David Nickarz (politician)
| David Nickarz | |
|---|---|
 Nickarz in July 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Green Party of Manitoba |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba |
| Occupation | Carpenter |
| Known for | Environmentalism, Conservation, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society |
| Website | http://davidnickarz.com/ |
David Nickarz is a carpenter, environmentalist and the Green Party of Manitoba candidate for Wolseley (Manitoba electoral district) in the Manitoba general election, 2016. Currently, he is the Energy Conservation and Water Stewardship critic for the Green Party of Manitoba. David and his wife, Laura, have lived in the Wolseley riding since 2003.
Biography
A lifelong environmentalist, Dave has 25 years of active experience in forest conservation, marine wildlife protection and working to end the use of pesticides and other toxins. In 1993, along with a thousand other activists, Dave stood up for the ancient rainforests of Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. This successful civil disobedience campaign was the largest in Canadian history. Dave played a key role in the successful effort to end logging in Manitoba’s provincial parks. This grassroots effort, which took twenty years to achieve, resulted in a parks logging ban in 2009.
Dave has devoted years of his life to serving on the ships of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine conservation group dedicated to protecting marine wildlife. He’s sailed on a total of eight campaigns over 17 years including the successful campaign to stop illegal whaling in the waters around Antarctica. Nickarz was recently elected Vice President of Sea Shepherd Canada. [1]
Environmental Activism
David first became involved with the environmental movement in 1991, while attending the University of Manitoba. The following year, he unsuccessfully sought to prevent the capture of four beluga whales in Churchill, Manitoba for sale to the Shedd aquarium in Chicago. Two of the whales later died in captivity, and the Canadian government passed a law banning future exports. No belugas have been captured in Churchill since 1992, due in part to the efforts of Nickarz and other protesters. Nickarz has also been active with the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and has traveled to Antarctica, the Faroe Islands, the Galapagos Islands, Cape Flattery and the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the organization.[2][3][4] He has emphasized that while he opposes commercial whaling, he is not against traditional whale-hunting among aboriginal societies.[5]
He was arrested in 1993 for taking part in an anti-logging protest at Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, and fined $1500. The fee was paid by the Green Party of Canada.[6] A newspaper report of the arrest lists him as twenty-one years old.[7]
Shortly after the 2004 election, Nickarz organized a protest against the spraying of malathion in Winnipeg. City authorities argued that the spraying would reduce the city's mosquito population, although Nickarz and others believed it was ineffective and dangerous.[8] David's father Jim Nickarz was arrested for protesting against malathion spraying the following year, and vowed to go on a hunger strike during his time in jail. The younger Nickarz was quoted as saying, "My father's of sound mind... he's very determined to see [the protest] through".[9] In 2006, Nickarz joined with veteran Winnipeg activist Nick Ternette and others to form the Cancer Brigade, a group that argues malathion weakens the body's immune system and its ability to fight cancer.[10]
Electoral record
| Manitoba general election, 2016: Wolseley | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 2016 general election will be held on April 19. | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ∆% | ||||
| New Democratic | Rob Altemeyer | – | – | – | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Raquel Dancho | – | – | – | ||||
| Green | David Nickarz | – | – | – | ||||
| Liberal | Shandi Strong | – | – | – | ||||
| Manitoba | Wayne Sturby | – | – | – | ||||
| Total valid votes | – | 100.0 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | – | |||||||
| Source: Elections Manitoba[11] | ||||||||
References
- ↑ , "Elect David Nickarz MLA for Wolseley", 31 March 2016, accessed 7 March 2016.
- ↑ Eric Bockstael, "A former U of M student takes on poachers", The Manitoban, 30 October 2002, accessed 7 March 2007.
- ↑ Dave Nickarz: Candidate Profile, Globe and Mail, accessed 7 March 2007.
- ↑ Kevin Rollason, "Winnipeg man spends holiday saving whales", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 December 2006, B6.
- ↑ Peggy Anderson, "Sea Shepherd: Idealists donating time to save the whales", Associated Press Newswires, 11 October 1998, 14:47.
- ↑ Riding Profile: Churchill, Election 2004, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, accessed 7 March 2007.
- ↑ Randy Turner, "Eco-protesters live simply in Clayoquot peace camp", Winnipeg Free Press, 26 September 1993.
- ↑ Jason Bell, "City relents after demonstrators form human chain, block trucks", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 July 2004, A1.
- ↑ Mike McIntyre, "Courthouse stunt results in incarceration for protester", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 July 2005, B3.
- ↑ Bruce Owen, "Cancer survivors target city fogging", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 July 2006, B3.
- ↑ "Candidates: 41st General Election". Elections Manitoba. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
External links
- David Nickarz's campaign page for Wolseley
- David Nickarz | Green Party of Manitoba Candidate for Wolseley