James Robert “Jim” McLachlan (b. 1943)
Jim McLachlan was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba.1) He moved to Faro around 1969.2) In 1979, McLachlan objected when Canadian Satellite Systems installed a satellite dish on the local recreation centre. Faro residents had been limited to one television channel, CBC in English. The dish allowed them illegal access to American signals, and they received two new channels. McLachlan consulted a lawyer on his legal options, as his theatre attendance was off by twenty-five percent in the first two months of the year.3)
McLachlan was elected in the Faro riding for the Liberals in 1985 and became the leader of the party in 1986 when Roger Coles resigned after being charged with a criminal offense.4) McLachlan’s first speech in the Assembly concerned the closing of the Faro Mine and the impact on the community.5) McLachlan was a huge booster for the Faro community. He ran a bus company, the Faro theatre, and served as mayor.6) When he was the mayor in 1998, Faro was tight-knit community of about 1,000 residents.7)
McLachlan was the territorial MLA for Faro from 1985 to 1989 and from 2000 to 2002 when the riding was dissolved. He was the leader of the Liberal Party from 9 May 1986 to 1989 and was succeeded by Paul Theriault.8)