Oscar Lathlin

Oscar Lathlin
Oscar Lathlin
Minister of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs
	In office; September 25, 2002 – November 1, 2008
Premier	Gary Doer
Preceded by	Eric Robinson
Succeeded by	Eric Robinson
Minister of Conservation
	In office; October 5, 1999 – September 25, 2002
Premier	Gary Doer
Preceded by	department created
Succeeded by	Steve Ashton
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for The Pas
	In office; September 11, 1990 – November 1, 2008
Preceded by	Harry Harapiak
Succeeded by	Frank Whitehead
Personal details
Born	May 20, 1947; The Pas, Manitoba
Died	November 1, 2008 (aged 61); near The Pas, Manitoba
Political party	New Democratic Party
Occupation	teacher, First Nations band chief

Oscar Lathlin (May 20, 1947 – November 1, 2008) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party government of Gary Doer.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Life and career

Lathlin was born and raised at the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in The Pas, in northern Manitoba. He attended high school at Frontier Collegiate in Cranberry Portage, graduating in 1969, and also attended Brandon University.^[2]

He subsequently returned to his community, and worked as a band manager of The Pas Band. He was named executive director of the Swampy Cree Tribal Council in 1979, and was elected chief of The Pas Band in 1985. He also worked as an advisor to the Native Teacher Education Program, served on various committees of the Assembly of First Nations and was a senior advisor for the federal government of Canada on a variety of subjects.^[2]

He was married twice: first to Matilda Daniels and then to Leona Jebb.^[2]

In the 1990 provincial election, Lathlin was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the northern riding of The Pas, narrowly defeating Progressive Conservative Alfred McDonald. He was re-elected over McDonald by a greater margin in the 1995 election.^[3] The NDP came in second in both of these campaigns, and Lathlin served as critic for Native Affairs, Constitutional Development and Community Economic Development during his time as an opposition MLA. He also supported Lorne Nystrom's bid to become the leader of the federal New Democratic Party in 1995.

The NDP won the general election of 1999, although Lathlin was only re-elected by a narrow margin over PC candidate Ron Evans, a local aboriginal leader.^[3] He was subsequently named as Minister of Conservation in Gary Doer's first cabinet. On September 25, 2002, he was transferred to the Ministry of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs, also holding responsibility for the Communities Economic Development Fund.^[1] In 2003, he supported Bill Blaikie's campaign to become the leader of the federal NDP.

Lathlin was easily re-elected in the provincial elections of 2003 and 2007.^[3]

Death

On November 2, 2008, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that Lathlin had died early that morning.^[4] It was later revealed that Lathlin had died on the evening of November 1 at his cabin near The Pas, Manitoba.^[5]

He was succeeded by Frank Whitehead in a by-election on March 24, 2009. Following Whitehead's resignation from the legislature in 2014, Lathlin's daughter Amanda Lathlin won the resulting by-election.

References

^ ^a ^b "MLA Biographies - Deceased". Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Oscar Lathlin". Winnipeg Free Press. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Pas". Manitoba. CBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
^ "Provincial minister Oscar Lathlin dies". Winnipeg Free Press. 3 November 2008. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008.
^ "Minister Oscar Lathlin dies at 61". CTV Winnipeg. 3 November 2008.