Dan Backs was born on 15 December 1953 and is a politician and former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
16 Facts About Dan Backs
1.
2.
Dan Backs was elected as a Liberal candidate in the 2004 provincial election, but was kicked out of the Liberal caucus by leader Kevin Taft, who cited concerns about Backs' ability to work as a member of a team.
3.
Dan Backs sat as an independent thereafter and, after failing to secure the Progressive Conservative nomination for his riding, sought re-election in that capacity as well.
4.
Dan Backs finished third in the riding in the 2008 election.
5.
Dan Backs subsequently earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Alberta and a heavy equipment certification from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
6.
Dan Backs studied Spanish at the Enforex Language Institute in Marbella, Spain and the American language school in Antigua Guatemala, negotiations and creative writing at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Extension, farm electricity and wiring at Fairview College, and newswriting at the George Meany Institute in Washington, DC.
7.
Dan Backs has served as a negotiator for the Alberta Operating Engineers Association, and as secretary-treasurer of the Alberta and Northwest Territories Council of Labour.
8.
Dan Backs ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the 1979 Alberta general election.
9.
Dan Backs ran for the Alberta Liberals in the electoral district of Lesser Slave Lake but was defeated by Larry Shaben finishing in last place in the field of four candidates.
10.
Dan Backs finished third of nine candidates, behind Bruce Campbell and Helen Paull, both of whom were elected.
11.
Dan Backs subsequently sought provincial office in the 2004 election, when he ran as a Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Manning.
12.
Dan Backs defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Tony Vandermeer and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
13.
Sandhu won the nomination, and Dan Backs decided to contest the next election as an independent.
14.
In November 2006, Dan Backs was expelled from the Liberal caucus by party leader Kevin Taft.
15.
In 2006, while still a Liberal, Dan Backs sponsored the Labour Relations Code Amendment Act, a private member's bill designed to provide a first collective bargaining agreement after the certification of a union, to prevent the sort of labour conflict that had recently occurred between Lakeside Packers and the United Food and Commercial Workers.
16.
In 2007, as an independent, Dan Backs sponsored the Regulatory Accountability and Transparency Act, a private member's bill designed to reduce the red tape faced by Alberta business.