47 Facts About Maurice Vellacott

Maurice Vellacott was born on September 29,1955 and is a former Canadian politician from Saskatchewan.

Maurice Vellacott was born in Wadena, Saskatchewan, and was raised in Quill Lake.

Maurice Vellacott obtained a Bachelor's degree from Briercrest College, a Christian educational institution located in Caronport, Saskatchewan, and later earned a Master of Divinity at the Canadian Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity International University, which is an evangelical Christian university in Deerfield, Illinois.

Maurice Vellacott joined the Reform Party of Canada in 1990.

Maurice Vellacott campaigned in the 1995 Saskatchewan provincial election as a Liberal and lost to New Democratic Party candidate Eric Cline in Saskatoon Mount Royal.

Maurice Vellacott later argued that running as a Liberal was consistent with his political ideology, in that the provincial Liberal platform of 1995 contained several policies advocated by the Reform Party, which did not have provincial affiliates.

Maurice Vellacott was elected for Ward Two on the Saskatoon District Health Board in 1995, and served on the board for two years before his election to the House of Commons.

Maurice Vellacott wrote an editorial piece about Canada's health care system in 1996, defending the public model as far superior to the "fragmented" American system in combating administrative waste, but arguing that the system was in need of renewal and an infusion of funds.

In early 1997, Maurice Vellacott opposed a request by Saskatoon's Gay and Lesbian Health Services for health board funding.

Maurice Vellacott responded by suggesting that many homosexuals were inappropriately blaming their personal difficulties on homophobia.

Maurice Vellacott called for the removal of video lottery terminals from the city, blaming them for an increase in health costs related to gambling addiction.

Maurice Vellacott is a founding board member of Real Choices Crisis Pregnancy Centre in Saskatoon.

In early 1997, Maurice Vellacott defeated Sam Dyck and Fred Wesolowski to win the Reform Party's nomination for the new Saskatoon-area electoral district of Wanuskewin.

Maurice Vellacott was nonetheless elected, amid a general gain for Reform in Saskatchewan.

The Liberal Party of Canada won a second consecutive majority government, and Maurice Vellacott served as a member of the Official Opposition.

Shortly after his election, Maurice Vellacott announced that he would introduce a private member's bill to eliminate the national Court Challenges Program, which provides funding for groups that bring human rights cases before the Canadian courts.

Maurice Vellacott argued that "some zealots" were "using our important tax dollars" for dubious ends via the program, and singled out an effort by Saskatoon resident Ailsa Watkinson to prohibit corporal punishment against children.

Maurice Vellacott wrote an editorial against same-sex marriage the following year, arguing that marriage should be restricted to heterosexual couples because of its traditional role in the procreation and nurturing of children.

Maurice Vellacott called for full compensation to Hepatitis C victims during his first term in Parliament, arguing that the government could overcome complicated legal issues around liability by issuing ex gratia payments.

Maurice Vellacott confirmed his support for Preston Manning's leadership of the Reform Party in 1998, after two other Saskatchewan Reform MPs called for a leadership review.

Maurice Vellacott originally voted against the 1999 United Alternative initiative which led to the creation of the Canadian Alliance, but later changed his mind and supported it.

Maurice Vellacott was re-elected by an increased majority in the 2000 election, as a candidate of the Canadian Alliance.

Supporters of rival candidate Stephen Harper, who would go on to win the contest, criticized Maurice Vellacott for mailing out endorsements of Day through his constituency office at public expense.

Maurice Vellacott continued to support socially conservative causes as a Canadian Alliance MP, and was a vocal opponent of embryonic stem-cell research in 2002, although he supported adult stem cell research.

Also in 2002, Maurice Vellacott was the only MP to speak against a parliamentary motion recognizing an Armenian genocide as having occurred in 1915.

Maurice Vellacott's comments were commended by some Turkish Canadian groups, and criticized by some Armenian Canadians.

Maurice Vellacott supported the merger, and endorsed Stephen Harper's successful campaign for the new party's leadership.

Maurice Vellacott faced a difficult challenge in the 2004 federal election from Chris Axworthy, a former federal New Democratic Party MP and provincial NDP cabinet minister now running for the Liberals.

Maurice Vellacott was elected as the Liberals won a minority government nationally.

Maurice Vellacott said new evidence had been found, indicating that the officers dropped the man off within a short walking distance of where he told the officers he lived.

Maurice Vellacott later established a defence fund for the officers.

Also in 2005, Maurice Vellacott called for legislation making it illegal to harm or kill the unborn children of mothers not planning to have abortions.

Maurice Vellacott was re-elected over Chris Axworthy a second time in the 2006 federal election, in a contest that was marked by extreme bitterness and controversy.

Former long-term pastor Jerold Gliege indicated that Maurice Vellacott never served at or attended the church in question, which has been defunct since 1979.

Maurice Vellacott won the lawsuit and was awarded $5,000 in damages.

Maurice Vellacott was appointed to serve as chairman of the Commons' Aboriginal Affairs Committee in April 2006.

Maurice Vellacott attracted controversy one month later, after suggesting that Canadian judges consider themselves to have "god-like powers" when rendering their decisions.

Maurice Vellacott resigned from his role as committee chairman following significant opposition from other parties.

Maurice Vellacott then served as a member of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment, and called for the Canadian government to intervene against state-sponsored violence in the Darfur province of Sudan.

Maurice Vellacott had involvement with several organizations, including the Canadian Club and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and supported Focus on the Family.

Maurice Vellacott received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002, the Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan in March 2006 and a Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012; all were automatic by virtue of being an elected Member of Parliament.

In 2013, Maurice Vellacott introduced Bill C-560, an Act to Amend the Divorce Act and make shared parenting for children with separated parents the default outcome in courts, barring extraordinary circumstances.

Maurice Vellacott decided not to run for re-election in the 2015 federal election.

Maurice Vellacott identified Trost as a champion of social conservatism and warned Conservative members against supporting eventual winner Andrew Scheer.

In 2012, Maurice Vellacott nominated and awarded Queen's Jubilee medals to Linda Gibbons and Mary Wagner, who had both been convicted of criminal offences related to their anti-abortion activism.

In 2022, Maurice Vellacott was named as one of at least three Saskatoon politicians for whom students at the local Legacy Christian Academy school were coerced into campaigning, along with former mayor Don Atchison and sitting City Council member Randy Donauer.

Maurice Vellacott confirmed that students worked on his campaigns but denied that they were coerced into doing so.