Hon. Sarmite Bulte

Sarmite D. "Sam" Bulte, PC , BA , LL.B born September 27, 1953) is a Latvian-Canadian lawyer, advocate and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she represented the Toronto riding of Parkdale-High Park in the Canadian House of Commons through three successive parliaments from June 2, 1997 to January 22, 2006. In the January 23, 2006 election, she was defeated by New Democratic Party candidate Peggy Nash. Image File history File links Template:CanadaGovernment File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Template:CanadaGovernment File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Privy Council Office as it appeared in the 1880s The Queens Privy Council for Canada (French: Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada) is the ceremonial council of advisers to the Queen of Canada, whose members are appointed by the Governor General of Canada for life on... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries other than the United States, where it has been replaced by the Juris Doctor degree. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Liberal Party of Canada (French: Parti libéral du Canada), colloquially known as the Grits (originally Clear Grits), is a Canadian federal political party positioned around the centre of the political spectrum, combining a generally progressive social policy with moderate economics. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Established: Date month, year Area: East to West: 43 km North to South: 21 km629. ... Parkdale—High Park is a Canadian federal and provincial electoral riding in the central-west part of Toronto on the lakefront with 106,559 residents. ... The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ... The New Democratic Party (NDP) is a political party in Canada with a social democratic philosophy and moderate democratic socialist tendencies. ... Peggy Nash is a federal Canadian politician with the New Democratic Party. ...

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Bulte received a Honours Bachelor of Arts from University College, University of Toronto, Specialist Certificate in English in 1975. In 1978, she received an Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor. In 1980 she was called to the Ontario Bar. In July 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council. Motto: Together Aspire - Together Achieve Area: 1,117. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... UC during winter time University College, University of Toronto (abbreviated as UC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Toronto. ... The University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII in Roman) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries other than the United States, where it has been replaced by the Juris Doctor degree. ... The University of Windsor is a mid-sized university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. ... The Law Society of England and Wales is the professional association that regulates and represents the solicitors profession in England and Wales. ... The Privy Council Office as it appeared in the 1880s The Queens Privy Council for Canada (French: Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada) is the ceremonial council of advisers to the Queen of Canada, whose members are appointed by the Governor General of Canada for life on...

Bulte was considered as one of the more left-wing members of the Liberal Party of Canada on social issues. She was known in Parliament for her special report of women's entrepreneurship. She was also a member of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Youth Entrepreneurs as well as the member of the Liberal Caucus Task Force on Financial Institutions and the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. She served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for the Status of Women and the Minister of Industry with special emphasis on Women Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting new organizations, particularly new businesses generally in response to identified opportunities. ... In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to appoint parliamentary secretaries (in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, parliamentary assistants) from their caucus to assist cabinet ministers with their work. ... The Minister of Canadian Heritage is a member of the Cabinet and head of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the federal government department responsible for Canadas Arts, Culture, Media, Communications network, and Sport. ... In the Cabinet of Canada, The Minister of Industry is responsible for overseeing the federal governments economic development and corporate affairs department, Industry Canada. ...

During the 2006 federal election, Bulte was criticized by law professor Michael Geist, ^[1] historian Jack Granatstein ^[2] and blogger Cory Doctorow among others. The criticism centred around an apparent conflict of interest relating to her position as "one of the leading people on copyright policy, possibly even the future Canadian heritage minister" ^[3] and her stance in favour of stricter copyright laws in the face of substantial campaign contributions from Canadian and American entertainment industries. Geist's colleague David Fewer noted that Bulte did not originally have much interest in copyright law, but has become increasingly vocal on the topic since she started to receive money from the copyright lobbies. ^[4] The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally, the 39th General Election) was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons. ... Michael Geist is a Canadian academic who is recognized as an international expert in Internet and copyright issues. ... Professor Jack Lawrence Granatstein, OC , Ph. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Another issue that perhaps contributed to her fall was perhaps the Anglicizing of her name in the Parkdale-High Park riding. The riding, which holds a number of different ethnicities and people of different backgrounds, did not look favourably upon her changing her name from Sarmite to Sam on almost all election signs in the ridings. A secondary, lesser issue was her not living in the riding itself. A final problem might have had to do with illegal placement of signs. Repeated complaints to her campaign office in 2004 regarding large cardboard signs placed on the front lawns of constituents without consent were repeatedly ignored, and some homeowners even went so far as to ask other political parties to remove the signs for them. Unfortunately, illegal sign placement is something of an issue in most ridings in Toronto, so the issue here is perhaps not so significant.

She is married with three children, David, Lara and Alex.

References

1. ^  Michael Geist report about her fundraisers with the entertainment industry
2. ^  Historian calls Liberal MP's fundraiser a worry, CTV.ca, Jan 5, 2006
3. ^  Fundraiser a rare glimpse into party power politics, Toronto Star by Jim Rankin, January 6, 2006
4. ^  The Bulte Scandal: A "Transparent" Conflict of Interest, CopyrightWatch.ca, by David Fewer, January 6, 2006

The Toronto Star is Canadas highest circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ...

External links

• Official site
• 2006 Campaign website
• How'd They Vote?: Sarmite Bulte's voting history and quotes
• Bulte gets big entertainment bucks, promises new copyrights, Boing Boing, January 1, 2006
• Info about her campaign contributions by the Entertainment industry, Boing Boing, January 3, 2006
• Parkdale--High Park section of the Digital Copyright Canada forum.
• Make Internet an election issue, letter to the editor in the Toronto Star by Sarmite Bulte, December 14, 2005
• Video of Sam Bulte Defending Her Campaign Contribution Decision and Refusing to Take Copyright Pledge.