Role Canadian Politician Name Thomas Dang | Occupation Student | |
Born April 7, 1995 (age 30) Edmonton, Alberta ( 1995-04-07 ) Political party Alberta New Democratic Party Party Alberta New Democratic Party | ||
MLA Thomas Dang on Racism in Alberta and Politics
Thomas Kyle Dang (born April 7, 1995) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the Alberta general election, 2015 to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Edmonton-South West. Dang is the youngest MLA to ever be elected in Alberta.
Contents
- MLA Thomas Dang on Racism in Alberta and Politics
- Political career
- Fall 2015 Session
- Spring 2016 Session
- Spring 2017 Session
- Personal life
- References
Dang was a computer science student at the University of Alberta. He also writes a blog on provincial politics. He defeated incumbent Progressive Conservative MLA Matt Jeneroux on the May 5, 2015 election that saw the Alberta NDP sweep the city of Edmonton and win a majority government, the first switch of governing parties in the province since the 1971 election. As of 2014–15, he is a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity at the University of Alberta, of which former Premier Peter Lougheed was also a member.
Political career
Dang entered politics as a candidate for the New Democratic Party of Alberta. He currently serves as a member of the Standing Committee on Resource Stewardship. He previously served as a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills.
Fall 2015 Session
Motion 503
In his first session as an MLA, Dang moved Motion 503, urging the Government to consult with school boards and youth to encourage student participation on boards. This was aimed to increasing dialogue and student engagement on democratic governance. The motion was passed unanimously with bi-partisan support in the assembly. The motion read as follows:
Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly urge the Government to consult with school boards and youth to encourage senior high school student participation on boards with a view to increasing dialogue, increasing student engagement in board policy and planning, and educating students about democratic governance.
Spring 2016 Session
Dang gave notice of Motion 507 and sponsored Bill 204 in the Spring 2016 session of the Legislature.
Bill 204
Dang tabled Bill 204, The Alberta Tourism Week Act. This bill would create a tourism week in legislation that would occur in the first week of June starting 2017. The Bill has currently passed first and second reading in the Legislature.
Motion 507
Notice of Motion 507 was given on Day 2 of the second session on the order paper. This motion was aimed at ensuring that students and parents were ready to deal with all facets of bullying in an ever evolving technological world. The notice of motion reads as follows:
Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly urge the Government to take steps to increase awareness in Alberta's schools of the effects of cyberbullying.
Motion 507 was passed unanimously with bi-partisan support in the assembly.
Spring 2017 Session
Daylight Saving Time
In late 2016, Dang announced that he planned to table a bill to abolish Daylight Saving Time in Alberta. Dang said he had been working on this file since it had been brought up at an NDP policy convention. He has stated that he intends to lead a public consultation on the issue in advance of his bill in 2017.
On February 13, 2017, Dang announced an online consultation process that would take place until the end of February. He received widespread support from young families and members of the agricultural industry. Egg farmers have cheered the proposal, because the time change “plays havoc with the natural rhythm of poultry.” Dang also announced that he hoped to have a bill ready to be tabled in mid-March.
Dang tabled Bill 203, the Alberta Standard Time Act on March 14, 2017. The bill would set the Alberta Standard Time to UTC-6. This was done after his online consultation showed that 82% of respondents prefer not changing their clocks twice a year, and 59% of respondents prefer to have daylight in the late afternoon.
Personal life
Dang played competitive table tennis as a junior for many years, competing across Canada and in the United States of America. He was a member of the Edmonton Table Tennis Club.
He also plays the Alternate Reality Game, Ingress created by Niantic.