Cheryl Hardcastle
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Cheryl Hardcastle | |
|---|---|
 Hardcastle in 2015 | |
| Member of Parliament for Windsor—Tecumseh | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – October 21, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Comartin |
| Succeeded by | Irek Kusmierczyk |
| Deputy Mayor of Tecumseh | |
| In office December 7, 2010 – December 9, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Burton |
| Succeeded by | Joe Bachetti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 20, 1961 Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Party | New Democratic |
| Profession | Newspaper editor |
Cheryl Hardcastle is a Canadian politician and former member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for the federal electoral district of Windsor—Tecumseh, first elected during the 2015 Canadian federal election.[1] She is a member of the New Democratic Party. During the 42nd Canadian Parliament, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair appointed Hardcastle to be the party's critic for Sports and Persons with Disabilities. After Mulcair was replaced Jagmeet Singh, he added "International Human Rights" to her critic duties, where she now sits as Vice-Chair to the Subcommittee for International Human Rights.[2] She lost her re-election bid in the 2019 Canadian federal election, having come second in what was considered a surprise upset to the Liberal candidate Irek Kusmierczyk.
She introduced one private member bill, C-348, which sought to make Employment and Social Development Canada responsible for providing information and guidance to persons with disabilities on all federal applications for grants, benefits, compensation and any other programs and services, as a means of reducing the administrative burden on applicants. The bill was debated at second reading but defeated with the Liberal Party majority voting against it.[3]
Before entering politics, Hardcastle worked for almost 20 years as a reporter and editor of the former Tecumseh Tribune.[4] Prior to becoming an MP, Cheryl earned her reputation as an effective, inclusive leader as Tecumseh's Deputy Mayor from 2011-2014, serving on both Tecumseh Council and Essex County Council. She was also a member of the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority Board and the Essex Region Conservation Authority Board.[5] A past member of Pathway to Potential and National Pension Reform Committee, she has worked to reduce poverty in Windsor-Essex County and to help more Canadians retire with dignity. She has organized minor sports programs and tournaments, serving as Direction of the Tecumseh Baseball club and President for the Sun Parlour Female Hockey Association. She is a founding member of the Tecumseh Area Historical Society and is an instructor and author of beginning-level readers for adults.
She graduated from the University of Windsor with a bachelor's degree in political science and government and a bachelor's degree in communication and media studies.
Municipal politics
As a deputy mayor of Tecumseh, Hardcastle served as chair of the personnel committee, the arts and cultural advisory committee, the Tecumseh heritage advisory committee, the accessibility committee, War of 1812 commemoration committee, the 38th annual Tecumseh Corn Festival committee and the Tecumseh business improvement association.
She served as an Essex County representative on regional authorities:
- Windsor-Essex Poverty Reduction Strategy - Pathway to Potential - Currently working on determining living wage in region and Evaluation and Reporting Working Group.[6]
- Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority[7] board member since elected and currently Chairperson of the Technical Review Committee dealing with claims for residential properties affected by the closed Maidstone Landfill, in accordance with Ministry of Environment orders.
- Essex Region Conservation Authority board member for two years.[8] In January 2013, she stepped aside to allow another elected representative to have the opportunity to serve on this board, in order to broaden perspectives and strengthen resolve on conservation policies.