Judy Erola

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Judith Erola, née Jacobson, Template:Post-nominals (born 16 January 1934) is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of Nickel Belt in the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984. She was a member of the Liberal Party.

Broadcasting careerEdit

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Erola worked as a radio and television broadcaster in Sudbury. At CKSO-TV, she made history as the first woman employed by a Canadian television station as a weather reporter, and also presented segments on fashion.<ref>Canadian Communications Foundation – Fondation Des Communications Canadiennes Template:Webarchive</ref> She later became an account executive for CHNO,<ref name=badfeeling>"Bad feeling lingers in defeated MP after Erola rides upset into Cabinet". The Globe and Mail, 5 March 1980.</ref> and married Voito (Vic) Erola, the owner of a marina on Lake Panache, in 1955.<ref name=conflict>"Ministers telling little in conflict disclosures". The Globe and Mail, 4 September 1980.</ref>

PoliticsEdit

Following the death of her husband Vic in 1977, Erola decided to pursue a career in politics. She ran in the 1979 election as the Liberal candidate in Nickel Belt, losing to incumbent New Democrat John Rodriguez.<ref name=badfeeling/> Her campaign in that year was marked in part by a stumble when her election brochure called for "nationalization of farmland usage policies";<ref name=notebook>"Notebook: Candidate is under fire for his election ads". The Globe and Mail, 10 May 1979.</ref> challenged in a radio interview to clarify her position given that the Liberal Party was generally opposed to nationalization, she clarified that the word was a typographical error whose intended meaning was rationalization.<ref name=notebook/>

Erola defeated Rodriguez in the 1980 election.<ref>"Ontario vote shuns Tories for Liberals". The Globe and Mail, 19 February 1980.</ref> She faced some controversy during and after the election campaign, both for characterizing Rodriguez as a Marxist in her election literature and for a telephone message targeted to housewives, which appeared to suggest that electing a woman to the House of Commons was more important than having representation for labour issues, a position which starkly divided the city in the still-lingering aftermath of the devastating 1978 Inco strike.<ref name=badfeeling/>

She served in the Cabinet of Canada for the entirety of her term as a federal Member of Parliament, despite an early perception that her caucus colleague Doug Frith was more likely to be chosen as the Sudbury area's representative in cabinet.<ref>"Lalonde, MacEachen in key jobs Cabinet list shows Trudeau's tight rein". The Globe and Mail, 4 March 1980.</ref> Over the course of her career, she served as Minister of State for Mines,<ref>"Mines post 'ironic' for woman". The Globe and Mail, 4 March 1980.</ref> Minister responsible for the Status of Women,<ref name=weakspots>"PM repairs Liberal weak spots by naming four new ministers". The Globe and Mail, 23 September 1981.</ref> Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and Minister of State for Social Development.<ref>"The federal Cabinet". The Globe and Mail, 2 July 1984.</ref>

Shortly after being named to cabinet, Erola resigned her position as director and treasurer of the marina company,<ref name=conflict /> in compliance with federal conflict of interest regulations for cabinet ministers.<ref name=conflict />

Ministry of MinesEdit

As Minister of Mines, her first significant piece of legislation was a change to the Canada Labour Code, placing federally-regulated mines in Ontario under the stricter provincial health and safety laws by adopting the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act as federal law.<ref name=safetyrules>"Erola says safety rules were changed legally; miners not convinced". The Globe and Mail, 31 May 1980.</ref> The issue had long been championed in particular by uranium miners in Elliot Lake after a number of incidents in which workers had requested exemption under the provincial law from unsafe duties for which the federal law did not offer protection,<ref name=safetyrules/> but the workers criticized the process Erola used as an ineffective one that was likely to be challenged in the courts by mining companies.<ref name=safetyrules/> The change also permitted women, who had previously been barred from working underground in mines by federal regulation even though the provincial law permitted them, to work underground for the first time.<ref>"New rule puts women in mines". The Globe and Mail, 31 May 1980.</ref>

In June 1980, Erola faced criticism for using a government flight to transport colleagues from Ottawa to Sudbury to attend a testimonial dinner for former Liberal MP James Jerome.<ref>"The Ottawa Scene". The Globe and Mail, 23 June 1980.</ref>

During the 1981 provincial election, allegations surfaced that the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives had entered into a tacit agreement in 1980, under which the PCs ran an intentionally weak campaign in Nickel Belt to help Erola defeat Rodriguez, purportedly in exchange for the Liberals similarly throwing the Sudbury riding in 1981 to help Jim Gordon defeat incumbent NDP MPP Bud Germa;<ref name=rivals>"Vote courted by civic rivals". The Globe and Mail, 17 March 1981.</ref> the allegations surfaced after the Liberals mounted a stronger campaign for the provincial seat than the PCs were expecting, and Liberal organizers denied that there was any mutual agreement.<ref name=rivals />

Erola strongly supported the development of a mining equipment manufacturing industry in Canada as a bulwark against machinery shortages,<ref>"Creation of mining equipment industry held vital to avoid machinery shortage". The Globe and Mail, 28 April 1981.</ref> and made special efforts to reassure mining companies that they would not be the target of a policy similar to the controversial National Energy Program.<ref>"Erola assures mining industry will not be target of program". The Globe and Mail, 5 May 1981.</ref> In June 1981, she announced a policy under which the federal government would give a $400 grant as an incentive to owners of propane-fuelled vehicles.<ref>"Owners of vehicles on propane to get federal incentive grants". The Globe and Mail, 10 June 1981.</ref>

In 1982, she worked with Frith and Nickel Belt MPP Floyd Laughren to prevent significant layoffs by Inco Limited in the Sudbury area.<ref>"Pressure on Inco to delay layoffs". The Globe and Mail, 9 February 1982.</ref> She also instituted a task force within the ministry to examine potential solutions to the economic difficulties faced by mining communities when the local mining industry reduced staff or closed down.<ref>"Mining spokesmen see faults in federal proposals". The Globe and Mail, 9 March 1982.</ref>

Status of WomenEdit

In September 1981, Erola was given the position of Minister responsible for the Status of Women alongside her existing duties as Minister of Mines.<ref name=weakspots/> She was the first woman to be named to that position, which had previously been held by Lloyd Axworthy.<ref name=weakspots/>

In this role, she fought to protect Section Twenty-eight of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a section of the then-proposed Constitution Act, 1982 which guaranteed the gender equality rights of men and women, against attempts by some provinces to quash the provision.<ref>"Charter likely to include women's rights". The Globe and Mail, 17 November 1981.</ref> She also supported efforts to improve maternity leave pay for women,<ref>"Ministers studying granting all women close to full pay during maternity leave". The Globe and Mail, 3 December 1981.</ref> attempts to toughen federal laws against domestic violence,<ref>"Ottawa will study family violence". The Globe and Mail, 21 January 1982.</ref> reforms to the Indian Act which would improve the rights of indigenous women marrying non-indigenous men,<ref>"Discrimination against women Indian Act changes delayed again". The Globe and Mail, 1 December 1981.</ref> reforms to the organizational structure of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women,<ref>"Status council rejects break with Ottawa". The Globe and Mail, 18 February 1982.</ref> and stricter policies against the use of gender stereotypes in government communications.<ref>"Government to end use of stereotypes in ads, Erola says". The Globe and Mail, 26 March 1982.</ref>

In October 1982, Erola also became the first woman ever appointed to the cabinet's priorities and planning committee, which debates and decides on the direction of government policy.<ref>"Inner-cabinet shuffled as planning for Parliament begins". The Globe and Mail, 6 October 1982.</ref>

Consumer and Corporate AffairsEdit

In August 1983, Erola was shuffled out of the Ministry of Mines and was named Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.<ref>"With Toronto in mind". The Globe and Mail, 15 August 1983.</ref> She immediately pledged to place a greater emphasis on consumer issues than her predecessor André Ouellet, who had sometimes been criticized for giving those issues short shrift.<ref>"Consumers hope Erola can help". The Globe and Mail, 16 August 1983.</ref>

In this role, some of her most public political battles involved the resistance of some organizations to the continued implementation of the metric system.<ref>"Metric ruling won't change federal plan". The Globe and Mail, 3 November 1983.</ref> She also proposed, but later abandoned, legislation to limit corporate mergers in newspaper publishing.<ref>"National press council still possible: Newspaper bill dead, Erola aide says". The Globe and Mail, 15 December 1983.</ref>

After Pierre Trudeau's retirement as Prime Minister, Erola continued to serve as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs in the cabinet of John Turner. However, in the 1984 election, which saw the governing Liberals reduced to just 40 seats, Erola was defeated by Rodriguez.

Post-political careerEdit

In 1987, Erola became president of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of Canada,<ref>"Brand-name drug firms hire ex-Liberal Minister". Montreal Gazette, 29 January 1987.</ref> a position she held until her retirement in 1998.<ref name=pmac>"Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of Canada (PMAC) - Announcement". National Post, 2 November 1998.</ref> She was succeeded in that role by Murray Elston, a former Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario.<ref name=pmac/>

She was an ex officio delegate to the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election.Template:Fact

She has served on the board of Equal Voice, an organization which seeks to assist Canadian women in running for political office.Template:Fact

Electoral recordEdit

Template:1979 Canadian federal election/Nickel Belt Template:1980 Canadian federal election/Nickel Belt Template:1984 Canadian federal election/Nickel Belt

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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Template:Second Trudeau Ministry Template:Turner Ministry Template:Authority control