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Biography
A respected educator and municipal councillor, Bryon
Wilfert was first elected Member of Parliament in the
newly created riding of Oak Ridges in 1997 and re-elected
in 2000, 2004 and 2006 in the riding of Richmond Hill.
Mr.
Wilfert is currently the Official Opposition Critic
for National Defence and is the Vice-Chair
for the Special Standing Committee on Afghanistan.
He is also a member of the Standing Committee
of National Defence.
In
addition to his Official Critic responsibilities, Mr.
Wilfert is the Chair of the Canada-Japan
Inter-Parliamentary Association. He is also
the Chair of the Canada -Vietnam,
Canada-Libya and Chair of the
Canada- Indonesia Parliamentary Associations
as well as Vice Chair of the Canada-Philippeans
and Canada- Pakistan Parliamentary Association.
He
is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Canada
Korea Parliamentary Association Further, while attending
the inaugural general meeting held from August 28 to
August 31 2003 in Seoul, Korea, Mr. Wilfert was elected
Vice President of the Inter-Parliamentarians
for Social Service (IPSS).
Mr.
Wilfert is currently the International Vice President
of the Asia Pacific Parliamentarians' conference on
Environment and Development.
Mr.
Wilfert is Vice-President of GLOBE Canada
and a member of the Board of Directors of GLOBE
International which is a dialogue made up of
the G8 + 5 nations to participate in discussions on
Climate Change post 2012.
Over
the last four terms, Mr. Wilfert was a member of the
Standing Committee of the Environment,
the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Trade (FAIT), the All Party
Sport & Physical Activity Caucus, and the
Advisory Council to the Canada-Korea Society.
From
February 2002 to December 2003, Mr. Wilfert was Parliamentary
Secretary to the Minister of Finance and sat on the
Finance Committee. From July 2004 to
November 2005 he was Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of the Environment and was a member of the
Environment Committee. From 2006-2007
Mr. Wilfert served Canadians as the Official Opposition
Critic to Foreign Affairs (Asia Pacific). In
addition Mr. Wilfert was the Chair of the Canada
and the World Caucus Committee for the Liberal Party.
Mr.
Wilfert has been a member of the Standing Committee
on Human Resources Development and served as
Vice Chair of the Committee. He has been
a member of the Status of the Disabled, Aboriginal
Affairs and Northern Development, and a member
the Canadian Heritage Committee. Also,
he was Chair of the Liberal Caucus Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Defence and International Cooperation
and Chair of the Canada-Hong Kong Friendship Group.
In 2003, he was a member of the Prime Minister's Task
Force on Urban Issues.
In
2007, Mr. Wilfert was named Honorary Advisor to
the Canada Pakistan Business Council.
Nationally
known for his expertise on municipal issues, he served
as Municipal Councillor for the Town of Richmond Hill
from 1985 to 1997. From 1995 to 1996, he was President
of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association
and served as the President of the Federation
of Canadian Municipalities from 1996 to 1997.
He
earned Bachelor's degrees in Arts and Education,
and a Master's degree in Political Economy,
from the University of Toronto and earned the professional
designation Accredited Municipal / Clerk Treasurer
(AMCT) from the St-Laurence College. To note, recently,
he was awarded the Premier's Awards for Graduates
of Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology.
He
and his wife Elizabeth reside in Richmond Hill.
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