Minister of Family Services and Housing

Gord Mackintosh Minister of Family Services and Housing; minister responsible for persons with disabilities.

Gord Mackintosh was elected as New Democratic Party MLA for St. Johns in a 1993 by-election and was re-elected in 1995, 1999 and in June, 2003. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General and as the Government House Leader until September 2006 and is currently Minister of Family Services and Housing.

Gord has worked for the Canadian and Manitoba Human Rights commissions and from 1979 to 1984 was Deputy Clerk of Manitoba’s legislature. He was called to the Bar in 1988 as a litigation lawyer with the Winnipeg law firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman. Gord was involved in environmental issues and notably was advisor to Elijah Harper during the Meech Lake constitutional crisis.

He was a long-time chair of the Patients Rights Committee and served on the boards of the Rainbow Society and the Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties. He helped lead the successful fight against closing the St. Johns Library in 1993. As a MLA, he helped establish, in partnership with area residents, the St. Johns Youth Justice Council, several residents associations, community clean ups and citizen patrols. Gord also co-chaired three successive New Democratic Party Election Platform Committees.

As Attorney General, Gord’s focus on children has helped produce a child-victim friendly courtroom and waiting room in Winnipeg, the Cybertip.ca line to report online predators and child pornography, Amber Alert and a high risk offender website  for Manitoba and strict new child support laws. He has helped lead successful national efforts to criminalize Internet luring, register sex offenders and tighten child protection laws.

In addition to aboriginal and community justice initiatives, Gord has launched several public safety programs unique to Manitoba, including Lighthouses for after school youth activities, a young offender mentoring program, Project Gang Proof which combines a resource line, Web site and materials to help parents and communities guard against youth gang involvement, and Turnabout which provides help and appropriate discipline for offenders under age 12.

In the legislature, Gord has introduced strong new human rights laws and strengthened family responsibilities in common-law relationships, as well as legislated new sanctions for auto theft and impaired driving. In 2000 he established a gang prosecution and probation unit, followed by innovative civil laws to help counter organized crime. Under his direction, the ongoing implementation of Manitoba’s Victims'' Bill of Rights sets a new standard for the treatment of crime victims by the justice system.

He serves on the Aboriginal Issues Committee of Cabinet, the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet and the Neighbourhoods Alive! Steering Committee. He has a bachelor and master’s degrees in political studies, and a law degree from the University of Manitoba. He lives in Winnipeg’s North End with his wife Margaret and three children who are attending Winnipeg public schools.