Dawn Black

Dawn Black (born April 1, 1943) is a politician in British Columbia, Canada.

Born Dawn Whitty, Black became involved in politics from a young age, she became an assistant to New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Pauline Jewett.

Member of Parliament

She was elected as the MP for New Westminster—Burnaby in the 1988 federal election, succeeding the retiring Jewett. As an MP, one of her most notable achievements was proposing a private members bill that made December 6, the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, a permanent day of remembrance and action against violence against women. She also led the opposition to the Tories' anti-abortion measure and proposed an anti-stalking measure, which was later adopted by Parliament.

Elections

In the 1993 election, she lost her seat to Reform Party candidate Paul Forseth. She lost to him again in the 1997 election, but defeated Forseth in the 2006 election. Black was the NDP's defence critic.

Afghani issues

On April 5, 2006, during the first question period of the 39th Parliament Black asked Gordon O'Connor, then Minister of National Defence, to renegotiate the prisoner transfer agreement with the Afghan government. O'Connor refused saying "Mr. Speaker, we have no intention of redrafting the agreement. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent are charged with ensuring that prisoners are not abused. There is nothing in the agreement that prevents Canada from determining the fate of prisoners so there is no need to make any change...
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