Edward D. "Ed" Fast, PC, QC, MP (born June 18, 1955) is a Canadian politician, currently the Member of Parliament for Abbotsford, and serving as the Minister for International Trade and as Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.

Biography[link]

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ed Fast grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. After graduating from law school at the University of British Columbia in 1982, Fast co-founded the law firm currently known as Linley Welwood. He was elected in 1985 and served two terms as an Abbotsford School Trustee. He was elected to Abbotsford City Council in 1996 and served for three 3-year terms. During that time, he served variously as Deputy Mayor and as Chair of the Parks Recreation & Culture Commission.

Fast was elected as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Abbotsford on January 23, 2006. During his first term, Fast was appointed to the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage and the Standing Committee for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Fast was also the Vice-Chair of the B.C. Conservative caucus. On October 14, 2008, Fast was re-elected to his second term where he served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights and as a member of the Copyright Modernization Committee.^[1] On May 2, 2011, Fast successfully defended his seat in Parliament with 65% of the vote. He was appointed Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway on May 18, 2011. In this position, Fast will continue to advance free trade agreements with countries such as the European Union, India and South Korea and promote and support Canadian businesses wishing to do business in foreign markets.

Fast and his wife Annette have lived in Abbotsford for 28 years and have four adult daughters.^[2]

2006, 2008 and 2011 election results[link]

In the 2006 Canadian Federal election Fast was elected with 63.27% of the vote.^[3] In the 2008 federal election, Fast received 30,853 votes, 63.3% of the total in Abbotsford.^[4] Fast was re-elected in the 2011 federal election with 32,493 votes, representing 65% of the popular vote.

Parliamentary work[link]

International Trade and Asia-Pacific Gateway[link]

As Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Fast has helped bring into force a free trade agreement with Colombia, signed off on a trade agreement with Honduras, tabled legislation to finalize agreements with Panama and Jordan, moved negotiations with the European Union and India forward, and opened discussions with Chile, Israel and Costa Rica on "second generation" agreements. Fast also launched exploratory trade talks with Mercosur, South America’s largest common market, led trade missions to Brazil, China and India, and is finalizing negotiations for Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements with countries such as Indonesia, India and China. Fast signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to combat trade in counterfeit and pirated goods while promoting innovation- and knowledge-based prosperity on October 1, 2011. In November, Fast announced Canada’s intention to enter into formal consultations to join negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.^[5]

Bill C-277[link]

In 2006, Fast introduced Private Member's Bill C-277 which doubles from 5 to 10 years in prison the maximum sentence for luring a child over the internet for sexual purposes. The Bill received royal assent on June 22, 2007. Only 2% of private member’s bills are ever passed into law.^[6]

Abbotsford-Huntington border crossing[link]

In May 2009, Fast introduced a motion in the House of Commons to rename the Huntingdon border crossing to “Abbotsford-Huntingdon Port of Entry”. The official renaming took place on May 28, 2010, preserving the historical significance of the “Huntingdon” name while at the same time more accurately reflecting the location of the border crossing within the Fraser Valley.^[7] The name change represents a “coming of age” for Abbotsford.

Federal infrastructure investments[link]

In 2009, Fast was successful in securing for Abbotsford an unprecedented $35 million in federal infrastructure investments. The projects funded by the federal government as part of its stimulus funding include reconstruction of the McCallum Rd.^[8] and Clearbrook Rd. interchanges,^[9] improvements to the Abbotsford International Airport,^[10] improvements to the Abbotsford-Huntingdon Port of Entry, construction of a new Mill Lake Spray Park,^[11] safety improvements to the Mission Bridge,^[12] and development of the Matsqui and Discovery Trail systems.^[13]

Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights[link]

In his role as Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice & Human Rights, Fast has worked with committee members to issue a significant report on impaired driving. In addition to reviewing numerous criminal justice bills tabled by the Conservative government, the committee is also completing a comprehensive study on organized crime in Canada.^[14]

Electoral record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ed Fast official site
• Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada official site
• Profile at Parliament of Canada
• Parliamentarian profile at ParlInfo
• Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca
• Voting history at How'd They Vote?
• History of Federal Ridings since 1867

v t e   Current members of the Canadian Cabinet Ablonczy · Aglukkaq · Ashfield · Ambrose · Baird · Bernier · Blaney · Clement · Duncan · Fantino · Fast · Finley · Flaherty · Fletcher · Goodyear · Gosal · Harper · Kenney · Kent · Lebel · LeBreton · MacKay · Menzies · Moore · Nicholson · O'Connor · Oda · Oliver · Paradis · Penashue · Raitt · Ritz · Shea · Toews · Uppal · Valcourt · Van Loan · Wong · Yelich

v t e   Current Members of the House of Commons of Canada Government v t e Conservative Party Harper Ablonczy Adams Adler Aglukkaq Albas Albrecht Alexander Allen Allison Ambler Ambrose Anders Anderson Armstrong Ashfield Aspin Baird Bateman Benoit Bernier Bezan Blaney Block Boughen Braid Breitkreuz G. Brown L. Brown P. Brown Bruinooge Butt Calandra Calkins Cannan Carmichael Carrie Chisu Chong Clarke Clement Daniel Davidson Dechert Del Mastro Devolin Dreeshen Duncan Dykstra Fantino Fast Findlay Finley Flaherty Fletcher Galipeau Gallant Gill Glover Goguen Goodyear Gosal Gourde Grewal Harris Hawn Hayes Hiebert Hillyer Hoback Hoeppner Holder James Jean Kamp Keddy Kenney Kent Kerr Komarnicki Kramp Lake Lauzon Lebel Leef Leitch Lemieux Leung Lizon Lobb Lukiwski Lunney McColeman MacKay MacKenzie McLeod Mayes Merrifield Menegakis Menzies Miller J. Moore R. Moore Nicholson Norlock Obhrai O'Connor Oda Oliver O'Neill-Gordon Opitz Paradis Payne Penashue Poilievre Preston Raitt Rajotte Rathgeber Reid Rempel Richards Rickford Ritz Saxton Scheer Schellenberger Seeback Shea Shipley Shory Smith Sopuck Sorenson Stanton Storseth Strahl Sweet Tilson Toet Toews Trost Trottier Truppe Tweed Uppal Valcourt Van Kesteren Van Loan Vellacott Wallace Warawa Warkentin Watson J. Weston R. Weston Wilks Williamson Wong Woodworth Yelich T. Young W. Young Zimmer Official Opposition v t e New Democratic Party Mulcair Allen Angus Ashton Atamanenko Ayala Aubin Benskin Bevington Blanchette Blanchette-Lamothe Boivin Borg Boulerice Boutin-Sweet Brahmi Brosseau Caron Cash Charlton Chicoine Chisholm Choquette Chow Christopherson Cleary Comartin Côté Crowder Cullen D. Davies L. Davies Day Dewar Dionne Labelle Donnelly Doré Lefebvre Dubé Duncan Dusseault Freeman Garrison Genest Genest-Jourdain Giguère Godin Gravelle Groguhé D. Harris J. Harris Hassainia Hughes Jacob Julian Kellway Larose Lapointe Latendresse Laverdière LeBlanc Leslie Liu Mai Marston Martin Masse Mathyssen Michaud Moore D. Morin I. Morin M-A. Morin M-C. Morin Nantel Nash Nicholls Nunez-Melo Papillon Patry Péclet Perreault Pilon Quach Rafferty Ravignat Raynault Rousseau Saganash Sandhu Savoie Scott Sellah Sims Sitsabaiesan Stewart Stoffer Sullivan Thibeault Toone Tremblay Turmel Third Party v t e Liberal Party Rae Andrews Bélanger Bennett Brison Byrne Casey Coderre Cotler Cuzner Dion Duncan Easter Eyking Foote Fry Garneau Goodale Hsu Karygiannis Lamoureux LeBlanc MacAulay McCallum McGuinty McKay Murray Pacetti Regan Scarpaleggia Sgro Simms St-Denis Trudeau Valeriote Independents v t e Bloc Québécois Plamondon Bellavance Fortin Mourani v t e Green Party May v t e Independent Goldring Hyer 41st Canadian Parliament Vacancies: 1

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Do or Die
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois
Genres	Hip hop
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Rap-A-Lot Records
Associated acts	Twista The Legendary Traxster Johnny P. Crucial Conflict
Members
AK-47 Belo Zero N.A.R.D.

Do or Die is an American rap trio originally from Southside of Chicago, Illinois, consisting of group members Belo Zero, N.A.R.D. and AK-47. The trio has sold more than 3 million albums. The group experienced mainstream success with the gold single "Po Pimp", Produced by The Legendary Traxster off of their 1996 debut album Picture This The song, which featured fellow Chicago rapper Twista, peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1]. The songs "Playa Like Me and You" and "Alpha and Omega" made the album "Picture This" a classic and made Do or Die an instant success. Do or Die's success with "Picture This" helped launched the careers of Legendary Traxtster, Twista and Johnny P who sang the hooks on several Do or Die songs.

Alongside Crucial Conflict, another Chicago group with a similar vocal and lyrical style, they helped launch one of the city's first national hip hop movements. They rapped with a signature fast flow over silky smooth rhythm blues beats. Their rapping and musical style influenced Twista]]. The group's second album Headz or Tailz Produced mainly by producers Mr. Lee and Mike Dean debuted in 1998 and went Gold. Its lead single was a follow-up to the group's previous hit titled "Still Po Pimpin'". It peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The group continued to release several albums during the 2000s decade. The album entitled " Pimpin Aint Dead" includes "I Wish I Could Fly" and smash hit "Do You" featuring Twista. "Do You" which was regarded as the number one song downloaded on Youtube in 2010. In 2005, Do or Die released their 7th album entitled D.O.D. which featured the hit single "Higher" produced by fellow Chicagoan Kanye West. In 2009, Do or Die gave Twista a boost with the single "Yo Body" which is featured on Twista's album entitled "Category 5". "Yo Body" became an instant Youtube sensation with over 2 million hits.

The group's 8th album, was released as a mixtape entitled Trunk Music, in 2010.

For the past decade Do or Die has been touring the country giving their fans the signature Do or Die sound and stage performance fans can't get anywhere else. Do or Die is currently working on their next album to be released on their own label in late 2012.

Discography[link]

• Picture This (1996)
• Headz or Tailz (1998)
• Victory (2000)
• Back 2 the Game (2002)
• Pimpin' Ain't Dead (2003)
• D.O.D. (2005)
• Get That Paper (2006)
• Trunk Music Mixtape (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Do or Die on Myspace
• [1] Do or Die- Pimp On