•Elected to the House of Commons for BC Southern Interior as the NDP MP in January 2006
• Is currently the Federal NDP Agriculture, Agri-Food and Rural Affairs Critic, and was past critic responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
• Educated at UBC and University of Toronto, with a BA in Physical Education, a teaching diploma, and an MA in Russian
• Served as an interpreter during the Prime Minister’s visit to the Soviet Union in 1989 and for the Canadian Navy trip to Vladivostok in 1990.
• A former teacher and instructor of Russian, French and English at a number of schools across Canada and the United States
• Served with the Coaching Council of Canada, and as a Yukon Coordinator for the Canada Games (1977) and as a recreation consultant
• Served as an Officer with the Canadian Armed Forces
• An instructor with the Castlegar Karate Club, with a black belt.
• Active in the Kootenay Regional United Nations Association
• Lives with his wife Ann, a retired French teacher, and their faithful dog, Cyrus, in Castlegar, B.C.