20 Facts About Wendy Lill

Wendy Lill's stage plays have been performed extensively in theatres across Canada as well as internationally in such countries as Scotland, Denmark and Germany.

Wendy Lill was a member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage where she contributed to the recommendations that resulted from three major studies: the federal government's role in supporting arts and culture; the state of the Canadian book publishing industry in an era of big-box retailers and declining independent bookstores; and, the importance of public and private broadcasting in protecting Canada's cultural sovereignty.

Wendy Lill was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the daughter of Edwin Henry Lill and Margaret Galbraith Gordon.

Wendy Lill's family moved to London, Ontario when she was five.

Wendy Lill received a BA in Political Science from York University in 1971.

Anxious to get away from Toronto, Wendy Lill moved north to Kenora, Ontario in 1977 where she worked as a mental health consultant.

Wendy Lill worked as a journalist for CBC Radio in Winnipeg before moving to the Manitoba capital in 1979 where she produced radio documentaries for Our Native Land, a national, CBC Radio program about Canada's indigenous peoples.

Wendy Lill met CBC producer, Richard Starr in Winnipeg and they married in 1982, moving east to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick before settling in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia with their sons Samuel and Joseph.

Alexa McDonough, the party's federal leader asked Wendy Lill to run in the 1997 federal election.

At the time, Wendy Lill had finished writing Corker, a play that shows how government spending cuts affect vulnerable people.

Wendy Lill ran in Dartmouth, a riding that contains everything from an industrial harbourfront and urban downtown to burgeoning suburban neighbourhoods and rural villages such as Cherry Brook and the Prestons that make up the country's oldest African-Canadian community.

Wendy Lill was re-elected in 2000, defeating former provincial cabinet ministers, Bernie Boudreau and Tom McInnis.

Wendy Lill revealed that she had been suffering from the effects of multiple sclerosis for the past three years.

Wendy Lill served as the party's advocate for human rights, children and youth and, people living with disabilities.

Wendy Lill used her voice in the Commons to press the government on a wide range of social and cultural issues including homelessness, child poverty and the lack of a national housing program.

Wendy Lill criticized the Liberals for slashing funding for the CBC, the country's main public broadcaster.

Wendy Lill repeatedly called for stable, long-term CBC funding and an increased government commitment to financing the production of Canadian TV drama and entertainment programs.

Wendy Lill helped establish a parliamentary subcommittee that regularly questioned cabinet ministers on their handling of issues affecting people living with disabilities.

Wendy Lill wrote her first play in 1979, On the Line, while still working for the CBC in Winnipeg.

Wendy Lill created a radio drama loosely based on her experience, Backbencher, that aired on CBC Radio One in 2010.