Arthur Potts (politician)

Arthur Potts (born c. 1957) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2014 to 2018 who represented the riding of Beaches—East York. He announced that he was running for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership in October 2019, but bowed out days later.

Arthur Potts
Ontario MPP
In office
2014–2018
Preceded byMichael Prue
Succeeded byRima Berns-McGown
ConstituencyBeaches—East York
Personal details
Born1957 (age 63–64)
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Lisa Martin
Children2
ResidenceToronto, Ontario, Canada
ProfessionBusinessman

Background

Potts attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political philosophy. He then obtained a master's degree in industrial relations from Queen's University. He worked as a lobbyist in the city of Toronto and at the provincial level; and gained some notoriety by buying dinner with the mayor at an auction.[1] Among his clients was the Open Shop Contractors Association of Ontario,[2] an organization that sought to open up tendering to all qualified contractors, regardless of their union affiliation. Potts was a registered lobbyist for the Open Shop Contractors Association, following the merger of the Toronto Independent Contractors Association, which he founded, with OSCA.[3][4] He also represented The Beer Store, assisting them in convincing the Ontario government to implement a deposit/return system on LCBO containers, as well as firms in the film, recycling and construction industries, During this time he also served as President of BioWaste Treatment Technologies, which owned the Ontario rights to an Israeli-based anaerobic digestion technology that can divert upwards of 75% of mixed municipal waste from landfill, while creating clean water, energy and compost. He also co-founded Woodwaste Solutions, a firm specializing in waste wood reuse and recycling. He lives in Toronto, Ontario with his partner Lisa Martin, who has three children, while he has two daughters of his own, Robin and Dara.[5][6]

Politics

In the 1994 municipal election he ran for councillor on Toronto City Council in Ward 8 (Riverdale) but lost to incumbent Peter Tabuns.[7] In the 2014 Ontario election, he was elected in the riding of Beaches—East York in a tight race, beating incumbent New Democrat Michael Prue by 431 votes.[6][8][9]

In July 2014, he was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant (PA) to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.[10] Subsequently, he served as Parliamentary Assistant for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

In September 2016, Potts introduced a private member's bill called "Protecting Rewards Points Act" that would prevent loyalty points from expiring. Earlier in the year, Air Miles Canada announced that points collected but not used that were older than five years would expire. Potts introduced his bill to prevent this from happening. The bill was passed with unanimous approval in December 2016. Faced with the impending legislation, Air Miles announced that they would reverse their earlier decision. However the legislation still passed to prevent Air Miles and other loyalty point schemes from doing so in the future.[11][12]

Potts was defeated in the 2018 Ontario election.[13]

Election results
2014 Ontario general election
Party Candidate Votes%±%
LiberalArthur Potts17,102
New DemocraticMichael Prue16,671
Progressive ConservativeNicholas Johnson5,595
GreenDebra Scott2,213
LibertarianAlex Lindsay523
FreedomNaomi Poley-Fisher157
Source: Elections Ontario[9]
1994 Toronto election, Ward 8 (Riverdale)
Candidate Votes[7] %
Peter Tabuns6,13446.61%
Arthur Potts4,31932.81%
Dan Salapoutis1,99115.12%
Michael Green7165.46%
Total13,160100%

References
  1. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/lobbyist-buys-a-date-with-mayor-miller/article741451/
  2. http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2006/agendas/committees/elr/elr060510/it011.pdf
  3. http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/2000/agendas/council/cc/cc000229/adm4rpt/cl003.pdf
  4. http://www.dailycommercialnews.com/Home/News/2004/11/OSCA-to-lobby-against-proposed-changes-to-labour-relations-act-DCN027930W/
  5. "Waste industry veteran wins Liberal seat in Ontario". Solid Waste and Recycling News. June 16, 2014. Archived from the original on September 1, 2014.
  6. Lavoie, Joanna (June 19, 2014). "Liberal Arthur Potts wins election battle over NDP incumbent Michael Prue in Beaches-East York". Inside Toronto. Metroland Media.
  7. "1994 Toronto general election results (former Metropolitan Toronto)". City of Toronto. 1994. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  8. Simmie, Scott (June 13, 2014). "Liberal Arthur Potts ousts NDP Michael Prue in tight race in Beaches-East York riding". CBC News. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  9. "General Election by District: Beaches-East York". Elections Ontario. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014.
  10. "Arthur Potts: Biography". Government of Ontario. July 2014.
  11. Krashinsky, Susan (December 5, 2016). "Ban on expiry of loyalty points passes in Ontario". The Globe and Mail.
  12. "Bill 47, Protecting Rewards Points Act (Consumer Protection Amendment)". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  13. https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/06/07/ndp-could-reclaim-beaches-east-york.html
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