Keith Martin (physician)

The Honourable Doctor
Keith Martin
PC MD
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca
In office
October 25, 1993 – May 2, 2011
Preceded by Dave Barrett
Succeeded by Randall Garrison
Personal details
Born (1960-04-13) April 13, 1960
London, United Kingdom
Political party Liberal (2004–present)
Other political
affiliations		 Reform (1993–2000)
Canadian Alliance (2000–2003)
Independent (2003–2004)
Residence Victoria, British Columbia and Washington, D.C.
Profession Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health, Physician, Conservationist

Keith Martin, PC is a physician and is the executive director of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health in Washington, DC. He was the Member of Parliament for the riding of Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca in British Columbia, Canada from 1993 to 2011.

Life and career

Martin was born in London, UK and grew up in Toronto. He attended Neil McNeil Catholic High School. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Doctorate of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science with high distinction. He currently lives in Washington, DC and Victoria, British Columbia. He practiced emergency and family practice from 1987 to 2005. He also did two terms as a doctor in a rural region of South Africa during the Mozambique war.

He was first elected in 1993 as a member of the Reform Party of Canada for the riding of Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. However, unlike most Reformers, he was socially liberal, and he often clashed with Reform's conservative leaders. He is conservative on economic issues but is socially liberal. When the Reform Party was folded into the Canadian Alliance, he sought the party leadership, but finished fourth with 2% of the vote. Despite his ideological differences, he did not join the dissidents who briefly left the party in 2001–02 to protest the leadership of Stockwell Day.

In both 2009 and 2010, political commentator Rex Murphy, from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's The National, recognized Martin as the most underrated politician in the House of Commons.[1]

Martin led many initiatives in the House of Commons, including legislation to ban landmines (1995, 1996), establish an international mechanism to prevent deadly conflict (Responsibility to Protect) 2007, democratize Parliament, support early learning programs (Head Start) 2000, and modernize Canada's healthcare system.

Martin has been on many diplomatic missions to areas in crisis, including Sudan, the Middle East, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and the Sahal. He led many initiatives to provide emergency relief in times of crisis, e.g., the 2004 tsunami, famine in Niger, North Pakistan, Dem. Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe etc. He also took an international leadership role in global health, including chairing global pre-G8 parliamentary committees in Japan and Rome.

He has had extensive experience between 1986–2007 volunteering on conservation programs in Africa, especially on rhino and other large mammals projects. He has been an ardent campaigner against the trafficking of illegal wildlife products, and has strongly supported the integration of conservation into development initiatives.

On April 17, 2002, he caused a controversy as he attempted to remove the ceremonial mace from the table of the Clerk of the House to protest an intervention by the government that violated MP's fundamental democratic rights. He was found to be in contempt and not allowed to retake his seat until he had apologized to the House from the Bar. The reason for his actions was as a result of an amendment that would have removed the entire contents of Martin's Private Members' Bill C-344[2] which violated the spirit and meaning of Private Members Business.

In January 2004, after the Canadian Alliance merged with the centre-right Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada, Martin announced he would not join the new party. He sat as an independent for the remainder of the 37th Parliament, but ran as a Liberal in the 2004 election. He was re-elected, and served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence. Martin was subsequently re-elected in the 2006 and 2008 federal elections. He has served in many shadow cabinet positions including foreign affairs, health and international development. He has taken leadership roles in many areas including: global health,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] domestic health,[10][11][12] foreign affairs,[13][14][15][16] conservation and the environment[17][18] and human rights [19][20] He was appointed in 2004 by Prime Minister Paul Martin to be a member of the Queen's Privy Council.

On November 9, 2010, Martin announced that he would not run in the next election,[21][22][23] stating that "Canada's institutions need new blood and new ideas."[24] He has been an outspoken critic of the decline in democracy in parliament and the increasing disempowerment of Members of Parliament.[25]

From 1996 to 2000 he had his own nationally syndicated television program on current events called Beyond Politics. Martin is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons'[26] Advisory Committee on International Initiatives.

He is the founder of several global health and conservation initiatives. He is Founder and Chair of the first all Party International Conservation Caucus. In 2010, he founded the International Conservation Forum,[27] a website that increases awareness and facilitates action on key conservation issues through the use of social media and the publication of the online magazine, The Horn.

He started CanadaAID,[28] an online resource that connects those that help people in Canada and abroad with individuals interested in supporting their activities. Martin also started the Canadian Physicians Overseas Program. This is a website that helps to connect medical personnel who wish to volunteer overseas to provide care and build capacity with medical institutions in developing countries. Martin has organized several relief efforts to ship urgent medical supplies to areas in crisis.[29]

In September 2012, Martin was selected to be the Consortium of Universities for Global Health's (http://www.cugh.org) first Executive Director. He works with over 120 academic institutions around the world through research, education, and service to apply knowledge across disciplines to improve health outcomes for the world's poor.

November 2014, Martin made presentations on the nexus between environmental sustainability, conservation, and human health at the World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia.

Other Positions:

Board Member, The Global Health Council (2012 – Current)
Board Member, Jane Goodall Institute, USA (2014–Present)
Editorial Board Member, Annals of Global Health (2014–Present)

References

  1. ↑ Video on YouTube
  2. ↑ "BILL C-344 (First Reading)". .parl.gc.ca. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  3. ↑ Cayo, Don (2011-03-08). "Opinion:Investment in poor women, and good health, pays off". Vancouver Sun (Vancouver). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  4. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2011-03-05). "Keith Martin: Ottawa's opportunity to save 340,000 lives. A year.". National Post (Don Mills). Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  5. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-07-21). "Focus on primary health care is needed to fight AIDS". Montreal Gazette (Montreal). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  6. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2011-02-15). "How to save 4 million children's lives – GAVI's vaccine programmes a breakthrough in child health". Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  7. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2011-02-16). "Poverty, not patent law, blocks poorest from getting medications". Edmonton Journal (Edmonton). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  8. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-05-20). "A Partnership to Save Lives". The Mark. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  9. ↑ Bramham, Daphne (2010-06-05). "Maternal Health Care Plan Endangered by PM's Beliefs". Vancouver Sun (Vancouver). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  10. ↑ The Globe and Mail (2009-04-08). "An egregious situation". The Globe and Mail (Toronto). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  11. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-10-28). "Keith Martin's Prescription for Health Care". National Post (Don Mills). Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  12. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-03-20). "Canada v. U.S.? Neither is best". Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  13. ↑ Goodspeed, Peter (2010-08-18). "World disasters call for 'red-helmet brigade'". National Post (Don Mills). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  14. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-01-25). "An International 911". The Mark. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  15. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2008-04-23). "We Have a Responsibility to Act on Zimbabwe". Embassy (Ottawa). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  16. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2009-10-27). "Our mining companies' responsibility to the Congo". National Post (Don Mills). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  17. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-10-24). The Challenge in Nagoya E Magazine, the online environmental magazine
  18. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2010-6-8). Save our dying oceans The Hill Times
  19. ↑ Goldbloom, Daniel (2008-02-06). "The National Post Editorial Board on Human Rights Legislation: Keith Martin’s good fight". National Post (Don Mills). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  20. ↑ The Windsor Star (2008-02-06). "The Internet: An independent report by the University of Windsor's Richard Moon says the Canadian Human Rights Commission should be stripped of its power to investigate online hate messages.". Windsor Star (Windsor). Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  21. ↑ National Post editorial board (2010-11-10). A fond farewell to a fine MP National Post
  22. ↑ Tremonti, Anna Maria(2010-11-18). Parliament's dysfunctional World: Keith on CBC's the Current
  23. ↑ Taber, Jane (2010-11-11). Keith Martin knows he can accomplish more off the Hill Globe and Mail
  24. ↑ "B.C. Liberal MP Keith Martin to step down". CBC News. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2015-05-30.
  25. ↑ Wherry, Aaron (2011-02-18). "The House of Commons is a Sham". Maclean's (Toronto). Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  26. ↑ Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons http://rcpsc.medical.org
  27. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith The International Conservation Forum
  28. ↑ Martin, Dr. Keith (2011-03-16). "An uphill battle worth fighting: Moving resources where they are needed most". Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa). Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  29. ↑ Goar, Carol (2008-12-15). "Quick action to help Zimbabwe". Toronto Star (Toronto). Retrieved 2011-04-12.

External links

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