John Clement (politician)

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]

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]

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.

• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history (archived)