Who is Laurie Hawn?
Laurie was born on Mother’s Day, 1947 and raised in Winnipeg. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1964 and received his pilot wings and Queen’s Commission in Gimli, Manitoba in January 1967.
In thirty years in the Air Force, Laurie rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and served an additional five years as Honourary Colonel of 417 Combat Support Squadron. Laurie held many senior staff positions, commanded a CF-18 Tactical Fighter Squadron and was the Wing Operations Officer at 4 Wing Cold Lake, overseeing the operation of six squadrons, 1,800 personnel, multi-million dollar budgets, and multi-billion dollar assets. He has served in Europe, the United States and throughout Canada.
Upon retirement in 1994, Laurie entered the financial services business and held senior supervisory positions in this highly regulated and demanding industry.
Laurie has always been very involved in his community. He has organized large-scale community projects, sat on various boards, represented service groups, volunteered for major events, supported educational institutions, and been a strong advocate for democracy and freedom.
After several years of political activism and encouragement from many quarters, Laurie finally decided, on January 3rd, 2003, that it was time to make the commitment to serve as a Member of Parliament.
In a hard fought but respectful campaign, Laurie took on the sitting representative and Deputy Prime Minister, Anne McLellan, in the 2004 election and came short by only a few hundred votes. Undaunted by this close race, Laurie and the team resolved to keep going and take another shot in the next election.
Patience and hard work were rewarded on January 23rd, 2006 with a decisive victory over Ms. McLellan, and the opportunity to take a seat in Parliament as the representative of Edmonton Centre. Laurie has been proud to be part of Canada’s new government as it takes steps to rebuild the military, reduce the tax burden on ordinary working Canadians, improve the accountability of government, and crack down on crime.
Laurie has served on the Standing Committee on National Defence (SCOND), as well as the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. He also chaired the Special Legislative Committee on Bill C-30, the Clean Air Act.
On October 10, 2007 Laurie Hawn was named as the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Peter MacKay. In that role Laurie assists Minister MacKay and forms a link between the Ministry and Parliament. He fills in when the Minister is out of the House, steers legislation through the parliamentary process and generally plays a larger role in the department.
Following a successful re-election in October, 2008, Laurie continues as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence and is the lead government MP on SCOND and ther Special Committee on the Mission in Afghanistan.
Laurie has been married for 40 years to his wife Judy, and they have two children – Robb, 35, and Jennifer, 38.
