The Honourable
Perry Trimper
MHA
Speaker of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
In office
August 8, 2017 – September 6, 2019
PremierDwight Ball
Lieutenant GovernorFrank Fagan
Judy Foote
Preceded byTom Osborne
Succeeded byScott Reid (acting)
Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
for Lake Melville
Assumed office
November 30, 2015
Preceded byKeith Russell
Minister of Environment and Conservation
In office
December 14, 2015 – July 31, 2017
Preceded byDan Crummell
Succeeded byEddie Joyce
Personal details
Political partyLiberal (2015–2020, since 2022)
Independent (2020–2022)

Perry Trimper is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in the 2015 provincial election,[1] 2019[2] and 2021[3] provincial elections. He represents the electoral district of Lake Melville as a Liberal. Trimper worked for 30 years in northern resource development and wildlife ecology in Canada and Russia. As a Principal Scientist with Jacques Whitford and later Stantec, he was involved with numerous environmental research and assessment projects in Labrador.[4]

Politics

Government Caucus (2015–2020)

Following the 2015 provincial election,[5] Trimper was appointed to the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador as Minister of Environment and Conservation.[6] As part of a government structure change in February 2017, Trimper was appointed Minister for Service NL while retaining responsibility for Francophone Affairs and Climate Change.[7] Notable legislation enacted during his time as Minister included the first provincial bill dealing with climate change (Bill 34)[7] and tougher penalties related to impaired driving (Bill 68).[8] He was dropped from cabinet on July 31, 2017[9] and proposed by Premier Dwight Ball as a candidate for Speaker of the House of Assembly to replace Tom Osborne.[10] Trimper was elected as the 44th Speaker in a special August 2017 sitting of the Assembly defeating fellow Liberal Pam Parsons.[11] He was the province's first Speaker from a Labrador district.

As an emissary of the House of Assembly, Speaker Trimper travelled with a senior official, Larry Weatherbie, to Turkey in early 2018.[12] Working through diplomatic channels, the delegation was able to secure permission to finally establish a monument to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at the First World War Battlefield in Gallipoli. Closer to home, Trimper initiated bilateral relations with the Assemblée nationale du Québec.[13] He oversaw the legislature during a harassment scandal between MHAs that led to a new workplace policy and legislative changes.[14]

He was re-elected in the 2019 provincial election[2] whereupon he continued uncontested as the Speaker. Trimper re-entered cabinet on September 6, 2019 as Minister of Municipal Affairs and the Environment.[15] Trimper resigned from cabinet on September 13, 2019 after comments critical of the Innu Nation were left on the voicemail of an Innu Nation staffer and publicly revealed.[16][17] He attempted to regain his position of Speaker of the Assembly following the convening of the fall 2019 session but was defeated by fellow Liberal MHA Scott Reid.

On August 21, 2020, Trimper was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education and the Minister of Finance as well as Special Advisor to the Premier on Climate Change.[18] While serving as a back-bencher he led Private Member Resolutions on establishing a network of electric vehicle charge stations,[19] achieving net zero emissions by 2050,[20] increasing food self-sufficiency[21] and reducing the prevalence of vaping in youth.[22]

Independent (2020–2022)

On October 20, 2020, Trimper said transient people in Happy Valley-Goose Bay were "choosing" a risky lifestyle, in the wake of a video that showed an Inuk man being thrown to the ground during an arrest in the town by a municipal enforcement officer.[23] On October 26, 2020, Trimper announced his resignation as parliamentary secretary and informed he would withdraw his nomination as a Liberal candidate.[24] On November 10, 2020, Trimper announced that he had resigned from the Liberal Party and would seek re-election as an Independent.[25] In the 2021 provincial election, Trimper was re-elected as an Independent.[26]

In 2022, Trimper was one of the few MHAs to publicly oppose the Bay Du Nord offshore oil project and released a video detailing the environmental impacts.[27]

Government Caucus (2022–present)

On September 12, 2022, Premier Furey announced that Trimper would be rejoining the Liberal caucus.

References

  1. ↑ "Full list of winners in Newfoundland and Labrador election". CBC News. November 30, 2015. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  2. 1 2 International, Radio Canada (2019-05-17). "Provincial election results in rare minority government in Newfoundland and Labrador". RCI | English. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  3. ↑ Mullin, Malone (27 March 2021). "Liberals claim slim majority in Newfoundland and Labrador, as voters tap Furey to lead". CBC News. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Premier Furey Appoints Parliamentary Secretary". Government of Newfoundland and Labrador – Executive Council. August 21, 2020. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  5. ↑ "4 Tory cabinet ministers fall to defeat in Liberal rout". CBC News. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Dwight Ball, new Liberal cabinet sworn in at Government House". CBC News. December 14, 2015. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  7. 1 2 "Provincial Government Announces Plan for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions". www.releases.gov.nl.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  8. ↑ "Zero tolerance for drivers under 22 as NL toughens drunk driving laws". CBC News. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Cathy Bennett out, Tom Osborne in as finance minister amid cabinet shuffle". CBC News. July 31, 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  10. ↑ "Perry Trimper running for speaker as Tories slam House opening in summer". NTV. August 1, 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  11. ↑ "Trial by fire: Trimper elected House Speaker, presides over unexpected question period". CBC News. August 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  12. ↑ "Speaker of the House of Assembly Tables Report on Visit to Turkey as Emissary of the People of Newfoundland and Labrador". News Releases. 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  13. ↑ "House of Assembly Completes First Meeting of the Québec-Newfoundland and Labrador Parliamentary Association". News Releases. 2018-06-21. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  14. ↑ McKenzie-Sutter, Holly (8 April 2019). "Harassment scandal sparks proposed changes in N.L. legislature". National Post. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  15. ↑ Oliver, Kenn (Sep 6, 2019). "UPDATE: Unexpected provincial cabinet shuffle at Government House in St. John's". The Telegram. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  16. ↑ "N.L. cabinet minister apologizes after describing Innu as playing 'race card' in leaked voicemail recording". CBC News. Sep 12, 2019. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Protesters demand Perry Trimper's resignation as MHA". CBC News. Sep 16, 2019. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Furey appoints Perry Trimper as parliamentary secretary". CBC News. Aug 21, 2020. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  19. ↑ "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in its efforts to establish a network of electric vehicle charging stations across the province". 20 November 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House supports the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in their commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050". 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  21. ↑ "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Assembly supports the continued growth of the agricultural sector and supports the initiatives of government to meet the goal of increasing provincial food self-sufficiency to 20 per cent by 2022". 16 September 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this hon. House refer the following reference question to the Social Services Committee for immediate action and report back with recommendations by March 31, 2021: What can be done to reduce the prevalence of youth vaping in Newfoundland and Labrador?". 21 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  23. ↑ "'I don't quit': Perry Trimper vows to remain as MHA, as Innu Nation says there should be no 3rd chance". CBC News. Oct 27, 2020. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Perry Trimper halts re-election bid in wake of comments about homeless people". CBC News. Oct 26, 2020. Retrieved Nov 4, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Perry Trimper to run as Independent in next election, resigns from Liberal caucus". CBC News. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Here are all the MHAs elected in the Newfoundland and Labrador election". CBC News. March 27, 2021.
  27. ↑ On the topic of ‘green oil’ Perry Trimper Twitter
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