Eric Berntson

Eric Arthur Berntson (May 16, 1941 – September 23, 2018) was a Canadian politician.

Eric Berntson
Senator for Saskatchewan, Canada
In office
September 27, 1990 – February 27, 2001
Appointed byBrian Mulroney
Leader of the Opposition
In office
1979–1982
Preceded byDick Collver
Succeeded byAllan Blakeney
Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly
for Souris-Cannington
In office
1975–1990
Succeeded byDan D'Autremont
Personal details
Born( 1941-05-16)May 16, 1941
Oxbow, Saskatchewan, Canada
DiedSeptember 23, 2018(2018-09-23) (aged 77)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative

Saskatchewan politics

Berntson was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a member of the Progressive Conservatives for the district of Souris-Cannington in the 1975 Saskatchewan general election. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1982 as newly elected party leader Grant Devine did not have a seat in the legislature.

He served in the Saskatchewan legislature until 1990 and was Deputy Premier in the Devine government.[1] Berntson was widely regarded to be one of the most powerful members of the Devine government, arguably exercising more influence than the premier himself.[2]

In 1999, Berntson was convicted of illegally diverting government allowances between 1987 and 1991 when he was Saskatchewan's deputy premier. He was sentenced to one year in prison.[3]

Canadian Senate

Berntson was appointed on the advice of Brian Mulroney to the Senate of Canada on September 27, 1990 as part of the never before used expansion clause that allows two extra members per regional division after the Senate all the normal Senate seats are occupied.

He served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 when he was charged with fraud.[4]

Berntson resigned from the Senate on February 27, 2001 after the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his attempt to overturn his fraud conviction.[5]

Berntson also appeared on the 1991 tape that showed current Conservative MP Tom Lukiwski making homophobic slurs and current Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall mocking Roy Romanow in a Ukrainian accent which was revealed to the public on March 31, 2008.[2]

Berntson died in Ottawa on September 23, 2018.[6]

References
  1. "A Prairie titan's fall". Maclean's. March 29, 1999. p. 21. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. Fraser, D.C. (September 26, 2018). "Former senator, MLA Eric Berntson dominated Devine era". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  3. "Ex-senator Berntson moved to Regina halfway house for rest of fraud sentence". The Canadian Press. April 30, 2001.
  4. "Saskatchewan Senator charged with fraud". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. February 25, 1997.
  5. "Ex-senator begins fraud sentence". Kitchener-Waterloo Record. The Canadian Press. March 2, 2001.
  6. "Former Saskatchewan deputy premier, senator Eric Berntson dies at 77". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
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