Inky Mark 麥鼎鴻
Member of Parliament for Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette
Incumbent
Assumed office  1997 [
Preceded by	Marlene Cowling
Born	November 17, 1947 (1947-11-17) (age 60) Taishan, China
Political party	Conservative

Inky Mark (麥鼎鴻, pinyin: Mài Dǐnghóng) (born November 17, 1947) is a Canadian politician and a current member of the Canadian House of Commons, sitting for the Manitoba riding of Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette. Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette (formerly known as Dauphin and Dauphin—Swan River) is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Marlene Cowling (born 26 August 1941 in Dauphin Manitoba) was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1997 in the Dauphin—Swan Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Taishan (Chinese 台[[wiktionary 山|山]] Mandarin: Táishān Cantonese: Toisan; Taishanese: Hoisan, Other The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The House of Commons (Chambre des communes is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and Manitoba (English ˌmænɨˈtoʊbə French /manitoba/ is a province of Canada, spanning 647797 square kilometres (250116  sq mi of North America Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette (formerly known as Dauphin and Dauphin—Swan River) is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Mark is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative

Mark was born in Taishan, China, and moved to the Canadian province of Manitoba as a child. Taishan (Chinese 台[[wiktionary 山|山]] Mandarin: Táishān Cantonese: Toisan; Taishanese: Hoisan, Other China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Manitoba (English ˌmænɨˈtoʊbə French /manitoba/ is a province of Canada, spanning 647797 square kilometres (250116  sq mi of North America Mark's father and grandfather had emigrated from China to Canada some time previously, but were unable to bring their families with them as a result of provisions in the Chinese Immigration Act (more commonly known as the Chinese Exclusion Act) of 1923. The Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 placed a Head tax on all Chinese Immigrants coming to Canada, forcing them to pay a fifty dollar Mark accompanied his mother when she fled China in 1953, and subsequently settled with his family in the Manitoba community of Gilbert Plains. Gilbert Plains is a town in Manitoba, Canada. The population is approximately 750 with an additional 1000 in the surrounding municipality of Gilbert Plains

Mark has a Bachelor of Arts from Brandon University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Manitoba. Brandon University is a Canadian University located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 ( 2005) full-time A Bachelor of Education ( BEd) is an undergraduate Academic degree which qualifies the graduate as a Teacher in Schools. The University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, Canada, is the largest university located in the province of Manitoba. Before entering political life, he worked as a high school teacher and small businessman. Mark also has a certificate in broadcasting and has completed a portion of his Masters in Education. He served on the board of the Dauphin First United Church [1].

Mark's political career began at the municipal level. He was elected to the Dauphin town council in 1991, and became the town's Mayor in 1994. Dauphin ( French for the eldest son of the king of France) is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 7906 as of 2006 A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government He was first elected to the House of Commons in the federal election of 1997, running as a candidate of the Reform Party in the riding of Dauphin-Swan River. The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of The Reform Party of Canada ( Parti réformiste du Canada) was a Canadian federal Political party that existed from 1987 to 2000 Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette (formerly known as Dauphin and Dauphin—Swan River) is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, He received 12668 votes, against 7716 for his nearest competitor, Progressive Conservative Lorne Boguski. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian The incumbent, Liberal Marlene Cowling, finished fourth with 7408 votes. The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political Marlene Cowling (born 26 August 1941 in Dauphin Manitoba) was a member of the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1997 in the Dauphin—Swan From 1997 to 2000, Mark was one of only three Chinese-Canadian MPs in the House of Commons (the other two were Liberal: Raymond Chan and Sophia Leung). A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Raymond Chan, PC, MP ( Jyutping: Can4 Ceok3 Jyu4 (b 1951 is the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed to the Cabinet of Canada Sophia Ming Ren Leung (梁陳明任 born July 25, 1933) is a Canadian politician

The Reform Party dissolved itself in 2000 in favour of the Canadian Alliance, and Mark ran as a candidate of the new party in the general election which followed. The Canadian Alliance (in French Alliance Canadienne) formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (or in French Alliance réformiste-conservateur The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of He was easily re-elected, defeating his nearest competitor, Liberal Jane Dawson, by a margin of 15855 votes to 7091.

Mark's career followed an unusual trajectory between 2001 and 2004. As the Alliance's parliamentary critic for Immigration, Mark was responsible for expressing his party's position on the Liberal government's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which he did on a number of occasions in the spring and summer months of 2001. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, passed in 2001 as Bill C-11 which replaced the Immigration Act of 1976 He also contributed to the parliamentary committee's work in drafting the final version of the bill, and was generally regarded by MPs from all parties as having made several constructive criticisms to the legislation.

On June 13, 2001, however, Mark's position on the bill was undercut by Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day, who delivered a speech in parliament supporting tighter restrictions against refugee claimants and reduced opportunities for rejected claimants to appeal to the Refugee Board. Events 1525 - Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, against the Celibacy rule decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Stockwell Burt Day Jr, PC, MP (born August 16, 1950 in Barrie Ontario) is a Canadian Politician and Day's comments diverged from Mark's stated position on several particulars, and his speech was regarded as very surprising by many other MPs in the House of Commons. (Liberal MP Steve Mahoney referred to Day's comments as "treachery" towards Mark, for which he was ruled out of order by the Speaker. Steven W Mahoney PC (born July 18, 1947 in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario) is a Canadian politician )

Mark had not previously been among the Canadian Alliance MPs agitating for Day's removal as leader, but following Day's speech he joined a group of party dissidents led by Chuck Strahl and Deborah Grey. Charles Strahl, PC, MP (born February 25, 1957 in New Westminster, British Columbia) is a politician in British Deborah Cleland Grey, OC, sometimes called Deb Grey (born July 1, 1952) is a prominent former Canadian Member of Parliament On September 12, 2001, Mark left the Canadian Alliance caucus to sit as a member of the Democratic Representative Caucus, in alliance with the Progressive Conservative Party. Events 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Democratic Representative Caucus was a group of Canadian Members of Parliament who left the Canadian Alliance in 2001 in protest against the leadership The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada ( PC) ( Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) ( 1867 – 2003) was a Canadian

The DRC came to an end on April 10, 2002, when Stephen Harper replaced Day as Canadian Alliance leader. Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Honorific prefixes --> Stephen Joseph Harper PC Every other member of the DRC requested to be re-admitted to the Alliance; Mark did not join them, but instead decided to sit as an Independent Conservative, with the intention of joining the Progressive Conservative Party at their annual party convention later in the year. Mark formally joined the Progressive Conservatives on August 27, 2002. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Late in 2003, the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party formally merged to create the new Conservative Party of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative Mark supported the merger, and formally joined the new party's caucus on February 2, 2004. Events 962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Ironically, the merger placed Mark back among the Canadian Alliance MPs with whom he had parted company in 2002.

Mark was easily re-elected in the Canadian federal election of 2004, receiving nearly three times as many votes as his nearest challenger, New Democrat Walter Kolisnyk. The Canadian federal election 2004 (more formally the 38th General Election) was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Walter Kolisnyk is a farmer and politician in Manitoba, Canada. During the Parliamentary crisis that followed, Mark claimed that he was offered an ambassadorship by an unnamed cabinet minister, in exchange for vacating his seat in the House of Commons prior to the pivotal budget vote. The Liberals denied the allegation.

Ideologically, Mark may be defined as a fiscal conservative with some leanings toward social conservatism (although he has not emphasized the latter in his speeches or campaigns), holding progressive views on issues involving cultural change within Canada (as evidenced by the 2001 controversy). Social conservatism is a political or moral ideology that affirms the government's role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviors in the belief that these are what He supports the principle of a National Identity Card, so as to encourage immigration while also protecting the country from terrorist threats.

External links

• Parliament Webpage