Politician, Member of Canadian Parliament
1948-
Member of Parliament from 1993-2006
Background information
Reg (Reginald) Alcock was the Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, Manitoba. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada and a member of the cabinet. Since he has been appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, his official title is "The Honourable Reg Alcock, P.C." He uses a shortened version of his first name in most official correspondance and on his website. Only in his detailed information section on the official parliamentary website is he ever actually referred to as 'Reginald'.
Alcock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on April 16th, 1948. He received a Masters of Public Policy degree from Harvard University, though little information is available about his undergraduate eduction aside from the fact that he received a Bachelor of Arts. He is married and has three children. The biography on Alcock's website states that he became interested in public service while volunteering at the Manitoba School for the Deaf.
Political beginnings
Alcock was a member of the legislative assembly in the Manitoba provincial government from 1988 until he was elected to federal parliament in 1993. He was elected to represent Winnipeg South four times. He chaired the standing committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities during the first session of the 36th Canadian parliament, and the standing committee on Government Operations and Estimates during the 37th. During this time he also served as the vice-chair of the standing committee on health.
Alcock was given an 'official' parliamentary function in 1998 when he was appointed parliamentary secretary to the president of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. He held this post until the 2000 Canadian federal election. He was also involved with the Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues. He was appointed Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board and the President of the Treasury Board in Paul Martin's first cabinet, in December of 2003. He held these posts until losing his seat in the 2006 Canadian federal election.
Reg Alcock in today's parliament
Alcock is currently Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board and President of the Treasury Board. As head of the treasury board he is responsible for the finances of each ministry and for the government as a whole. The treasury board allocates funds to each ministry and, according to Alcock's website, is responsible for "translating the policies and programs approved by Cabinet into operational reality."
As a member of the government's cabinet, Alcock sits in the first row of the Liberal caucus in the House of Commons. He sits next to Bill Graham, the Minister of National Defense and MP from Toronto, Ontario.
The majority of issues of which Alcock speaks in the House of Commons relate directly to the government's finances or to issues that affect the province of Manitoba and his riding of Winnipeg South. His website offers a handy search feature which allows users to select which topics about which they would like to read statements, however many of the issues do not have information on the website.
In terms of actual content, Alcock's website seems to be fairly standard. He includes the standard constituency information, including how to request a congratulatory message from an MP, the Prime Minister, the Governer General or the Queen for a milestone birthday or anniversary. The website does not have its own domain name like many other MP sites. It is instead hosted by parl.gc.ca. Alcock's website biography is by far more comprehensive than those of many of his colleagues, though it includes little information about his undergraduate education. It also attempts to actually explain what his role in parliament is.
In somewhat more interesting news, Alcock's URL had to be modified slightly because of some awkwardness caused by spelling his name without a hyphen.
Resource:
Welcome http://www.reg-alcock.parl.gc.ca/welcome.asp?lang=en 17 December 2004
Federal Political Experience - ALCOCK, REGINALD B. http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=6&s=M 17 December 2004 | 
