Kelly Lamrock

"While I am a critic of the fed's "lock 'em up" approach, I see nothing progressive in leaving families in poor neighbourhoods like Doone Street (a struggling neighbourhood in Devon on Fredericton’s north side) to see crime and violence normalized for their kids when the crime is proven but the individuals are not."

Lamrock's post-political career has seen him act as legal counsel on a number of high-profile legal cases, representing groups such as parents fighting school closures and massage therapists appealing mass suspensions by their professional associations. He co-founded Mostly The Moment Theatre Company in Fredericton. In 2016 Lamrock worked as a Parliamentary Affairs Consultant to the new elected parliament in Tunisia.

The Marysville bypass project is funded through a federal-provincial partnership and enjoyed the support of all MLAs (Liberal and Conservative) whose ridings share Route 8 to northern New Brunswick. The entire project, which is part of a much larger infrastructure improvement project in New Brunswick, was slated to be completed by 2015.

"I want to inform the House of the three steps that will be taken to change this policy forever. In the covenant for poverty reduction, there was an agreement that the government would excuse all those on social assistance today from the economic unit policy, except for spouses, who have an obligation to look after each other. That means that all those who are social assistance clients as of January 1 can now—and in the future—take on roommates or move in with a brother. A parent can move in with their adult child who can help look after them in tough times. That can happen. When we looked at it, we also decided that was not enough. We want to make sure that we are cementing this policy once and for all.

Third, we also understand that while that important drafting work is being undertaken, there will be new applicants—those who may fall upon hard times and those who may be looking to share expenses or have a little bit of help. I am also pleased to inform the House that we have allowed the Minister of Social Development to make exemptions for new applicants. We will also set up a committee to advise the minister. It will be made up of the people living in poverty, the front line poverty advocates, and the community leaders who were part of the poverty reduction strategy in the first place. This will allow the minister to help all those who come looking for help, and who do not have anyone who should be expected to look after them, to be exempt from the economic unit policy. I also want to make it clear that the ministerial discretion is there to protect people. I will soon be making public a mandate letter to the committee with the principles that we intend to use."

"More directly the bill does not change the need for warrants, due process, limits on searches or evidentiary admissibility. The Civil Forfeiture Act allows the Crown, if it can prove property was used in the commission of a crime, to seize it. But to seize the property, the Crown still has to prove that in court with a right to legal defence. In proving that the property was used in commission of a crime they still follow the same procedures used in proving an individual committed a crime — no search without a warrant, no unreasonable searches, etc."

In February 2013, Lamrock switched to the NDP, under Dominic Cardy. He ran in the 2014 general election as an NDP candidate but lost to Green Party leader David Coon, coming in fourth place with 19.7% of the vote. Lamrock was appointed acting executive director of the party in 2016.

Following the election, Graham resigned as Liberal leader and Lamrock was rumoured as a potential leadership candidate. On February 29, 2012, Lamrock announced through social media and his campaign website that he was entering the leadership race, but on May 17, he released a statement on his official blog announcing that he would not be seeking the leadership.

Second, I want to let the House know that the department has begun the delicate work of redrafting the policy altogether. Certainly, no one in this House wants to see an 18-year-old be able to graduate from high school and go on social assistance while living with their parents. No one wants to excuse spouses from their obligation to look after each other for richer or for poorer. While being consistent with the charter and not discriminating, we want to make absolutely sure that we draft a policy that makes sense. We have committed, and we have ordered the department today, that that work is to be done by June 30, 2011, so that not only are we excusing the clients whom we are excusing today, but we are also going to fix it for everybody.

On September 27, 2010, Lamrock was defeated in the 2010 New Brunswick Provincial election, losing his seat to Progressive Conservative candidate Pam Lynch.

Lamrock successfully lobbied his government and Minister of Transportation Denis Landry for repairs to the Princess Margaret Bridge. The project began in 2009 after a 10 kilogram piece of concrete fell from the structure onto the roadway beneath. On January 12, 2010 the Department of Transportation announced that $30 million would be spent on upgrading and repairing the 52-year-old iconic structure in 2010-2011.

On January 13, 2010, Lamrock rose in the New Brunswick Legislature to announce that reforms had been made to the provincial disability supplement program to ensure that those who exceeded the income threshold would not lose this vital supplement. Effective January 1, 2010 the disability supplement would eliminate income cutoffs and replace them with a declining scale system so that if a person was $6 over the threshold, he would not lose the entire supplement of $1000, but rather the supplement would decrease by $6 and the person would receive $994.

On January 18, 2010, Lamrock rose in the New Brunswick Legislature to announce that reforms had also been made to the social assistance rates, increasing them by 82%. The rates which were under $300 had been increased to $536.

On February 18, 2010, Lamrock rose in the New Brunswick Legislature to announce that the economic unit policy which prevented those receiving social assistance from having a roommate had been eliminated. All New Brunswickers receiving social assistance prior to January 1, 2010 would immediately benefit from this program. By June 30, 2011 the program would be extended to all recipients of social assistance who began receiving benefits after the January 1, 2010 cut off date.

Lamrock explained why the program was being rolled out in this way in the Legislature on February 18, 2010:

On January 4, 2010, Premier Shawn Graham appointed Lamrock Attorney General of New Brunswick after his predecessor, Michael B. Murphy, resigned his seat in the legislature to spend time with his family.

As Attorney General of New Brunswick, Lamrock introduced the Civil Forfeiture Act to the legislature in mid-February 2010. Although this particular legislation had been promised by his predecessor, Lamrock followed through with its introduction.

Lamrock was named Acting Minister of Justice and Consumer Affairs by Premier Shawn Graham on February 10, 2010 after the resignation of his predecessor Bernad LeBlanc.

On February 18, 2010, Lamrock introduced the Judicature Act to the New Brunswick Legislature. The purpose of this act is to amend the Judicature Act which will provide sufficient authority to implement some of the recommendations made by the Family Justice Task Force. The act also creates a Master to divide the labour of the court in order to ensure the appropriate services are provided to those who need them and to help increase access to the Family Justice system.

On February 24, 2010, Lamrock introduced the Insurance Act to the New Brunswick Legislature for first reading. The act would prevent insurance companies from using credit scores in determining the rates they charge New Brunswickers for home, car, and life insurance.

In the 2010 provincial election, Lamrock lost his seat to Conservative challenger Pam Lynch.

In June 2009, Premier Graham shuffled his cabinet, moving Lamrock to the Social Development portfolio. In January 2010, Lamrock was named Attorney General of New Brunswick.

During his time in Opposition Lamrock took up the fight for the construction of a new community college in Fredericton. Once in power he continued to lobby his own government to construct a new campus to support the city's local tradespeople. Ultimately he was successful in his campaign to see the project realized, as Minister of Finance Greg Byrne announced in the 2009 budget released December 1 that construction would begin in January 2010 on a new community college campus in the city. "The $15-million facility, to be located on the University of New Brunswick campus, will cover 4,840 square metres (52,115 square feet) and accommodate programs in health, business administration, information technology, engineering technology and social services."

In September 2009, Minister of Education Roland Hache recognized the accomplishments made by Lamrock during his time as education minister, stating, "the education system has undergone some very significant, yet very necessary, changes in the past few years. The knowledge and skills that students need to succeed in the workforce of tomorrow are very different from previous generations. It was essential that the education system be adapted to ensure that today's students have the tools they need."

In September 2009, Education Minister Roland Hache released statistics which were claimed to validate the reforms undertaken by Lamrock and Premier Shawn Graham. "Last year's reforms [2008] to French second-language programming have also had positive results, with 58% of Grade 5 Intensive French students now hitting the provincial target, as compared to only 2% under the previous Core French program." However, the education reforms had also resulted in a drop of 6 percentage points in Grade 5 math scores as well as declines in French Immersion reading and writing scores.

In June 2009 Lamrock was moved to the Social Development portfolio in a cabinet shuffle.

On October 7, 2009, in a speech to a group of Saint John business leaders, Lamrock openly challenged his own government, proposing to reform the social assistance program and raise rates that had been frozen in the Spring. Lamrock argued, "We can't ask people to live on less than $300.00 a month and wonder why they don't focus on work. It's because they focus on surviving... And I want to be really clear on this one, if we want people to be self-reliant, we can't have a myriad of complex rules that make people feel if they take one wrong step, they lose their cheques."

On November 12 and 13, 2009, the final forum of the task force was held in Saint John. The participants agreed to the first poverty reduction strategy in New Brunswick in the report "Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan".

On December 9, 2009, Lamrock announced the extension of the health card benefits up to three years for those exiting social assistance and entering the workforce. This extension was proposed by the poverty reduction task force as an interim solution to provide health and dental benefits until the province completed its prescription drug plan set to begin in April 2012. Extending health card benefits recognizes that many people on social assistance enter the workforce in minimum wage jobs that do not offer health and dental benefits.

The Opposition offered criticism to Lamrock's actions on the economic unit policy, which is part of a much larger Poverty Reduction Strategy, which the Conservative Party leader David Alward signed and lent his party's support to in Saint John in November 2009.

Lamrock became the minister responsible for Housing in the cabinet shuffle on June 22, 2009. In this capacity he was responsible for issues related to low-income housing and seniors' housing within the province.

During the 2006 election campaign, Lamrock promised his constituents that the long sought after Marysville bypass would be constructed if he were elected to a Liberal government under Shawn Graham. On July 23, 2008, the first bucketful of soil was turned by an excavator, marking the beginning of the construction project and the end of the community's long fight to have it constructed.

The Willie O'Ree hockey rink has been open since 2008, and the Royals Field has been refurbished as well.

On March 14, 2008, Lamrock announced the elimination of all public school French Second Language training prior to Grade 5 in New Brunswick, including the popular Early French Immersion program which started in Grade 1. Instead all students would have five months of "intensive" French in Grade 5, and there would be an optional Late French Immersion program starting in Grade 6. The logic behind the legislation was to allow Anglophone students to learn the basics of reading, spelling, and arithmetic in their mother tongue before introducing the French language into their studies. A number of studies argued that Early French Immersion hindered the ability of many Anglophone youth to grasp the elemental building blocks of their education as they had to learn a new language while simultaneously learning the basics of math and grammar. It also put non-bilingual parents at a disadvantage as they were often unable to assist their children with their homework. Introducing French Immersion in Grade 6 would allow Anglophone children the ability to grasp the necessary fundamentals of education while still providing enough time to become functionally bilingual by graduation. Despite the best of intentions public reaction was highly critical of the move, and groups called for Lamrock's resignation over the matter.

On June 11, 2008, Justice Hugh McLellan of the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick overturned Lamrock's decision of March 14, calling it unfair and unreasonable because he had not allowed enough time for debate before making his decision. In response, Lamrock announced a new consultation with a deadline of July 25, 2008 and stated that he would make a final decision on August 5. Electronic submissions to this new consultation were posted on the Government of New Brunswick's website.

On June 18, 2008, former leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party, Bernard Richard, who now held the position of provincial Ombudsman and Child and Youth Advocate, spoke out against Lamrock's plan. In his Report of the Ombudsman into the Minister of Education’s decision to modify the French Second Language Curriculum, Richard recommended that the government defer the consultation announced by Lamrock and delay implementation of the elimination of early French immersion until September 2009, citing:

On August 5, 2008, Lamrock and Premier Shawn Graham announced a revised plan for French Second Language Education, subsequent to the public consultation. In this new plan early immersion had been cut and middle immersion would be offered in Grade 3 as of 2010, following an introduction to French language and culture for all students starting in kindergarten, to be implemented in 2009. Students who were not in the immersion program would begin intensive French in Grade 5 as of September 2008, and a greater variety of options were planned for the higher grades.

The government engaged the public through a number of public forums held throughout the province between October 2008 and March 2009. The forums were organized to bring together government officials, business leaders, non-profit organizations, and individuals living in poverty to discuss what poverty means, what causes it, and what can be done to reduce it.

In 2007 Lamrock announced funding had been approved for the construction of playgrounds in Pepper Creek and Noonan. These communities have seen significant growth, particularly among young families. These two communities had originally asked the provincial government for playgrounds in 1999, but the Bernard Lord government did not move forward on the projects.

Lamrock was made the minister responsible for the New Brunswick Provincial Capital Commission by Premier Shawn Graham in 2006. The idea for the agency existed only as an idea which originated from a 2003 report commissioned by the previous Conservative government. On March 1, 2007 Lamrock and Premier Graham announced the creation of the non-partisan, arm's-length agency.

Since its creation in 2007 the Provincial Capital Commission has begun a number of successful initiatives including "I Walked with My Premier and MLA" in the early fall of 2008 that saw more than 2000 students from across the province travel to Fredericton for a walk around the city with the premier and all the members of the Legislative Assembly.

In 2007 the Provincial Capital Commission instituted a host community for the traditional August 1 civil holiday New Brunswick Day. In 2007 the inaugural host community was the premier's hometown of Rexton, New Brunswick. In 2008 the host community was Shediac, New Brunswick; in 2009 it was McAdam, New Brunswick; and in 2010 Rexton once again played host to the celebrations.

Throughout the remainder of the legislative session, Lamrock became one of the most high-profile members of the Liberal caucus and carried several high-profile critic portfolios in addition to his House Leader duties. In 2006, he delivered the opposition reply to the budget due to the absence of the finance critic for a family emergency.

Lamrock was re-elected in a largely redistributed district, though still named Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak, in the 2006 election. Following the election he was named to the cabinet as Minister of Education and was also given responsibilities for the Advisory Council on Youth and the Provincial Capital Commission.

During the 2006 provincial election Kelly made a number of campaign promises to the constituents of Fredericton - Fort Nashwaak. Many of these promises related to issues that had been largely ignored by both Conservative and Liberal governments for years and, in some cases, decades.

Lamrock was named Minister of Education by Premier Shawn Graham in October 2006 after winning the Provincial General Election on September 27, 2006. He served as Minister of Education until Premier Graham's first major cabinet shuffle in June 2009. As Minister of Education, Lamrock instituted a number of policies aimed at re-orienting New Brunswick's educational system towards the realities of the globalized information economy.

As Minister of Education Lamrock oversaw an increase in per-student spending from $6,740 as of the 2005-2006 school year to $8,573 during the 2008-2009 school year. Increasing funding per student surpassed its desired results in 2009 when the Department of Education announced that 20% of Grade Two students could read at an exceptional level and 90% of students could read at an appropriate level for their age group. Overall between Anglophones and Francophones, student literacy rates in New Brunswick had increased by 11% since he had taken office in 2006.

He was elected to the Legislature in the 2003 election and joined the shadow cabinet as co-critic for Education and critic for Post-Secondary Education. In November, following the resignation of veteran Liberal legislator Bernard Richard, Lamrock was given the high-profile role of Opposition House Leader.

Lamrock inherited an educational system that faced some of the most daunting challenges in the nation. In 2000, out of the 10 Canadian provinces, New Brunswick had the lowest literacy rates with only marginal improvement between 2000 and 2006 when Lamrock became Minister of Education.

Though he had often been associated with the New Brunswick New Democratic Party and helped write that party's platform for the 1999 provincial election, he soon became active in the New Brunswick Liberal Party. Lamrock chaired the party's policy renewal process in 2001 and was nominated as candidate for Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak under the Liberal banner in 2002.

Following graduation from university, Lamrock briefly ran his own law practice before becoming the Director of Policy and Communications for the New Brunswick Healthcare Association in 1998. In 1998 Kelly married Karen Lee, whom he met in university. The two were married at the Wilmot United Church in downtown Fredericton. In 2001, he became Director of Student Affairs at St. Thomas University.

When constructed in 1981, the Westmorland Street bridge was built without a ramp on to Devonshire Drive. The "missing ramp", as it became known locally, remained a local irritant for citizens and the municipal government for years as it had been promised but continuously put off. In the 2006 campaign Lamrock campaigned on a promise to get the Cliffe Street ramp constructed. In March 2007 the Graham government announced funding for the project.

Kelly Lamrock (born February 5, 1970) is a lawyer and political consultant in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. He was previously a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak, and Minister of Social Development in the New Brunswick cabinet before opening Lamrock's Law in Fredericton.

Kelly Lamrock was born in Saskatchewan on February 5, 1970. He moved with his family to British Columbia and lived there until his family relocated permanently to Fredericton, New Brunswick when he was eight years old. As a child Lamrock attended Garden Creek Elementary School and Albert Street Middle School. As a teenager he attended Fredericton High School. While there he competed in the World High School Public Speaking Championship, where he placed second, and was the winner of several national debating competitions.