Keith Penner

Last updated

Keith Penner' (born May 1, 1933) is a Canadian public official and former politician. He is best known for having chaired a House of Commons committee on Indian self-government in the early 1980s, and for the report of the committee known as the Penner Report.

Contents

Early life

Raised in Alberta, Penner later moved to Northern Ontario. Penner completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta and earned master's degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa. He also pursued post-degree studies at Queen's University and McMaster University.

Political career

Penner entered politics in the 1968 federal election and was elected the Liberal MP for the Electoral District of Thunder Bay, Ontario. He was re-elected in 1972 and 1974 for the Thunder Bay District and then in the 1979, 1980 and 1984 federal elections representing Cochrane) (later Cochrane—Superior). Penner served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Science and Technology and to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He did not seek re-election in the 1988 election.

Indian Affairs and Northern Development

In the 1980s, Penner was Chair of the Standing Committee on Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The Committee released a report on Native Self-governance in 1983. Often referred to as the Penner Report, it recommended the recognition of First Nations people as a distinct, constitutionally protected order of government within Canada and with a full range of government powers. The Report recommended that the provinces be removed from any jurisdiction concerning Aboriginal affairs and that a government structure for First Nations be regarded as the equivalent to a province, with financial support from the federal government in an arrangement that would be recognised in the Constitution of Canada. While the Liberal government of the day tabled in the House of Commons a relatively favourable response on March 5, 1984, a few months later Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had resigned, John Turner became Prime Minister, Indian Affairs Minister John Munro was not named by Turner as a Minister, and in September 1984, the Conservative Government of Brian Mulroney swept into power.

Post political career

During the academic year 1987-88, prior to announcing that he would not seek re-election, Penner was a visiting fellow in the School of Political Science at Queen's University. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (North America) and served as its Chairman from 2003 to 2007. [1] He was appointed as a member of the Canadian Transportation Agency in 1989.. Penner served with the agency until his retirement, in 2003. While there, he took a lead in the adoption of ADR (Alternate Dispute Resolution) into the Agency's protocol. He also continued to write and speak of the need for Indigenous Self-Government as a Distinct Order of Government in Canada. [2] After leaving the Agency, Penner established his own Commercial Dispute Resolution Firm. He became a coach-teacher with the Stitt/Feld/Handy Group and the University of Windsor in Mediation Training. From 2005 until 2016 he heard cases for the Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal and he continues to serve as a Designated Arbitrator with ICDR (The International Centre for Dispute Resolution) which is affiliated with the American Arbitration Association. In 2023, his term with the AAA as Arbitrator, was renewed for three years. Penner is listed in the Whose Who in America. In 2009, Penner worked with the Algonquins of Barrier Lake in Quebec in an effort to assist them in the re-establishment of their Traditional Government. Due to an intra-community dispute, the result was challenged in the Federal Court of Canada. Those who sought the return of Traditional Government lost the case, but Penner's work earned praise in the Decision and with the Algonquin people of Barrier Lake. Recently, Penner has been invited to participate in a First Nations' Think Tank called the Yellowhead Institute of Ryerson University. In 2010, Penner was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, cited in particular for his "continued interest and activity in the promotion of education, aboriginal rights and parliamentary democracy in Canada and abroad." [3] Keith Penner is married to Brenda Morrissey of Newfoundland. The couple continue to live there for a part of each year.

Related Research Articles

The minister of Crown–Indigenous relations is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet, one of two ministers who administer Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), the department of the Government of Canada which is responsible for administering the Indian Act and other legislation dealing with "Indians and lands reserved for the Indians" under subsection 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867. The minister is also more broadly responsible for overall relations between the federal government and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Bagnell</span> Canadian politician (born 1949)

Lawrence Bagnell is a former Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Yukon from 2000 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2021. He served as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Boudria</span> Canadian politician

Don Boudria, is a former Canadian politician and current senior associate at Sandstone Group, an Ottawa-based executive advisory firm. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2006 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien.

Andrew Mitchell, is a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2006, representing Parry Sound—Muskoka as a member of the Liberal Party. He was a minister in the government of Jean Chrétien and a cabinet minister in the government of Paul Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Angus</span> Canadian politician

Charles Joseph Angus is a Canadian author, journalist, broadcaster, musician and politician. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Angus has been the federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Timmins—James Bay since winning the 2004 election. He is the NDP critic for Ethics, Federal Economic Development, Initiative for Northern Ontario, Indigenous Youth, Income Inequality and Affordability, and Deputy Critic for Labour.

Rick Bartolucci is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014. He represented the riding of Sudbury and was a cabinet minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty.

Charles Jackson "Bud" Wildman is a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1975 to 1999, representing the riding of Algoma, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.

Frances Lankin,, is a Canadian senator, former president and CEO of United Way Toronto, and a former Ontario MPP and cabinet minister in the NDP government of Bob Rae between 1990 and 1995. From 2010 to 2012, she co-chaired a government commission review of social assistance in Ontario. From 2009 to 2016, she was a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Zimmer</span> Canadian politician

David Zimmer is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was the Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for Willowdale from 2003 to 2018. He was a member of cabinet in the government of Kathleen Wynne. He was the longest serving minister of aboriginal/indigenous affairs in Ontario history to date.

Douglas Cockburn Frith, was a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Sudbury in the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1988 as a member of the Liberal Party. From July 1996 to January 2008, Frith served as president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, which is affiliated with the Motion Picture Association of America. He was honoured for his public service with the Queen's Jubilee Medals in 1977, 1992 and 2002 and was the recipient of the Public Service Award in 1988 for his work in the area of pension reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Albrecht</span> Canadian politician

Harold Glenn Albrecht was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Conservative Party of Canada in the riding of Kitchener—Conestoga from 2006 until 2019. He defeated the incumbent Liberal MP, Lynn Myers, by just over 1,000 votes in the 2006 federal election to gain a seat in the House of Commons of Canada.

Anthony "Tony" Belcourt OC is a Métis Rights leader and activist in Canada. He was the first president of the Native Council of Canada (1971-1974). He is best known for his work as the founding President of the Métis Nation of Ontario in 1993 and his leadership through the Powley Case in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Oliphant</span> Canadian politician

Robert Oliphant is a Canadian politician and a United Church minister. He served in the House of Commons as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Don Valley West from 2008 to 2011. He returned to office after re-election in 2015 and subsequently in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Durie Lyon</span> Canadian politician

William Durie Lyon was a merchant and political figure in Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wahgoshig First Nation</span> Indian reserve in Ontario, Canada

Apitipi Anicinapek Nation, formerly known as Wahgoshig First Nation, is an Algonquin Anicinape community, located near Matheson in Cochrane District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. In January 2008, the First Nation had 270 people registered with the nation, of which their on-reserve population was 121.

Roger Carl Young, B.A., LL.B. is a Canadian former politician and lawyer], who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1974 to 1979 as a member of the Liberal Party representing the riding of Niagara Falls.

Indigenous or Aboriginal self-government refers to proposals to give governments representing the Indigenous peoples in Canada greater powers of government. These proposals range from giving Aboriginal governments powers similar to that of local governments in Canada to demands that Indigenous governments be recognized as sovereign, and capable of "nation-to-nation" negotiations as legal equals to the Crown, as well as many other variations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Fragiskatos</span> Canadian politician (born 1981)

Peter Fragiskatos is a Canadian academic and Liberal Party of Canada politician, who was first elected to represent the riding of London North Centre in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Michael Epstein</span> Canadian lawyer (born 1942)

Philip Michael Epstein is a Canadian family law lawyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Barrett (Canadian politician)</span> Canadian politician

Michael Barrett is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on December 3, 2018. He represents the electoral district of Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He won the riding again in the October 2019 federal election, and was re-elected in the September 2021 federal election.

References

  1. Profile of Keith Penner [ permanent dead link ]. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  2. Canadian Transportation Agency, Profile of Keith Penner; reformatted 2011-05-13.
  3. Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, Distinguished Service Award 2010 Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2011-05-13.