Anderson, David, 1937- : Born in 1937 and educated at Victoria College, the University of British Columbia, and the Institute for Oriental Studies at the University of Hong Kong. Anderson graduated from law school in 1962. While at U.B.C. he rowed in the Olympics in Rome where his crew won a silver medal (1960). Always an avid sportsman, his interests in fly fishing, sailing, and similar sports, led him to love the waterways around Juan de Fuca and along the Western coast of Canada. The Hon. David Anderson has had a long career serving Canada in the environmental field, with a particular focus on trans-atlantic shipping of oil.
Anderson's early career was with the diplomatic service where he served as Legal Advisor to the Canadian Commissioner of the International Control Commission for Saigon, Vietnam (1963-1964). He then became Assistant Canadian Trade Commissioner in Hong Kong (1964-1967). This portion of his career was finished at the China desk in Ottawa.
Anderson was elected to the House of Commons in 1968 for the constituency of Esquimault-Saanich. Here, he outdid the usual work of a backbencher, establishing and serving as Chair of the Special Committee on Environmental Pollution. During 1969-1972 Anderson led Canadian objections to and litigation against the Trans Alaska Pipeline (T.A.P.S.) Anderson also served on the External Affairs and Defence Committee plus the Fisheries and Forestry Committee.
In 1972, he won a seat for the constituency of Victoria in the general election to the British Columbia legislature and also became Leader of the provincial Liberal Party. Anderson served just one term in this position (1972-1975). This change was due to the fact that the Social Credit party came back into power, defeating the Liberals roundly and making it ineffectual for Anderson to remain in that position.
In 1979, Anderson ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate in the federal election for the constituency of Cowichan-Malahat and The Islands.
Following his early political career, Anderson worked at a variety of jobs. He was a visiting adjunct professsor at the University of Victoria in the School of Public Administration, where he taught courses on constitutional and administrative law, public policy and environmental policy, 1977 - 1984. Also, he was an environmental consultant on various projects, from 1976-1990. Examples of this work include his appointment as Special Advisor to the Premier of B.C. on Oil Spills and Tanker Traffic (1989) and Commissioner of the Committee of Inquiry into Fraser Valley Petroleum Exploration (1990). Between 1984 & 1989, he was a member of the Immigration Appeal Board and represented both the B.C. and Canadian Wildlife Federations in various Inquiries and Panels, discussed below.
From 1993 through to 2006, Anderson was a member of the House of Commons. (Elections were held in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004.) Sworn to the Privy Council upon his return to the House, Anderson was the Minister of National Revenue (1993-1996); Minister of Transport (1996-1997); Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (1997-1999); and Minister of the Environmental (1999-2006). Concommitant with the latter portfolio, he was President of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program (2000-2006).
