Laurel Broten

Prior to entering politics, she was a lawyer, community activist and volunteer. Broten attended McMaster University from 1986 to 1990, and has both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree from the institution. She also received an LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario in 1993. She was a law clerk to Madam Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé at the Supreme Court of Canada from 1993 to 1994, and later had a practice in civil and commercial litigation. She has also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Gatehouse, a community centre for survivors of child abuse.[2]

In 2007, Broten and her husband were criticized after they applied for a permit to build a large two-storey garage behind their home. Dubbed the "garage mahal" by neighbours, the structure was meant to hold the couple's four vehicles. The plan was notable at the time due to Broten's position as the Minister of the Environment. Following a public outcry and stories in the media, plans to build the garage were cancelled.[3][4]

Broten, her husband, and their two children moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2013.[5]

Broten ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1999, but was defeated by Progressive Conservative Morley Kells in Etobicoke-Lakeshore by 5,156 votes. She ran again in the 2003 election, and defeated Kells by 6,722 votes amid a provincial shift to the Liberals.

After she resigned from the Ontario Cabinet and legislature, Broten and her family eventually settled in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.[13] She had initially stated that she was moving to Halifax, for her husband Paul obtained a job at Emera as special counsel for senior projects.[14]

Not long after Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil's Liberal Party swept to electoral victory, she was hired as a government consultant to lead a comprehensive review of the taxation in the province.[15] Her final report, released on November 19, 2014,[16] made 22 recommendations on taxation; these included eliminating the tax bracket for high-income ($150,000 and over) earners, eliminating refundable tax credits, eliminating a tax rebate for seniors, reducing corporate taxes for large businesses, introducing a carbon tax and expanding the HST to include numerous exempt products including books, children's clothes, diapers, and feminine hygiene products. Broten's report was generally panned, and Nova Scotia Finance Minister Diana Whalen subsequently scheduled several public consultations across the province in the winter of 2015.[17][18] On March 25, 2015, Whalen said "every recommendation in the Broten review is [being] looked at", including a carbon tax, but only explicitly ruled out increasing the HST on books and eliminating a volunteer firefighter tax credit.[19]

On January 14, 2015, Broten was selected by the Nova Scotia Business Incorporated (NSBI) board to the position of President and CEO of NSBI.[20] Her initial salary was comparable to that of her predecessor, Stephen Lund.[21][22]

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)