Tracy MacCharles
| The Honourable Tracy MacCharles | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for Pickering—Scarborough East | |
|
Assumed office October 6, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Wayne Arthurs |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1963 (age 52–53) West Hill, Toronto |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Stephen Little |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Pickering, Ontario |
| Profession | Human resources |
Tracy MacCharles (born c. 1963) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in 2011. She represents the riding of Pickering—Scarborough East. She is a member of cabinet in the government of Kathleen Wynne.
Background
MacCharles was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario.[1] She went to Brock University where she obtained a degree in Business and Public Administration. She worked in human resources management in various roles including Vice President of Human Resources at Manulife Financial. She was chair of the Ontario Accessibility Standards Advisory Council and was a member of the Durham Board of Education’s Special Education Advisory Committee.[2]
She lives in Pickering with her husband Stephen Little and their two children.[3]
Politics
MacCharles ran in the 2011 provincial election as the Liberal candidate in the riding of Pickering—Scarborough East. She defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Kevin Gaudet by 5,168 votes.[4][5] She was easily re-elected in the 2014 election defeating Gaudet again, this time by 10,505 votes.[6]
On November 10, 2011, MacCharles was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children and Youth Services. On February 11, 2013 she was sworn in as Minister of Consumer Services under new Premier Kathleen Wynne.[7] On June 24, 2014 she was appointed Minister of Children and Youth Services as well as Minister responsible for Women's Issues.[8]
On April 5, 2016, MacCharles announced changes in the autism services program, which included opening up 16,000 new spaces with an investment of $333 million additional dollars to the program. However, the announced changes also included removing children with autism over the age of five from the IBI waitlist to the ABA waitlist, and giving the families an $8000 stipend for these children to receive treatment.[9] The move was resisted by some parents and expert groups causing the government to revise the changes two months later at which time she was demoted in cabinet from a full minister to a Minister without portfolio.[10][11][12][13][14]
Cabinet positions
| Provincial Government of Kathleen Wynne | ||
| Cabinet Posts (3) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| ' | Minister without portfolio 2016-present Responsible for accessibility and women's issues |
' |
| Teresa Piruzza | Minister of Children and Youth Services 2014–2016 Also responsible for women's issues |
Michael Coteau |
| Margarett Best | Minister of Consumer Services 2013–2014 |
David Orazietti |
Election results
| Ontario general election, 2014 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| Liberal | Tracy MacCharles | 23,206 | 52.0 | 5.3 | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Kevin Gaudet | 12,638 | 28.3 | -5.1 | ||||
| New Democratic | Eileen Higdon | 6,600 | 14.8 | -1.7 | ||||
| Green | Anthony Navarro | 1,564 | 3.5 | 0.7 | ||||
| Libertarian | Scott Hoefig | 463 | 1.1 | 0.5 | ||||
| Freedom | Matt Oliver | 193 | 0.4 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 44,664 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Ontario general election, 2011 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| Liberal | Tracy MacCharles | 18,201 | 46.7 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Kevin Gaudet | 13,033 | 33.4 | |||||
| New Democratic | Nerissa Carino | 6,424 | 16.5 | |||||
| Green | Kevin Smith | 1,096 | 2.8 | |||||
| Libertarian | Heath Thomas | 252 | 0.6 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 39,006 | 100.0 | 14.5 | |||||
References
- ↑ O’Connell, Carleigh (October 29, 2011). "Liberal rookie MacCharles wins Pickering-Scarborough East Riding". Centennial Journalism.
- ↑ "Biography: Tracy MacCharles". Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ↑ Milley, Danielle (October 17, 2011). "New Pickering-Scarborough East MPP has roots in West Hill community". Scarborough Mirror. p. 1.
- ↑ "Summary of Valid Ballots Cast for Each Candidate" (PDF). Elections Ontario. October 6, 2011. p. 14. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
- ↑ Peat, Don (October 6, 2011). "Tories fail to break through in GTA". Toronto Sun. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
- ↑ "General Election by District: Pickering—Scarborough East". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014.
- ↑ "Ontario's new cabinet". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ont. February 12, 2013. p. A3.
- ↑ Richard Brennan; Robert Benzie; Rob Ferguson (June 24, 2014). "Kathleen Wynne warns financial cupboard is bare". Toronto Star.
- ↑ Jones, Allison (5 April 2016). "Ontario kids with autism aged 5 and older cut off from government-paid therapy". CBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ↑ Nazareth, Errol. "Ontario parents of autistic children blast government over cuts to intensive therapy". CBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ↑ Murthy, Roshni. "Changes in autism treatment program puts children at risk, critics say". CityNews. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ↑ Jones, Allison. "Autism treatment funding changes protested at Queen's Park". CTV News. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ↑ Jones, Allison. "Expert behind Ontario autism decisions speaks out". CTV News. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ↑ Gordon, Andrea. "Ontario backs off controversial autism changes, boosts services after parents protest". Toronto Star. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
