David Batters (July 12, 1969 – June 29, 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

businessman and politician. Batters was a member of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

, representing the riding of Palliser from 2004 to 2008.

Early life and career

Born in

Estevan Estevan is the eleventh-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is approximately north of the Canada–United States border. The Souris River runs by the city. This city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Estevan No. 5. History The ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Batters worked in the health care field as a pharmaceutical representative with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

Inc., and as a political assistant to

Grant Devine Donald Grant Devine (born July 5, 1944) is a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Saskatchewan from 1982 to 1991. He led the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan from 1979 to 1992 and is one of only two leaders of that ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in political studies from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

Political career

Batters was a supporter of the

Tackling Violent Crime Act The ''Tackling Violent Crime Act'' () is an omnibus statute that was given royal assent on February 28, 2008. The statute primarily deals with strengthening gun control in Canada as well as fighting drunk driving, drug-impaired driving and to i ...

(Bill C-2), which sought tougher penalties for gun crimes and impaired driving and provided new ways to detect drug impaired driving. Batters successfully pressured the federal Liberal government during his term to reclassify

crystal meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity d ...

as a Schedule 1 drug (the most serious category) under the

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controll ...

. Batters' efforts also helped to secure $15 million in federal funding for the Moose Jaw Multiplex project and to secure the safe return of Saskatchewan residents from New Orleans during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. In March 2006, he questioned Health Canada on its strategy concerning

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person who is exposed to alcohol during gestation. FASD affects 1 in 20 Americans, but is highly misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed. The several forms of the ...

, which he believed was more prominent in

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

communities and would be beneficial to distribute pamphlets on FASD to people on reserves in their childbearing years. At the beginning of 2008, he urged the president of

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Canadian Crown corporation that supports Canada's audiovisual industry. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm Canada provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in Vancouver, British Colu ...

not to fund films that were objectionable and supported Bill C-10. Batters stated that one of his motivations for entering politics was the murder of his friend Michelle Lenius on November 4, 2003 by her estranged husband. In April 2008, he proposed an amendment to the Criminal Code called "Michelle's Law" that would make it more difficult for anyone accused of committing a personal injury to get bail. Batters was admitted to hospital on July 1, 2008. He announced on September 1, 2008 that he would not be running in the 2008 election because of a battle with depression that included an addiction to

benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), colloquially known as "benzos", are a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant, depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed t ...

Death

On June 29, 2009, Batters died by suicide in his Regina home, according to a release from his family. The Regina Police had arrived at his home hours earlier, after receiving a report that he was threatening to harm himself. At the time of his death, he was married to Denise Batters, who was later named to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

by Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

in 2013."Stephen Harper appoints five new senators"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', January 25, 2012. Several of his former colleagues, including Conservative MPs

Tom Lukiwski Tom Lukiwski (born October 5, 1951) is a former Canadian politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 2004 to 2021 as a member of the Conservative Party. He represented the Saskatchewan riding of Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre fr ...

, Jay Hill and

Andrew Scheer Andrew James Scheer (born May 20, 1979) is a Canadian politician who is the Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Opposition since 2025 and previously from 2017 to 2020 as Leader of the Conservative Party (Canada), leader of ...

and Liberal MP

Ralph Goodale Ralph Edward Goodale (born October 5, 1949) is a Canadian diplomat and retired politician who has served as the Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since April 19, 2021. Goodale was first elected in 1974 as the member of Parliam ...

, paid tribute to Batters following his death. At his funeral, Harper spoke of the need for greater public understanding of, and compassion for, the struggles faced by sufferers of anxiety and depression.Tonda MacCharles
"Harper mourns former MP's suicide"
''

'', July 5, 2009.

References

External links

How'd They Vote?: Dave Batters' voting history and quotes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Batters, Dave 1969 births 2009 deaths Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Saskatchewan People from Estevan Politicians from Regina, Saskatchewan Canadian politicians who died by suicide University of Saskatchewan alumni Suicides in Saskatchewan 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 2009 suicides