Howard, Frank Robert Steeves

  • From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: See full biography at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Howard_(Canadian_politician)
  • Wiki Biography:
    • Frank Howard (April 26, 1925 – March 15, 2011) was a Canadian trade unionist and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) form 1953 to 1956 as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and again from 1979 to 1986 as a member of the New Democratic Party. Between these two terms in provincial politics, he served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1957 to 1974 representing the federal riding of Skeena.
    • Howard first sat as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and then for its successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP). In Parliament, Howard and his caucus colleague Arnold Peters were responsible for reforming Canada’s divorce laws, and for achieving significant reforms to Canada’s prison system. He was also instrumental in attaining full voting rights for Canadian First Nations.
    • Howard stood as a candidate in the 1971 NDP leadership convention, finishing fifth. He was a Member of Parliament for seventeen years until he lost his seat in the 1974 general election.
    • Howard published an autobiography, From Prison to Parliament, in 2003, the title referring to his overcoming a troubled upbringing. Howard’s mother worked as a prostitute on the outskirts of Kootenay River Valley, a mining town, while his father was believed to have been her pimp. Involved with petty thievery as a child, a judge determined that he was neglected and sent him to an orphanage at the age of 12 from which he was sent to a succession of foster homes. During World War II, he found work on a Vancouver shipyard then, in 1943, engaged in a month-long crime spree with an accomplice in the summer of 1943, robbing two jewellery stores and a hotel while armed with a revolver. Howard was convicted of three counts of armed robbery and sentenced to two years on each charge, ultimately serving 20 months in the federal penitentiary before being released on May 1, 1945.
  • Fourth Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=9159
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