Randall Garrison

Randall Garrison
MP
Member of Parliament
for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke
Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca (2011-2015)
Assumed office
May 2, 2011
Preceded byKeith Martin
NDP Critic on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Assumed office
June 9, 2011
Preceded byBill Siksay
NDP Critic on National Defence
Assumed office
November 16, 2015
NDP Critic on Public Safety
In office
April 19, 2012 – November 12, 2015
Preceded byJasbir Sandhu
Succeeded byDavid Christopherson
Personal details
Born (1950-08-27) August 27, 1950 (age 73)
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Political partyNew Democratic
SpouseTeddy Pardede
Residence(s)Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationCriminologist, college instructor

Randall C. Garrison MP (born August 27, 1950) is a Canadian politician. Elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election,[1] he represents the electoral district of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke and is a member of the New Democratic Party. He serves as the party's critic for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues, succeeding former MP Bill Siksay,[2] and for National Defence. Since becoming an MP, he has introduced legislation to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, return federal environmental protection to the Goldstream River, and lobbied the government to implement an action plan concerning the endangered Southern resident killer whales. A former criminology and political science instructor at Camosun College, Garrison is openly gay and lives in Esquimalt, British Columbia, with his partner, Teddy Pardede.

Garrison previously stood for election in the 2004 and 2006 federal elections, both times as the NDP candidate in the Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca riding and both times narrowly losing to incumbent MP Keith Martin. He lived in Vancouver for a short time, during which he was nominated to be the NDP candidate in the Vancouver Centre riding during the 2008 federal election before dropping out for "personal and professional reasons".[3] After moving back to Esquimalt he was elected to the Esquimalt City Council for a three-year term starting in November 2008.[4]

Garrison has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations as well as the Esquimalt Police Board. He is also an international human rights activist. He has worked as a policing researcher in Afghanistan with Amnesty International, on a Christian-Muslim peace building project in Indonesia for the International Catholic Migration Commission, and as co-coordinator of IFET, an international non-government human rights observer mission for the East Timor independence referendum in 1999.[5] In May 2010, Garrison served as an international observer with the People's International Observers Mission (PIOM) in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao for the national elections in the Philippines.[6]

  1. ^ Election 2011: Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2011. Archived April 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Layton names Garrison as LGBTT critic." Archived 2012-08-05 at the Wayback Machine NDP. June 9, 2011.
  3. ^ "NDP pick UBC professor to run against Liberal Fry". The Globe and Mail. August 18, 2008. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Desjardins beats Clement in a landslide". Victoria News. Victoria, British Columbia. November 15, 2008. p. 1.
  5. ^ Glavin, Terry (November 24, 2005), "Unusual NDPer backs international missions", The Georgia Straight, retrieved 2007-11-08
  6. ^ Ruiz, Dyan (June 1, 2010), "Canadians caught in gun battle in Lanao", The Philippine Reporter, retrieved 2011-01-31