John Clement (politician)

John Twining Clement (August 28, 1928 – June 24, 2014) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament from 1971 to 1975 and was in the cabinet of premier Bill Davis.[1]

John Clement
Ontario MPP
In office
1971–1975
Preceded byGeorge Bukator
Succeeded byVince Kerrio
ConstituencyNiagara Falls
Personal details
Born
John Twining Clement

(1928-08-28)August 28, 1928
Niagara Falls, Ontario
DiedJune 24, 2014(2014-06-24) (aged 85)
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Political partyProgressive Conservative
Spouse(s)Carol Ann (Drapkin) Panayi
Children4, including Tony Clement
ProfessionLawyer

Background

Clement was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He went to Queen's University and later attended Osgoode Hall Law School which he attended at the same time as future premier Bill Davis.[2] Clement married Carol Panayi. He had three children from his first wife and with Carol is the stepfather of former Ontario Minister of Health former federal cabinet minister and former federal leadership candidate Tony Clement.[3]

Politics

Clement's first political involvement was as a Trustee on the Niagara Falls School Board. In the 1971 provincial election, Clement ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Niagara Falls beating Liberal incumbent George Bukator by 1,821 votes.[4] In September 1972 he was named as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations.[5]

In January 1975, he was named as Attorney General and Provincial Secretary for Justice.[6] In February 1975, he was also appointed Solicitor General when George Kerr resigned from cabinet due to an election donation scandal.[7]

In the 1975 election he was defeated by Liberal Vince Kerrio by 168 votes.[8] Clement called for a recount and a margin of 172 was confirmed.[9]

Cabinet posts
Ontario Provincial Government of Bill Davis
Cabinet posts (3)
Predecessor Office Successor
George Kerr Solicitor General
1975 (February–September)		 John MacBeth
Bob Welch Attorney General
1975 (January–September)
Also Provincial Secretary for Justice		 Roy McMurtry
Eric Winkler Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations
1972–1975		 Sid Handleman

Later life

Clement was known as an excellent public speaker and often served as Master of Ceremonies at a number of public events—both political and charitable. Over the years he served on the boards of a number of charitable organizations including the Ontario branch of the Canadian Red Cross.

In 1979, Clement was hired by Metro Trans-Public Advertising Ltd., a company that wanted to supply advertising for the Toronto Transit Commission.[10] Later that same year he was appointed to the Toronto Police Services Board to study ways to increase minority hiring on the police force.[11]

In 1983, Clement was a director for Crown Trust and Greymac Trust, two of seven Canadian financial institutions that collapsed that year, having made increasingly bad loans into a highly speculative real estate market during a period of rising inflation and interest rates. He was found not to have been involved and was cleared of wrongdoing. The Ontario government seized the Crown and Greymac assets to protect the depositors. This cost the government $1.2 billion ($2.8 billion today).[12]

In 1988, he was named to the Public Service Staff Relations Board, a committee that adjudicates disputes between the Federal government and its employees.[13]

An accomplished acrobatic pilot, Clement made a trans-atlantic flight in a specially-outfitted Cessna and he served as the President of the St. Catharines Flying Club.

gollark: Huh, the pinephone pro costs $399? Worrying.
gollark: I would buy a pinephone, except I need a working smartphone which can run android applications.
gollark: I have a pocket ARMv8 computer.
gollark: And they have Bay Trail, which is bad.
gollark: Yes, but only old ones by now.

References
  1. Reynolds, Nancy (2014-06-26). "Reflections: With death of John Clement, Niagara loses another political giant". Bullet News Niagara. Archived from the original on 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  2. Hampton, Edna (October 26, 1972). "The man you will learn to know as the liquor minister". The Globe and Mail. p. 4.
  3. "Clement, The Hon. Tony, P.C., B.A., LL.B." PARLINFO. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  4. "Riding-by-riding returns in provincial election". The Globe and Mail. October 23, 1971. p. 10.
  5. Manthorpe, Jonathan (September 29, 1972). "Davis names two as super-ministers, 4 to Cabinet posts". The Globe and Mail. pp. 1, 4.
  6. "2 ministers plagued by recent illnesses to take on new Cabinet responsibilities". The Globe and Mail. January 15, 1975. p. 31.
  7. Williamson, Robert (February 22, 1975). "Kerr quits Cabinet, denies any link to harbor scandal". The Globe and Mail. p. 1.
  8. "Table of vote results for all Ontario ridings". The Globe and Mail. September 19, 1975. p. C12.
  9. "Clement defeat confirmed by Niagara Falls recount". The Globe and Mail. October 9, 1975. p. 45.
  10. Ferry, Jon (October 3, 1979). "Former minister hired for TTC contract Ad firm miffed over rival's counsel". The Globe and Mail. p. P5.
  11. "Clement to probe police hiring". The Globe and Mail. October 26, 1979. p. P4.
  12. "Banks & Trusts: A safe haven for your funds?". The Globe and Mail. August 30, 1985. pp. A26–A32.
  13. "8 named to board on disputes". The Globe and Mail. March 18, 1988. p. A13.
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