Linda West

Linda West
Nationality	Canadian
Education	Laurentian University University of Toronto Washington International University
Occupation(s)	Administrator, activist, politician, philanthropist
Employer	Retired
Known for	Conservative Party of Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba
Political party	Conservative
Movement	Healthcare reform

Linda West is a Canadian administrator, activist and politician. She has been a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada and the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba. She is also known for her involvements in several volunteering organizations like Rotary Club of Parry sound, Habitat for Humanity, ^{[1] [2]} Community Business and Development Centre, ^[3] The Parry Sound Area Founders Circle ^[4] etc. She received the Order of Parry Sound in 2020 for community services and supports during the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[5] As on 2021, she is known for serving as the president of Rotary Club of Parry Sound and for winning Rotary’s most prestigious award, Service Above Self. ^[6]

Education

West has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurentian University and a Master of Business Administration specializing in Health Care from the University of Toronto. ^[7] She also holds a Ph.D. from Washington International University, an unaccredited institution incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. ^[8]

Career

West was executive director of the James Bay General Hospital from 1992 to 1995, and of the Winnipeg River Health District from 1995 to 1997. From 1997 to 2000, she was executive director of labour relations for Manitoba Health. ^[9] She has also been a health policy consultant for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, and has taught nursing and business at the University of Manitoba. ^[10]

In 2003, West helped organize a conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba on the role of women in politics. ^[11] She received a Women of Distinction Award from the Winnipeg YMCA-YWCA in 2004, and was later chosen as the local director of Equal Voice, a group that promotes the increased participation of women in political life. ^[12] West authored the Trends and Issues in Health Care. ^[13] In 2006, she helped organize a rebuilding effort in New Orleans for Habitat For Humanity. ^[1]

In July 2007, West was hired as executive director for employment services in the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region's Human Resources Department. She was named acting vice-president of Human Resources in August of the same year, and became vice-president in December. West left employment with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region on 21 February 2008. ^[14] West also became vice-president of Human Resources with a recruitment agency that provides Canadian placements to migrant workers from the Philippines, in 2007. ^[15] She argued in 2008 that Canada needs overseas recruitment to counter a domestic labour shortage. ^[16] West co-founded Actyl Group, a human resource recruitment agency. She serves as the company president. ^[17]

West returned to the University of Manitoba in 2015 to teach in the Asper School of Business. ^[18] She retired in 2019 to work voluntarily with several charities.

Activist and political candidate

West first ran for public office in the 2003 provincial election, as a candidate of the Progressive Conservative Party. She initially sought the party's nomination for Riel, but lost to former Member of the Legislative Assembly Shirley Render at a nomination meeting in late 2002. ^[19] During the nomination contest, one PC insider suggested that West's views on private health care would be a liability for the party. ^[20]

West subsequently convened a public meeting on Manitoba's physician shortage, which was held at Winnipeg's Transcona Inn in early 2003. During the question and answer session, she announced that she was considering a candidacy in the division of Radission. The political overtones of this meeting were noted in a newspaper report, though West denied that it had been called for political purposes. ^[21] She won the Radisson nomination, but lost to New Democratic Party candidate Bidhu Jha in the general election.

The Manitoba Nurses' Union criticized West in late 2003, after she led a group of her own fourth-year undergraduate students in a rally outside the provincial legislature supporting an on-the-job training program. It was alleged that the students received a portion of their grade for participating in the rally, but West said that her students were taught to review both sides of the issue. ^[22]

West was a supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada at the federal level, and supported its merger with the more right-wing Canadian Alliance to create the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. ^[23] She ran for the new party in the 2006 federal election, and finished second against New Democratic Party incumbent Bill Blaikie in Elmwood—Transcona. West's Ph.D. credentials became a source of controversy during the 2006 federal election because Washington International University is an institution that is licensed but not accredited by any educational oversight body in Canada or the United States of America. ^[8]

West challenged Bidhu Jha a second time in the 2007 provincial election, initially centering her campaign around local opposition to a hog-processing plant planned for construction in the Radisson area. The NDP government withdrew its support for the project during the election, and indicated that the plant would not be built. Some NDP insiders nevertheless expressed concern that their early support for the unpopular project had made the seat vulnerable. ^[24] On election day, however, Jha defeated West by an increased margin.

West received the Order of Parry Sound for the year 2020 owing to her community services and support during the COVID-19 pandemic specifically for the Rotary Club grocery program that offered convenient grocery shopping during the difficult situation. ^{[25] [26]}

Health care

West has written several articles calling for Manitoba and Canada to develop new strategic plans for health care delivery. She supports the Canada Health Act. ^[27]

West and provincial Health Minister Dave Chomiak engaged in a public controversy over health care strategies in late 2001 and early 2002. ^[28] In the same period, West argued that Manitobans should pay health-care premiums instead of paying for health expenses through general taxation. ^[29]

West returned to writing opinion pieces on Canada's health-care system after the 2003 election. She reiterated her support for publicly funded private clinics, and criticized the provincial government's approach to the issue. ^[30] She was also a vocal opponent of Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray's tax policies, which she spoke against at several public meetings. ^[31]

Philanthropy

West has been awarded Rotary International's Service Above Self Award 2022-23 for helping a large number of Ukrainians resettle in Parry Sound and for establishing a Ukrainian Rotaract Club. ^{[32] [33]} She provided the leadership so that the community was able to assist with accommodation, community integration, and paperwork, and advocated for their refugee status. ^[34] Parry Sound and area has fully embraced the Ukrainians as demonstrated by the recent sold out event - Discover Ukraine. ^[35]

She was also appointed to the funding committee of the West Parry Sound Recreation and Cultural Centre in March 2022 which is establishing a six lane pool and needs to raise $10 million. ^[36]

Electoral record

v t e 2007 Manitoba general election : Radisson
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Bidhu Jha	4,804	56.72	4.28	$38,067.77
	Progressive Conservative	Linda West	2,988	35.28	-3.85	$31,483.45
	Liberal	Murray James Cliff	677	7.99	-0.42	$0.00
Total valid votes			8,469	–	–
Rejected			57	–
Eligible voters / turnout			14,154	60.24	6.19
	New Democratic hold		Swing		+4.06
Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2007). Statement of Votes for the 39th Provincial General Election, May 22, 2007 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.

v t e 2006 Canadian federal election : Elmwood—Transcona
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Bill Blaikie	16,967	50.85	−1.14	$40,314.57
	Conservative	Linda West	10,720	32.13	+6.02	$68,007.66
	Liberal	Tanya Parks	4,108	12.31	−4.50	$12,622.61
	Green	Tanja Hutter	1,211	3.63	+1.17	$240.77
	Christian Heritage	Robert Scott	363	1.09	−0.23	$706.54
Total valid votes			33,369	100.00
Total rejected ballots			133	0.40	+0.13
Turnout			33,502	58.20	+7.55
Electors on the lists			57,561
	New Democratic	Swing	−3.58
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

v t e 2003 Manitoba general election : Radisson
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	New Democratic	Bidhu Jha	3,888	52.45	-2.57	$26,913.04
	Progressive Conservative	Linda West	2,901	39.13	6.17	$17,661.88
	Liberal	Murray Cliff	624	8.42	-3.61	$2,277.16
Total valid votes			7,413	–	–
Rejected			37	–
Eligible voters / turnout			13,783	54.05	-17.04
	New Democratic hold		Swing		-4.37
Source(s) Source: Manitoba. Chief Electoral Officer (2003). Statement of Votes for the 38th Provincial General Election, June 3, 2003 (PDF) (Report). Winnipeg: Elections Manitoba.

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

References

1. "Habitat helpers", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 January 2007, A11.
2. "Winnipeg Free Press Newspaper Archives | Jan 28, 2007, p. 11". newspaperarchive.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
3. "The Corporation of the Township of Seguin Agenda for the Regular Meeting of Council".
4. "Parry Sound Area Founders Circle". Parry Sound Area Founders Circle. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
5. "Linda West receives 2020 Order of Parry Sound". ParrySound.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
6. "Home Page | Rotary Club of Parry Sound". portal.clubrunner.ca. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
7. "Health care, education, housing, workers' rights key issues in riding", Winnipeg Free Press, 16 January 2006, A10.
8. Leah Janzen, "Tory candidate's PhD comes under scrutiny", Winnipeg Free Press, 14 January 2006, A15.
9. Helen Fallding, "MDs are in a rush to leave", Winnipeg Free Press, 12 August 1999, A1.
10. Mia Rabson, "Conservative party memberships in Riel skyrocket", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 October 2002, A7.
11. Leah Janzen, "A course in politics for women", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 November 2003, B4.
12. Carolin Vesely, "They all make a difference", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 May 2004, A3; David O'Brien, "Boost women in politics: group", Winnipeg Free Press, 13 March 2005, A5.
13. "Activist will run", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 February 2003, B1.
14. "New leadership for Human Resources" (PDF). e-link. Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
15. Linda West - Professional Website Archived 22 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine , 2008 accessed 30 July 2008. West had previously done recruitment work in the Philippines with the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region. See Pamela Cowan, "Health region recruits in the Philippines", Regina Leader-Post, 17 November 2007, A5.
16. Interview with Linda West Archived 16 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine , Frontier Centre for Public Policy, 19 May 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
17. "McDonalds & Subway now hiring Belizeans for Canada". Belize News 5. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
18. "Class Schedule Listing". University of Manitoba. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
19. Mia Rabson, "Render wins nomination to run for Tories in Riel", Winnipeg Free Press, 13 December 2002, A7.
20. Daniel Lett, "Membership dispute delays Tory vote", Winnipeg Free Press, 1 November 2002, A1.
21. Alexandra Paul, "West eyes Radisson riding in run for office", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 February 2003, A5; Linda West, "NDP was invited to health panel" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 13 February 2003, A15.
22. Mia Rabson, "Nursing students rally for job training", Winnipeg Free Press, 4 December 2003, B1.
23. Linda West, "Conservative-Alliance merger rare chance for political rebirth", Winnipeg Free Press, 10 December 2003, A15.
24. "12 key areas to watch this election", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 April 2007, A6; Mary Agnes Welch, "Intravenous drug clinic to open in Transcona", Winnipeg Free Press, 15 May 2007, A6.
25. "Rotary Club's Linda West awarded 2020 Order of Parry Sound". RadioWorkz Parry Sound. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
26. Hampshire, Laura. "Linda West Receives Order Of Parry Sound". Bayshore Broadcasting News Centre. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
27. Linda West, "Health-care management needs constant renewal", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 May 2001, A11.
28. Dave Chomiak, "Manitoba Health keys on prevention" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 31 December 2001, A11; Linda West, "Chomiak should read evidence", Winnipeg Free Press, 15 January 2002, A13.
29. Helen Fallding, "Doer touts health-care innovations", Winnipeg Free Press, 24 January 2002, A3.
30. Linda West, "Front-line health workers are heroes of SARS battle", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 July 2003, A15
31. Linda West, "City sales tax regressive", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 October 2003, A15; Patti Edgar, "Repeat speakers lashed", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 November 2003, B1.
32. Fahim, Mo (27 May 2022). "Parry Sound Community welcomes eighth family from Ukraine". My Parry Sound Now. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
33. Fahim, Mo (6 February 2023). "Linda West set to receive Rotary International's Service Above Self Award". My Parry Sound Now. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
34. "Rotary president recognized for efforts to resettle Ukrainians in Parry Sound". ParrySound.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
35. "Rotary Club of Parry Sound president encourages Canada to reconsider refugee status for Ukrainians". ParrySound.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
36. "West Parry Sound Recreational and Cultural Centre one step closer to completion". ParrySound.com. Retrieved 24 March 2023.