Barney Danson
Encyclopedia
Barnett Jerome Danson, (February 8, 1921 – October 17, 2011) was a Canadian
politician and Cabinet minister.
Barney Danson was born to a Jewish family in Toronto
's Parkdale
neighbourhood. He joined The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
in 1939 as the Second World War broke out, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
and served until he was severely wounded in the Battle of Normandy
, and lost an eye. He maintained an interest in the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
(CNIB) and its library for the blind and visually impaired until his death.
He returned to Canada and joined his family's insurance business before entering the plastics industry
with his own company, the Danson Corporation. He also served as president of the Society of the Plastics Industry of Canada.
In 2002, his autobiography, Not Bad for a Sergeant: The Memoirs of Barney Danson, was published.
in the 1968 general election
as the Liberal
Member of Parliament
(MP) for the Toronto-area riding
of York North.
In 1970, he became Parliamentary Secretary
to Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
, and was appointed to the Cabinet in 1974 as Minister of State
for urban affairs. In 1976, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence
. He served in that position until the defeat of the Liberal government in the 1979 general election
, in which he lost his seat. Mr. Danson received an honorary degree (1993) from the Royal Military College of Canada
in Kingston, of which he was a former chancellor.
As a former Cabinet Minister Danson was styled "The Honourable
".
, the national youth programme. Mr. Danson served as Canada's Consul General
in Boston
from 1984 to 1986. He served on corporate and not-for-profit boards of directors such as the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO), Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, the Atlantic Council, the Empire Club of Canada
, the Ballet Opera House Corporation, de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Algoma Central Corporation, General steelwares, the Royal Conservatory of Music
, and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
During his last years, Danson was chairman of the advisory committee of the Canadian War Museum
in Ottawa
and produced No Price Too High, a six-part series televised on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
-TV on Canada's role in World War II.
A theatre in the Canadian War Museum
is named for him in honour of his service.
(1994), and the Churchill Society's Award for "Excellence in the Cause of Parliamentary Democracy" (1995). In 1996, Mr. Danson was named an Officer of the Order of Canada
and promoted to Companion in 2008. In 2000, he was awarded the Vimy Award
. In 2006, Mr. Danson was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by York University
of Toronto.
On March 28, 2007 he was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician and Cabinet minister.
Barney Danson was born to a Jewish family in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's Parkdale
Parkdale
- Communities :Australia* Parkdale, VictoriaCanada* Parkdale No. 498, Saskatchewan, a rural municipality in Saskatchewan* Parkdale, Toronto, a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto* Parkdale, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County...
neighbourhood. He joined The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a militia regiment within the Canadian Forces, based in Toronto, Ontario. The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only Primary Reserve regiment in Canada to have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve...
in 1939 as the Second World War broke out, rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
and served until he was severely wounded in the Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, and lost an eye. He maintained an interest in the Canadian National Institute for the Blind
Canadian National Institute for the Blind
CNIB is a volunteer agency and charitable organization dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians...
(CNIB) and its library for the blind and visually impaired until his death.
He returned to Canada and joined his family's insurance business before entering the plastics industry
Plastics Industry
The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including aerospace, building and construction, electronics, packaging, and transportation.-See also:...
with his own company, the Danson Corporation. He also served as president of the Society of the Plastics Industry of Canada.
In 2002, his autobiography, Not Bad for a Sergeant: The Memoirs of Barney Danson, was published.
Politics
Danson was first elected to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the 1968 general election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
as the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for the Toronto-area riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of York North.
In 1970, he became Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
, and was appointed to the Cabinet in 1974 as Minister of State
Minister of state (Canada)
A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Canadian Cabinet, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area....
for urban affairs. In 1976, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence
Minister of National Defence (Canada)
The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....
. He served in that position until the defeat of the Liberal government in the 1979 general election
Canadian federal election, 1979
The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...
, in which he lost his seat. Mr. Danson received an honorary degree (1993) from the Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
in Kingston, of which he was a former chancellor.
As a former Cabinet Minister Danson was styled "The Honourable
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
".
Service
Danson is the founder of KatimavikKatimavik
-Overview:Each Katimavik program consists of groups of 11 youths aged 17 to 21 who are drawn from all across Canada. They travel together to one or two different places in Canada for a period of six months. During the 2007-2008 program year there were 99 such groups spread across Canada...
, the national youth programme. Mr. Danson served as Canada's Consul General
Canadian Consulate-General, Boston
The Consulate-General of Canada in Boston is a diplomatic mission of Canada located in Suite 400 of Three Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The Boston office covers the New England states of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
from 1984 to 1986. He served on corporate and not-for-profit boards of directors such as the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO), Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, the Atlantic Council, the Empire Club of Canada
Empire Club of Canada
The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for over 3,500 speakers.Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and international leaders and other change-agents to address the topical...
, the Ballet Opera House Corporation, de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Algoma Central Corporation, General steelwares, the Royal Conservatory of Music
Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto)
The Royal Conservatory of Music, also known as The Royal Conservatory, is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world...
, and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
During his last years, Danson was chairman of the advisory committee of the Canadian War Museum
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and produced No Price Too High, a six-part series televised on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
-TV on Canada's role in World War II.
A theatre in the Canadian War Museum
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
is named for him in honour of his service.
Awards
Mr. Danson was named an Officer of France's National Order of MeritOrdre National du Mérite
The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
(1994), and the Churchill Society's Award for "Excellence in the Cause of Parliamentary Democracy" (1995). In 1996, Mr. Danson was named an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and promoted to Companion in 2008. In 2000, he was awarded the Vimy Award
Vimy Award
The Vimy Award is an award presented by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute to the “Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of and the preservation of democratic values". The award has been presented annually since 1991...
. In 2006, Mr. Danson was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
of Toronto.
On March 28, 2007 he was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour.