Betty Sutherland was a member of the municipal council of North York, Ontario

North York, Ontario

North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...

, Canada

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...

 (now a part of 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...

) for Ward 14 from 1972 to 1985. She was married to Bill Sutherland, who was also a municipal politician. Their son, Paul Sutherland

Paul Sutherland (politician)

Paul Sutherland is an Ontario politician, former Toronto City Councillor, former North York City Councillor, and a former candidate for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in the provincial riding of Don Valley East....

, is a former member of Toronto City Council

Toronto City Council

The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....

.

From 1979 to 1985, Mrs. Sutherland was a member of the former Metropolitan Toronto

Metropolitan Toronto

The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...

 Council and the former Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

The Betty Sutherland Trail, which runs along the Don River

Don River (Toronto)

The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Ontario along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into...

in her old ward, was named in her honour by the former Metropolitan Toronto Council on March 1, 1988, in recognition of her significant contribution to the development of the regional parks system.

She was Chairman of Metorpolitan Toronto's Parks, Recreation and Property Committee from 1982 to 1985, and a member of the authority's Don Valley Advisory Board from 1981 to 1984.