HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Charles Dingwall (born June 29, 1952) is a Canadian administrator, former Canadian Cabinet minister and
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
. He is the president of
Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...
.


Political career

A
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
by training, Dingwall was first elected to the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...
in the
1980 Canadian federal election The 1980 Canadian federal election was held on February 18, 1980, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 32nd Parliament of Canada. It was called when the minority Progressive Conservative government led by Prime Minister Joe ...
as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Cape Breton—East Richmond in Nova Scotia. He was re-elected in three subsequent elections, and served as Opposition House Leader from 1991 to 1993.


In Cabinet

After the Liberals won the 1993 Canadian election under Jean Chrétien, Dingwall was appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of Public Works and Minister of Supply and Services, Minister responsible for Canada Post, Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing, Minister responsible for the Royal Canadian Mint, Minister responsible for Defence Construction Limited, and the Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Dingwall also served on several cabinet committees, including the Treasury Board and Economic Development. In 1996, Dingwall convinced the then prime minister of Canada to host the G7 Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Leaders from the G7 convened in Halifax and Boris Yeltsin, the president of Russia was a special attendee at that session. In 1996, Dingwall was appointed Minister of Health. In 1997, Dingwall passed the Tobacco Control Act, which at the time was the toughest tobacco legislation in the world. He was subsequently honoured by the Canadian Cancer Society and the World Health Organization.


1997 election

Dingwall ran for re-election in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
in the newly created riding of
Bras d'Or Bras d'Or Lake ( Mi'kmawi'simk: Pitupaq) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, making the brackish ...
, losing by over 1,000 votes to Michelle Dockrill of the NDP.


After politics

Following his defeat in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, Dingwall was given an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University College of Cape Breton, recipient of the Connaught Award presented by the Canadian Lung Association. Dingwall served as president of Wallding International, a government relations firm and served on several corporate board of directors, including, Rogers Sugar Income Fund, MD Life, advisory board, State Street Global Advisors Inc., director of Webstandard Inc., and director of Journeys End Car Rental Limited.


Royal Canadian Mint

On February 27, 2003, the Government of Canada appointed Dingwall to the position of president and chief executive officer of the Royal Canadian Mint. His leadership led that organization to increase profitability and posting its first surplus in several years. In the fall of 2005, Dingwall came under scrutiny for having allegedly made excessive expense claims while he was president of the Royal Canadian Mint. In the midst of these allegations, Dingwall resigned from the Mint on September 28, 2005. When questioned while giving testimony before Parliament as to why he felt he should receive a severance package after the voluntary resignation, he remarked "I'm entitled to my entitlements." The statement would be used by the Conservatives in a television advertisement during the 2006 federal election that featured that part of Dingwall's testimony. On leaving the Royal Canadian Mint, Dingwall called for an independent audit which was completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers who found "the expenses fell within the guidelines". A second independent review by the law firm of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt found that the Mint's process for monitoring expenses were stricter than those of most private corporations. The twin reports completely exonerated Dingwall. On or about February 4, 2006, retired Superior Court Justice George Adams found that the Government of Canada essentially forced Dingwall out when he released his findings in a binding arbitration ruling.


Legal career

Dingwall is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and Law Society of Upper Canada. He was associated with the law firm of Sampson McDougall in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and now he is counsel to the law firm of Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP.


Academic career

For the 2011–2012 academic year, Dingwall was a distinguished visiting professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University.


Community involvement

Dingwall is a member of the board of directors of the Canada/China Business Council, a founding member of the Toronto Arbitrators’ Society, president of the Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation.


As President of Cape Breton University

On January 31, 2018, Dingwall was appointed president and vice-chancellor of
Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...
by the university's board of governors.


Electoral results


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dingwall, David 1952 births Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Lawyers in Nova Scotia Corporate scandals Canadian people of Scottish descent People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mint presidents Canadian Ministers of Health Canadian Ministers of Health and Welfare