

The Progressive Conservatives merged with the Canadian Alliance as the Conservative Party of Canada in early 2004, and Nicholson joined the new party. He was narrowly returned to parliament in the 2004 election, defeating Liberal Victor Pietrangelo by fewer than 1,000 votes.

Nicholson served as Shadow Transportation Critic from July 2004 to January 2005. He was appointed Chief Opposition Whip on January 28, 2005. He had the unique distinction of being the only member of the Conservative Party Caucus during the 38th Parliament who previously served as a cabinet minister at the federal level, and together with David Emerson still remains as one of only two Conservative MPs during the 39th Parliament who have previously done so (Garth Turner, who served with Nicholson in the Campbell cabinet, was elected as a Conservative but was removed from caucus after less than a year). He was re-elected in the 2006 election and appointed to the Harper cabinet.

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Vic Toews

Victor "Vic" Toews, PC, MP (pronounced /ˈteɪvz/) (born September 10, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He has represented Provencher in the Canadian House of Commons since 2000, and serves in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper as President of the Treasury Board. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1995 to 1999, and was a senior cabinet minister in the government of Gary Filmon. Toews is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Toews was born to a Mennonite family in Filadelfia, Paraguay, and moved with his family to Manitoba in 1956. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Winnipeg (1973), and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba (1976). He joined the provincial Ministry of Justice in 1976 and became a Crown attorney the following year. He was promoted to Director of Constitutional Law for Manitoba in 1987, and advised the Manitoba government on the Meech Lake Accord. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1991.

Toews became a lecturer at the University of Manitoba in 1987, and taught classes in labour law and employment law. He left the civil service in 1991 to become an associate counsel for Great-West Life Assurance, and was given a leave of absence in 1995 to enter politics.

Toews spoke against a decision by Ontario's New Democratic Party government to prohibit protests outside abortion clinics in 1994. He described the decision as "almost unbelievable" and argued that the government was "challenging ... a constitutionally held right" in a manner "consistent with their social agenda".

Toews joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in 1989, and ran for the party in the northeast Winnipeg division of Elmwood in the 1990 provincial election. He placed second against incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Jim Maloway. He ran again in the 1995 election, and narrowly defeated NDP incumbent Harry Schellenberg in nearby division of Rossmere.

Toews was appointed to the cabinet of Premier Gary Filmon after the election, becoming Minister of Labour on May 9, 1995. In his debut speech to the legislature, he said that his political philosophy was partly influenced by leaders of Canada's social democratic movement, as well as his own Mennonite upbringing.

Toews's tenure as Labour Minister was marked by a difficult relationship with organized labour. His first major legislative initiative was Bill 26 (1996), which required unions to disclose the salaries of their officials and indicate how membership dues were spent, mandated union certification votes to take place within seven days of an application, and granted employees the right to prevent their dues from being donated to political parties. Several labour leaders described the bill as anti-union. NDP leader Gary Doer argued that the provision regarding donations unfairly targeted his party, and suggested that corporate shareholders should be given the same right to shield their investments from party donations. Toews rejected these criticisms, and argued that Bill 26 provided greater autonomy to individual workers.

Toews canceled the provincial Payment of Wages Fund in July 1996, argued that it was not achieving its purpose. The stated intention of the fund was to allow workers to collect revenues from employers who entered bankruptcy or receivership.

On January 6, 1997, Toews was promoted to Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Keeper of the Great Seal, with further responsibility for Constitutional Affairs.

As Justice Minister, Toews earned a reputation for focusing on "law and order" issues. One of his first ministerial decisions was to grant jail superintendents the right to institute complete smoking bans, impose random drug tests, and monitor prisoners' calls. Soon after, he introduced measures targeting prison gangs and the drug trade. In August 1998, Toews announced that his ministry would hire more Crown attorneys and construct more than seventy new beds for the Headingley Correctional Institution, in an attempt to incarcerate more dangerous offenders.

Toews also introduced legislation to make parents legally responsible for the crimes of their children. Members of the opposition New Democratic Party argued that the plan would be ineffective, citing past experiments in the United States of America as evidence.

Toews criticized some criminal justice initiatives brought forward by the federal government of Jean Chrétien. In 1997, he announced that Manitoba would not enforce or administer the Canadian gun registry. Two years later, he described changes to the federal Young Offenders Act as both ineffective and too expensive. Toews nonetheless cooperated with the federal government on several issues. In March 1998, he stood with federal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy to announce a plan discouraging court sentences for non-violent aboriginal offenders. Toews said that the proposal was "sensitive to the needs of the aboriginal community", and that it would reduce the number of repeat offenders.

Toews's relationship with the judiciary was sometimes difficult. In May 1998, he asked a judicial appointment committee to add two names to a list of proposed judges. Some argued that this was improper interference, while Toews stated that he acted to ensure the appointment of more bilingual judges. In 1999, he delivered a speech to the Alberta Summit on Justice that criticized judges for intervening in political matters. He was quoted as saying that judges, unlike parliamentarians, "are not well-placed to understand and represent the social, economic and political values of the public". Some attendees criticized his speech, and a representative of the Legal Aid Society of Alberta described it as "inflammatory and sensational". Toews stated on another occasion that judges have a relatively light workload. Chief Provincial Justice Judith Webster described this as "misleading and inaccurate".

The New Democrats argued that Crown offices were underfunded under Toews' watch, and suggested that the Justice Department's prosecutorial duties were compromised.

During a legislative debate in June 1999, Toews accused NDP Justice Critic Gord Mackintosh of mischief for repeatedly calling the province's Street Peace gang hotline only to hang up before leaving a message. Calls to the hotline were meant to be confidential and anonymous, but Toews later acknowledged that calls from government buildings had been tracked and that he received Mackintosh's name from an employee in his department. Premier Filmon described Toews's conduct in the matter as inappropriate. During the fallout from this controversy, Toews was forced to admit that the hotline had gone unanswered for several months.

In May 1999, Toews announced that Manitoba would accept a Supreme Court of Canada decision granting spousal benefits to same-sex couples.

The Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1999 provincial election and Toews was personally defeated in Rossmere, losing to Harry Schellenberg by 294 votes. Redistribution had added a number of NDP-leaning polls to the division, and likely contributed to Schellenberg's victory. Toews returned to work with Great-West Life Assurance in 1999 and 2000.

After leaving provincial politics, Toews turned his attention to the federal scene and Canada's "unite-the-right" movement. He had previously called for cooperation between the right-wing Reform Party of Canada and the centre-right Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, although he did not endorse the United Alternative initiative when it was first announced in 1999. He expressed interest in working with the Canadian Alliance, a successor to the Reform Party that sought to build support among Blue Tory Progressive Conservatives. Toews endorsed Tom Long's bid for the Alliance leadership in June 2000, and approved of Brian Pallister's efforts to bring the Progressive Conservatives into cooperation with the new party.

Toews formally joined the Alliance in the buildup to the 2000 federal election, and defeated four other candidates to win the party's nomination in Provencher, a rural riding in southeastern Manitoba. He then defeated Liberal Party incumbent David Iftody in the general election. The Liberals won a national majority government, and Toews was appointed as Justice Critic in the opposition shadow cabinet.

The Canadian Alliance was weakened by internal divisions in mid-2001, with several MPs calling on party leader Stockwell Day to resign. Toews did not take a strong position for or against Day's leadership, but issued a call for party discipline pending a formal review. When Day resigned, Toews worked on Grant Hill's unsuccessful campaign to become the new party leader.

In 2003, Toews recommended that Alliance members purchase Progressive Conservative membership cards to support the leadership bid of Jim Prentice. He denied this constituted interference, and said that members of the two parties should be encouraged to work together.

The Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties merged to form the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. Toews joined the new party, and was a Manitoba organizer in Stephen Harper's successful bid to become its first elected leader. He was easily returned in the 2004 general election as the Liberals were reduced to a minority government, and was retained as Justice Critic in the parliament that followed.

On January 25, 2005, Toews pleaded guilty to the charge of exceeding his personal campaign expense limits in the 1999 provincial election. He claimed that the overspending resulted from a miscommunication between his campaign and the provincial party as to how some expenses were to be accounted. There were some calls for him to resign as Justice Critic, but nothing came of this. Toews received a $500 fine, and the charge remained on his record.

A Winnipeg Free Press poll taken in late December 2005 showed Toews as the most popular choice to replace Stuart Murray as leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives. He declined to contest the position, and was returned without difficulty in the 2006 Canadian federal election.

As Justice Critic from 2001 to 2005, Toews frequently accused the Liberal government of being unfocused on crime issues. He supported the Chrétien government's decision to create a national sex offender registry in 2002, but criticized the government for not making the bill retroactive to include the names of previously convicted offenders. The non-retroactive approach followed the model of previous legislation in the United Kingdom.

Toews criticized some Supreme Court decisions, and on one occasion accused former Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of overseeing a "frenzy of constitutional experimentation". He also called for official reviews of judicial appointments, arguing that the policy views of judges should be known before they take office. In September 2004, he delivered a speech to the National Pro-Life Conference entitled "Abuse of the Charter by the Supreme Court". In this speech, Toews criticized judicial implementation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, suggested that judges were implementing social policy, and called on his audience to build organizations to challenge the courts.

Initially considered a moderate within the Canadian Alliance, Toews later became known for endorsing socially conservative causes. He was a vocal opponent of Bill C-250 (2003), which made sexual orientation a protected category under Canada's hate crime legislation. Toews stated that the bill could restrict freedom of expression and religion, and was quoted as saying that a "homosexual activist" could sue a hotel chain to remove Bibles as hate literature. He later emerged as a prominent opponent of same-sex marriage, and suggested that changing the definition of marriage in Canada could result in polygamy being legalized. In 2005, he launched an extended filibuster to delay committee work on the issue. Despite his efforts, same-sex marriage was legalized in the summer of 2005.

During this period, Toews also argued that religious organizations should be permitted to deny gay organizations the use of their facilities, supported increasing the age of sexual consent in Canada from fourteen to sixteen, and opposed the decriminalization of cannabis. He continued to oppose the federal gun registry.

The Conservatives won a minority government in the 2006 election. On February 6, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Toews to cabinet as Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney-General. In this capacity, he introduced several bills relating to Canada's criminal justice system.

Toews introduced two bills in May 2006, requiring mandatory minimum prison sentences for persons convicted of gun crimes and eliminating house arrest as an option for various offenses. Opposition parties amended the second bill in October 2006, retaining the ban on house arrests for serious violent and sexual offenders but permitting it for non-violent property offenders. NDP Justice Critic Joe Comartin argued that this change addressed the legitimate concerns of Canadians, while removing what he described as "the radical, extreme over-reaction" of the Conservatives. Toews called for the bill to be passed in its original form.

In November 2006, Toews introduced a bill to toughen bail conditions for persons accused of gun-related crimes. The bill included a "reverse-onus" clause requiring the accused to demonstrate why they should not be held in custody. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller indicated their support for the bill.

In June 2006, Toews introduced a bill to raise the age of sexual consent from fourteen to sixteen. The bill included an exemption for adolescents who have relations with persons no more than five years older than themselves. Under Canadian law, "sexual consent" covers all activities from kissing to intercourse. Liberal MP Irwin Cotler argued that the Conservative Party was misrepresenting the issue to the Canadian public, and noted that the sexual exploitation of persons under eighteen is already illegal under Canadian law. Toew's proposed changes were supported by other interested parties, including Manitoba Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh. The bill became law in February 2008, over a year after Toews left the Justice portfolio.

Toews introduced a "three strikes" bill to the House of Commons in October 2006, stipulating that persons found guilty of three sexual or violent crimes will be automatically categorized as dangerous offenders unless they can convince a judge otherwise. Persons labeled as dangerous offenders under Canadian law may be kept in prison indefinitely. Critics argued that the proposed law was too broad in its scope, and included vaguely-defined categories in its list of serious offenses. Civil libertarian groups also argued that the bill threatened the constitutional principle of accused persons being presumed innocent until proven guilty, and suggested that it may not withstand a court challenge.

In August 2006, Toews told reporters that he was willing to consider lowering the age of criminal responsibility in Canada from twelve to ten. He indicated that his focus was on treatment rather than jail time, although he did not rule out jail sentences for ten year-olds. A Justice Department spokesman later clarified that there were no plans to bring forward such legislation. In October 2006, Toews announced plans to introduce more severe sentencing provisions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

In June 2006, Toews brought forward amendments to expand Canada's collection of DNA samples from convicted criminals. He also confirmed that his government would arm guards at the Canada-United States border, and would not revive plans by the previous Liberal administration to decriminalize simple possession of cannabis.

MPs from all parties agreed to fast-track passage of a bill toughening penalties for street racing in November 2006. In the same month, Toews introduced a bill to give the police extra powers against persons who drive while under the influence of drugs.

Some provincial justice ministers expressed concern about the costs of Toews's proposed sentencing reforms. Toews acknowledged that his government's gun sentencing laws would cost $246 million per year for new prison space and $40 million for operating costs, but argued that the changes were necessary and were requested by police and provincial officials.

Liberal MP Michael Ignatieff criticized Toews's approach to crime, arguing that adding thousands of people to Canada's prison system will lead to young offenders becoming hardened adult criminals, and will not make Canada safer in the long term. Former Ontario Chief Justice Patrick LeSage also criticized Toews's approach to crime issues, arguing that the country was not experiencing a crime wave and did not need "draconian" laws to ensure its safety.

Soon after he assumed office, Toews announced that public hearings would be held for the next justice appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. This policy was criticized by Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and former justice John Major, who expressed concern that these hearings could foment the "political warfare" associated with American judicial appointments. In late February, Prime Minister Harper nominated Marshall Rothstein from a shortlist prepared by the previous Liberal administration. MPs were permitted to ask questions of Rothstein, although the ultimate power of appointment continued to rest with the prime minister. Rothstein was supported by Liberal members of the judicial committee, and was quickly confirmed to the bench.

In November 2006, Toews announced that police representatives would be appointed to the provincial judicial advisory committees that review the qualifications of potential judges. This proposal was widely criticized by the Canadian media and by opposition MPs, some of whom argued that Toews's intent was to stack the courts with right-wing judges. In an unprecedented move, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and the Canadian Judicial Council issued a statement that Toews's proposal would "compromise the independence of the Advisory Committees", and called for the minister to consult with judicial and legal representatives before making any changes. The Federation of Law Societies of Canada has also criticized Toews's plan, arguing that the government had "politicized" the judicial appointments process. Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry and Attorney General Michael Bryant added their opposition in early 2007, with Bryant arguing that the "the forces of legal populism" were threatening to "tear asunder the basic principle of judicial independence". Toews indicated that he would proceed with his changes despite the opposition, though he was removed from the Justice portfolio before the new system could be implemented. In January 2007, the Conservatives appointed two powerful Ontario police union leaders to an advisory committee.

In mid-2006, Toews's department prepared draft legislation concerning religious rights and freedom of speech in relation to same-sex marriage. Some speculated that this legislation was intended to protect the "free speech" of religious leaders and others who criticize homosexual behaviour. The legislation was never brought forward. The House of Commons defeated a motion to reopen the debate on same-sex marriage in December 2006. While Toews remains personally opposed to same-sex marriage, he later indicated that the Harper government would not revisit the issue again.

In late October 2006, an Ontario Superior Court Judge struck down a part of Canada's Security of Information Act as unconstitutional. This law had previously been used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to obtain search warrants for the home and office of Ottawa journalist Juliet O'Neill, after she received and published leaked information about Maher Arar. In the same week, an Ottawa judge struck down as unconstitutional a section of the Anti-terrorism Act that defined terrorism as crime motived by religion, politics or ideology. Toews later announced that the Harper government would not appeal the O'Neill decision.

In December 2006, Toews and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Jim Prentice announced plans to repeal Section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The ministers argued that this provision sometimes prevented status aboriginals and on-reserve workers from registering human rights complaints, and said that its repeal would extend full rights protection to all First Nations people.

Toews called a judicial inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing in February 2006. He abolished the Law Commission of Canada later in the year, saying that the government would commission other agencies to do its research work.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet on January 4, 2007, and appointed Toews as President of the Treasury Board. Some commentators argued that Toews's hardline approach to law-and-order issues was damaging the Conservative Party's image among centrist voters, and described his replacement Rob Nicholson as presenting a more moderate image.

In his first major speech after the shuffle, Toews announced increased penalties and longer jail terms for bureaucrats who commit fraud against the government. In the same month, he announced that the Canadian Wheat Board would be subject to the Access to Information Act.

As Treasury Board President, Toews is responsible for overseeing the Federal Accountability Act, which was passed into law in 2006. In January 2008, he introduced a Lobbying Act to replace Canada's Lobbyists Registration Act. The new act created a category of senior public officials called "designated public office holders", whose interactions with lobbyists would need to be reported. It also created a Commissioner of Lobbying (to replace the Registrar of Lobbyists), and increased penalties for violations. The coordinator of the group Democracy Watch was strongly critical of the changes, noting that the new rules only covered "oral and arranged communication" between ministers and government officials while exempting written correspondence and chance encounters. After the act officially became law in July 2008, it was discovered that some arranged meetings between ministers, government officials and lobbyists' clients would not have to be reported at all, if the lobbyist who arranged the meeting was not actually present. Lobbyists were not required to report such meetings, and the clients would only be required to do so if they were themselves registered under the act.

In February 2008, Toews and Minister of Public Works Michael Fortier announced that the Harper government would spend $10 million less on public opinion research in its next budget. This decision followed criticism that the government was spending far more on polls than the previous Liberal administrations. Toews' department also shut down the Co-ordination of Access to Information Requests System (CAIRS) in April 2008. Critics argued that the system provided a vital resource for citizens attempting to investigate previously released documents. Toews argued that it was expensive, and slowed access to government information.

During a June 2008 parliamentary debate, Toews described Canadian jurist Louise Arbour, the retiring United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as a "disgrace". He indicated that he made the remarks with respect to her past statements on Israel (during the 2006 Lebanon War, Arbour argued that the killing of innocent civilians by any party could amount to war crimess). This statement was widely criticized. Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay responded that Toews had taken Arbour's remarks "completely out of context", and described his comments as an "appalling" personal attack. Claire L'Heureux-Dubé also criticized Toews' comments, writing that Arbour had avoided taking sides in the Middle East conflict.

Toews was invited to speak at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but declined.

In November 2007, disgraced businessman and lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber filed an affidavit in Ontario Superior Court that contained serious accusations against former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. The Canadian media subsequently reported that Justice officials had prepared a briefing note on Schreiber the previous year, while Toews was still minister. Bureaucrats indicated that neither Toews nor his successor, Rob Nicholson, had read the material. Some columnists suggested that the Conservative ministers may have intentionally avoided briefings on the subject.

In late 2007, Toews indicated that the Harper government would not prioritize funding for a new football stadium proposed by Winnipeg media mogul David Asper. He later modified his position, and announced in June 2008 that he was interested in moving forward with a revised stadium plan.

Toews's public visibility declined after his reassignment as Treasury Board President, and the Winnipeg Free Press reported in May 2008 that he was not playing a prominent role in discussions about the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg or the proposed football stadium.

Rumours circulated in early 2008 that Toews was planning to retire from politics. In May 2008, it was reported that he was being vetted for a possible appointment to Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench. Some opposition MPs argued that any such appointment would create a conflict of interest situation, as Toews has an active role in choosing the oversight committee. Toews was still a Member of Parliament when the 2008 election was called, however, and was re-elected on Oct 14, 2008.

It was reported in May 2008 that Toews had separated from his wife of 32 years, following the revelation that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. Some have speculated that this could damage his chances of re-election in his socially conservative riding. However, Toews was re-elected without difficulty.

Note: A subsequent investigation by Elections Manitoba found that Toews overspent by $7,500 in the 1999 campaign.

All electoral information is taken from Elections Canada and Elections Manitoba. Provincial election expenditures refer to individual candidate expenses. Italicized expenditures refer to submitted totals, and are presented when the final reviewed totals are not available.

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Gary Pillitteri

Gary Orazio Vincenzo Pillitteri (born 1 March 1936 in Racalmuto, Italy) was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 2004. By career, he is a farmer and businessman. Currently, he is the founder and president of Pillitteri Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Pillitteri is a member of the Liberal party who first bid for the Niagara Falls electoral district in 1988. He lost to Conservative candidate Rob Nicholson in that election by a narrower margin of only 1940 votes. After a second attempt in the 1993 general election, he defeated Nicholson by 10823 votes and joined the federal Parliament and was re-elected in 1997 and 2000. He therefore served in the 35th, 36th and 37th Canadian Parliaments. Pillitteri is currently the longest serving consecutive Member of Parliament which the Niagara Falls riding has ever had.

Pillitteri left federal politics in 2004 and did not seek a fourth term in federal office. Rob Nicholson regained the riding that year.

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Cryptic Slaughter

Cryptic Slaughter was a Santa Monica, California-based crossover thrash/hardcore punk band.

Cryptic Slaughter was formed in 1984 by Les Evans (age 17), Scott Peterson (age 14) and Adam Scott (age 15), who met through their mutual participation in the American Youth Soccer League (AYSO). Soon they were joined by Bill Crooks (age 15), a friend of Adam Scott and a fellow soccer player. Adam Scott was let go a few months later due to conflicts regarding his parents and school.

Their first demo, Life in Grave, was produced in 1985 and became well circulated in the burgeoning tape-trader underground. Their first full length LP, Convicted, was released in 1986 on Death/Metal Blade records, whose artist roster also boasted D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, Dr. Know, The Mentors, and Beyond Possession. Within its first year of release, Convicted sold over 25,000 copies and earned Cryptic the reputation as being one of the fastest bands in hardcore. Next came Money Talks in 1987, which is still considered by many to be the band's best effort. Mixing crushing grooves with lightning speed, Money Talks surpassed Convicted's success by selling 35,000 in its first year and by earning Cryptic Slaughter a fanatical following around the world.

The original line-up recorded their final studio album, Stream of Consciousness, in 1988. Unhappy with the recording process and the album's production, the band's internal problems were magnified by life on the road. They broke up in the summer on tour before Stream was released later that fall. They played their last show in Detroit on July 14, 1988.

Shortly after returning home, however, guitarist Les Evans and bassist Rob Nicholson recruited new member Eli Nelson and continued on in a new direction. This new incarnation was short-lived, however, and Evans moved to Portland in May 1989 to reform the band with an entirely new line-up, which included Brian Lehfeldt of Wehrmacht fame. The final Cryptic Slaughter album, Speak Your Peace, was a definite departure from the previous material, heavily influenced by a changing music scene.

Cryptic Slaughter are often credited as one of the progenitors of crossover, the thrash metal and hardcore punk crossover genre, along with such seminal acts as D.R.I. and Corrosion of Conformity.

In 2003, Relapse Records reissued Convicted and Money Talks with added bonus tracks from Cryptic Slaughter's demo and live recordings.

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Niagara Falls (electoral district)

Niagara Falls is a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1953, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999.

It consists of the city of Niagara Falls and the towns of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie.

The federal riding was created in 1952 from parts of Erie—Lincoln and Welland ridings. It consisted initially of the townships of Stamford, Willoughby and Bertie, the city of Niagara Falls, and the towns of Fort Erie, Chippawa and Crystal Beach in the county of Welland. In 1966, the towns of Fort Erie, Chippawa and Crystal Beach and the township of Stamford were excluded from the riding.

In 1976, the riding was redefined to consist of the City of Niagara Falls and the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. In 1996, the riding was expanded to include the part of the City of Thorold lying east of the Welland Canal. In 2004 the western boundary of the riding was moved east from the Welland Canal to the Thorold town line, while the southern boundary was extended south to Lake Erie. This change excluded the town of Thorold and included all of the town of Fort Erie.

Rob Nicholson is the current Minister of Justice.

The provincial electoral district was created in 1999 when provincial ridings were defined to have the same borders as federal ridings.

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Rob Nicholson (musician)

Rob "Blasko" Nicholson is a Hard rock bassist who was born on November 24, 1969. His influences include the rock bands Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Corrosion of Conformity. Rob is perhaps best known for his performances on Rob Zombie's solo albums, and is currently part of Ozzy Osbourne's band.

Over the years, Rob has played a few types of instruments including the drums when he was young, the guitar, and then finally he stuck with playing the bass guitar. Rob began his career playing bass for the Santa Monica, CA based speed/thrash metal band called Cryptic Slaughter, performing on several of their albums. Then Rob moved on to sing lead vocals for the death metal influenced band Killing Spree. After he had finished with them, he went on to sing for Suffer. He then went on to pursue other musical interests with the alternative rock band Drown. But Rob soon left Drown to play bass for Prong, but appeared on none of their albums due to their disbanding. He then joined the popular band Danzig in September 1997, but like his last band, he did not appear on any of their albums because of his departure from the band in April 1998. He left Danzig to tour with Rob Zombie, where he began using the nickname "Blasko". He has so far played on all of Rob Zombie's solo albums (Hellbilly Deluxe, The Sinister Urge, & Educated Horses). He also spent some time while Rob Zombie was filming to work on a side project with the founder of Coffin Case, Johnny Coffin. The band was composed of Johnny Coffin on lead guitar, Daniel Gray on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, DC on drums, and of course Blasko on Bass. The band was called The Death Riders and released in 2005. The Soundtrack to Depression (their debut album) was released by Horror High. In 2003, Rob replaced Robert Trujillo as Ozzy Osbourne's bassist. After Ozzy's band rehearsed for a fall tour, Ozzy was injured in a bad ATV accident in October of 2003. The fall tour was cancelled. After Ozzy's recovery, he performed with Black Sabbath on Ozzfest 2004, and with Ozzy on select dates for Ozzfest 2006. Rob officially marked his membership in Ozzy Osbourne's band when he was featured as bassist on Osbourne's 9th studio album "Black Rain", which was released on May 22, 2007. Since then Rob has played for Ozzy on all live shows including Ozzfest 2007, the recent European dates, and an American tour with Rob Zombie, his former band. Rob's side project "The Death Riders" are working on their second album entitled "And Then Came The Rain..." which is due out sometime late 2008.

He recently worked on the film Repo! The Genetic Opera, performing on the soundtrack.

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Belinda Stronach

Belinda Caroline Stronach, PC (born May 2, 1966 in Newmarket, Ontario) is a Canadian businessperson, philanthropist and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the Canadian House of Commons from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals. From May 17, 2005 to February 6, 2006, she was the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal in the government of Paul Martin. According to Canadian protocol, as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, she is styled The Honourable Belinda Stronach. She is currently Executive Vice-Chairman of Magna International, Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer, and Chair of The Belinda Stronach Foundation, a charitable organization.

Stronach is the daughter of Magna International founder Frank Stronach, and is the former president and chief executive officer of the company. She graduated from Newmarket High School and attended York University in 1985, where she studied business and economics, but dropped out after one year to work at Magna. She speaks English and German fluently.

Stronach was a member of the board of directors of Magna from 1988 until 2004. She became a vice-president of the company in 1995 and executive vice-president in 1999, until her appointment as president and chief executive officer. She has chaired the boards of Decoma International Inc., Tesma International Inc., and Intier Automotive Inc., all in the auto parts sector. She was a founding member of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council and served on the Ontario Task Force on Productivity, Competitiveness and Economic Progress. She is a director of the Yves Landry Foundation, which furthers technological education and skills training in the manufacturing sector.

In February 2001, she was appointed chief executive officer of Magna, succeeding Donald J. Walker (who became CEO of Magna spinoff Intier Automotive Inc.), and in January 2002, she also became its president. While CEO, the company added 3,000 jobs in Canada, 1,000 of them being in the Newmarket-Aurora area she would later represent in Parliament. Under her leadership Magna had record sales and profits each year. Though he held no formal operational role during that time, Frank Stronach remained as Chairman of the Board.

As a CEO, Stronach was widely viewed as more conciliatory to organized labour than her father, who was noted for his strong opposition to unions at Magna. While head of Magna, she ceased fighting the United Auto Workers in a dispute before the National Labor Relations Board, and the union organized numerous Magna workers in the United States.

In 2001, the National Post named Stronach as the most powerful businesswoman in Canada. In the same year, the World Economic Forum named her a "Global Leader of Tomorrow". Fortune Magazine ranked her #2 in its list of the world's most powerful women in business in 2002. She was also named one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40". In April 2004, Time Magazine ranked her as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Stronach is honorary chair of the Southlake Regional Health Centre fundraising campaign and a former honorary chair of the Howdown fundraising campaign. In 2003, she received one of Canada's oldest and most distinguished awards, the Beth Shalom Humanitarian Award, presented in recognition of outstanding achievement in humanitarian service.

On November 9, 2006 she co-chaired the Millennium Promise Convention in Montreal with Canadian television personality Rick Mercer. This event was a national campaign to enlist Canadians to help protect children in Africa from the ravages of malaria. Together, Stronach and Mercer co-founded Spread the Net, a grassroots organization that raises money to buy insecticide-treated bed nets for families in Africa, reducing the risk of acquiring malaria by mosquito bite.

Stronach is twice divorced; her first husband was current Magna CEO Donald J. Walker and her second was Norwegian speed skating legend Johann Olav Koss. She has two children from her first marriage, Frank and Nikki.

On June 23, 2007, the Toronto Star reported that Stronach had been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ, a form of breast cancer, in April 2007, and had undergone a mastectomy on June 19 in an undisclosed Toronto hospital.

According to a September 14, 2007 article from CTV News, Stronach travelled to the United States for breast cancer surgery in June 2007. According to the article, Stronach's spokesperson Greg MacEachern said that the United States was the best place to have this type of surgery done. The article also says that Stronach paid for the surgery out of her own pocket.

In the 2000 Canadian Alliance leadership election, she supported Preston Manning. In his memoir Think Big, Manning recalls Stronach at his second-ballot campaign launch in Toronto delivering "a substantive introduction in which she clearly explained why she wanted the Alliance and my candidacy to succeed", and he later thanked her for "unflagging support" in that campaign.

Throughout the summer and into the fall of 2003, talks were undertaken by officials of the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance with respect to a merger of those parties. Vote-splitting between the two right-wing parties had enabled the Liberals to dominate Canadian politics for a decade. Meetings between the parties were overseen by a facilitator, who was later revealed to have been Stronach. She was among many who had called for PC leader Peter MacKay and Canadian Alliance leader Stephen Harper to undertake the merger talks in the first place.

In 2004, Stronach contested the leadership of the newly formed Conservative Party. As a candidate for leadership of the new party, she drew a great deal of publicity to the race. However, many in the media saw her first foray into politics as sophomoric. Some critics accused her of being a "manufactured candidate", dependent on a high-priced network of professional campaign staff and Magna associates.

Some of the media reaction to Stronach's candidacy was criticized. Casting Stronach as an "heiress" with a "coddled career" — to the point of joking comparisons to Paris Hilton — and the attention paid to her physical appearance and personal life, was described by a commentator as patronizing and sexist. The Canadian media, though generally considered to exercise much greater reserve and discretion about the private lives of public figures than the media of other countries, paid considerable attention to rumours and innuendo about Stronach's personal life, particularly her relationship with Bill Clinton - a story that has received the attention of the New York Times following a dinner at B.L.T. Steak in Midtown Manhattan at which Clinton and Stronach attended.

Supporters touted her youth and style, corporate experience, private life as a "soccer mom", and her potential to win new and swing voters, especially moderate, socially progressive voters in the province of Ontario.

On February 11, 2004, she declined to participate in a debate between the Conservative party candidates, leaving Tony Clement and Stephen Harper to debate each other on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast. She later also skipped a March 14 debate on the Global Television Network. She argued that she ought only to participate in party-sponsored debates, rather than picking and choosing among those organized by outside sponsors. Critics saw this as her way of avoiding a debate with the other two candidates.

In her major speech at the leadership convention on March 19, 2004, she promised to serve only two terms if she became Prime Minister, and to draw no salary. She made a major gesture of "throwing away the script", but then undercut this when she was seen referring to cue cards. On March 20, 2004, she finished second to Harper with 35% of the vote.

In the 2004 federal election, she was narrowly elected as the MP for Newmarket—Aurora by a margin of 689 votes over Liberal Martha Hall Findlay. She was appointed the International Trade critic in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.

Before crossing the floor of the House of Commons, Stronach represented the socially liberal face of the Conservative Party. Along with Peter MacKay, she was seen as giving the Conservatives a more progressive image.

Stronach was generally to the left of her Conservative caucus colleagues, supporting abortion rights, gun control and same-sex marriage. During her Conservative leadership campaign, she called for a free vote in parliament, with votes cast individually and not along party lines, on same-sex marriage. She spoke and voted in favour of same-sex marriage when the issue came to the House of Commons in 2005; a position she re-affirmed as a Liberal in 2006. Social conservative elements in Canada were critical of Stronach, calling her a "Red Tory". During Stronach's leadership campaign, REAL Women of Canada said: "If Ms. Stronach is elected as leader of the Conservative Party, social conservatives will no longer have a voice in Canada." Stronach, for her part, promised after the leadership race that she would do her best to keep the party from moving too far to the right. She cited discomfort with Stephen Harper and the Conservatives policies as one of her reasons for crossing the floor.

Stronach supported trade with the United States but said she would like to re-examine and review parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to ensure, in her view, that Canadians can stand on a more equal footing with U.S. competitors. During her leadership campaign she said the country needed to consider changes to the Medicare system that would respect the principles of the Canada Health Act "as our standard, not our straitjacket".

In May 2005, Stronach suggested publicly that forcing an early election, especially before passing that year's federal budget, was risky and could backfire on the Tories. Harper wanted to force an early election in the wake of testimony at the Gomery Commission damaging to the Liberals. The Tories planned to bring down the government by voting against an amendment to the budget that the Liberals had made to gain New Democratic Party (NDP) support. Since this would be a loss of supply, it would have brought down the government.

However, on May 17, 2005, two days before the crucial vote, Stronach announced that she was crossing the floor and joining the Liberal Party. Her decision to join the Liberals was facilitated by former Ontario Liberal Premier David Peterson. Stronach immediately joined the cabinet as minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and minister responsible for Democratic Renewal. In the latter portfolio, she was charged with overseeing the implementation of the Gomery Inquiry recommendations, upon their release.

Stronach's move shifted the balance of power in Parliament and allowed Martin's Liberal minority government to survive for the time being. On May 19, 2005, two crucial confidence motions were voted on in the House of Commons. The first vote, on Bill C-43, the original budget proposal approved by all parties, was passed as expected, with 250 for and 54 against. The second vote was on a new budget amendment (Bill C-48) that included C$4.6 billion in additional spending the Liberals negotiated with NDP leader Jack Layton, to secure the support of NDP MPs. It was on this amendment that the Conservative/Bloc alliance planned to bring down the government. However, the vote resulted in a 152-152 tie. It then fell to the Speaker, Peter Milliken, to cast the deciding vote, which he cast in favour of continuing debate, resulting in the survival of the government. The vote carried with a final count of 153 for and 152 against.

The Liberals used Stronach's defection to paint the Conservative Party as being too extreme for moderate voters in Ontario. The Liberals enjoyed a modest upswing in the polls after earlier being damaged by testimony from Gomery Commission. Some political pundits suggested that shortly after Stronach's defection would have been the ideal time for the Liberals to call the election, as Stephen Harper had lost some of his momentum after narrowly failing to bring down the government. Instead, the Liberals were forced into an election when they were brought down by a vote of non-confidence later that year, after revelations from the Gomery Inquiry damaged their popularity. Columnist Andrew Coyne suggested that while her defection helped the Liberals in the short-run to stay in power, it also made Martin appear as a "grasping conniver willing to do and say anything to hang onto power".

Stronach's party switch mere days before the confidence vote made her the target of criticism within the Conservative Party and in the media in general. Many were cynical about her reasons for leaving and believed that her move to the Liberals was motivated more by ambition than by moral or political principles. In a press conference following the announcement, Harper speculated that Stronach had left the party simply to further her own career. At the same time, others praised Stronach for having the courage to leave a party in which she no longer felt comfortable.

Considerable media attention was paid to Peter MacKay, MP, and the deputy leader of the Conservative Party, with whom Stronach had a relationship of several months. Interviewed the day after Stronach's departure from his party, he stated that he had learned of her intention to cross the floor mere hours before the public announcement. In an interview conducted at his father's farm, MacKay showed discernible emotion.

The day after Stronach crossed the floor, the reaction in Newmarket—Aurora was mixed. Some of her constituents were upset and expressed a sense of betrayal. Protesters picketed her riding office for several days, demanding a by-election. However some of her constituents supported her move because they did not want an election and supported the budget.

Stronach's move to the Liberal Party and the speed with which she was given a senior-level cabinet position renewed calls from both parliamentarians and the general public for legislation to prevent such "party-hopping." One month after Stronach crossed the floor, a private member's bill was tabled that would require a by-election to be held within thirty-five days of a member of parliament quitting a party. According to this proposed legislation, the MP would have to sit as an independent until the by-election. The legislation never became law.

NDP MP Pat Martin requested an investigation of Stronach, speculating that she had been promised a senior cabinet post in return for her defection. The Ethics Commissioner of Canada, Dr. Bernard Shapiro, refused to investigate her floor-crossing, citing that it was a constitutional right of a Prime Minister to appoint opposition members to Cabinet.

The Conservatives targeted Stronach for defeat in the 2006 election as part of their larger goal of a breakthrough in Ontario, especially in the Toronto suburbs (popularly known as the 905s). However, while the Conservatives won a minority government, Stronach defeated her Conservative challenger, Lois Brown, by an eight-point margin.

Some of the criticism of Stronach's party switching also came under fire. Political scientist Linda Trimble has argued that the reaction to Stronach's defection to the Liberals was "offensive and sexist", referring to the comments of two provincial legislature members PC MPP Bob Runciman and Alberta PC Tony Abbott. Runciman told the Toronto radio station CFRB that, "She sort of defined herself as something of a dipstick, an attractive one, but still a dipstick." He apologized for his comments and later elaborated, saying that Stronach failed to adequately express her reasons for defecting from the Conservative Party. Abbott said that Stronach had "whored herself out for power." He apologized for the statement the next day saying that the term "whoring" had been misunderstood from context, and noting that it could be equally used for men and women.

Women's groups argued that the media also unfairly characterized the transition. The National Post used the front page headline "Blonde Bombshell", and political cartoonists made reference to Stronach prostituting herself to the Liberal party. Stronach's critics downplayed the sexism of their remarks and accused the Liberals of politicizing the issue in order to legitimize her crossing the floor.

Although the Liberals lost the 2006 federal election, Stronach won re-election as a Liberal candidate by a greater margin than she had in the 2004 election as a Conservative.

Following the Liberal's defeat in the 2006 election, Paul Martin announced that he would be stepping down as party leader. It was widely speculated that Stronach would seek the Liberal leadership at the 2006 leadership convention, having been endorsed by such Liberals as Reg Alcock and Brigitte Legault, who heads the Quebec party's youth wing.

However, on April 6, 2006, she announced that she would not seek the leadership, citing her objections to the delegate-based selection process. "I could have raised the money, I was working on my French, but I realized that I was not going to be free to speak my mind on party renewal", said Stronach. She said that renewal would involve giving all party members a direct vote on its direction and leadership, among other things. "If there was a one-member, one-vote system, I would run." However, a report by CTV reporter Robert Fife suggested that her candidacy was hampered by her weak grasp of French, one of Canada's two official languages, and the fact that she believed the Liberals would be defeated in the next election. Several Liberal Party officials had also warned that they would enforce the new rules, which placed limits on donations and spendings by contenders, which would have nullified Stronach's largest advantage over other potential rivals.

On April 11, 2007, Stronach announced that she would not seek re-election, and would instead return to Magna International as Executive Vice-Chairman. This decision came at a time when Magna was in the midst of teaming up with Onex Corporation to consider a bid to buy Chrysler. Stronach further cited her wish to spend more time with her growing children, and the creation of a personal foundation to end poverty and disease in Africa. She retained her seat in Parliament until the federal election in the fall of 2008.

2The office of Minister of Employment and Immigration, and Minister of Labour were abolished and the office of Minister of Human Resources Development went in force on July 12, 1996. Under the new provisions, a Minister of Labour may be appointed. However, when no Minister of Labour is appointed, the Minister of Human Resources Development shall exercice the powers and perform the duties and functions of the Minister of Labour.

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