John Munro
Encyclopedia
John Carr Munro, PC
(March 16, 1931 – August 19, 2003) was a Canadian
politician. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
in the 1962 election
, and served continuously as a Member of Parliament
(MP) for Hamilton, Ontario
in the electoral riding of Hamilton East until his resignation in 1984, following his defeat for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada which was eventually won by John Turner
.
Pierre Trudeau
, and served variously as Minister of Amateur Sport, Minister of Health and Welfare and Minister of Labour from 1968 to 1978 when he was forced to resign from over the "Sky Shops" scandal. He returned to cabinet when Trudeau returned to power in the 1980 federal election
and served as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development throughout Trudeau's final term.
On June 21, 1981, the Toronto Sun
ran a front-page story accusing Munro of profiting from illegal insider trading
through his advance knowledge of Petro-Canada
's bid to acquire Petrofina Canada. Munro sued the paper, its editors, and the two reporters for libel. Not only was there no evidence that the stock transaction described in the Sun had ever taken place, the corporation through which the deals were said to have been made never actually existed. Even with the Suns retraction and apology, the paper was ordered to pay Munro $75,000—at the time a very high award for a libel case in Canada. One of the reporters was fired, the other was allowed to resign.
Munro ran at the 1984 Liberal leadership convention coming in sixth. Munro attempted to return to Parliament in the 1988 general election
, in the riding of Lincoln but was defeated by Progressive Conservative Shirley Martin
. He again attempted to win the Liberal nomination in the riding of Lincoln in the 1993 general election
, but the nomination eventually went to Tony Valeri
after an acrimonious fight between Munro and the Liberal Party national office.
His leadership campaign led to trouble when Munro and his associates were investigated under the Criminal Code and faced 37 charges alleging illegal kickbacks to his 1984 leadership campaign and other irregularies. The charges were thrown out in 1991, but Munro's reputation was ruined, and he was nearly bankrupted by legal expenses. He sued the federal government in 1992 for compensation over being wrongfully charged. The case dragged on for seven years until the government agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $1.4 million, of which $1.2 million went to Munro's lawyers and other creditors.
Hamilton's John C. Munro International Airport
is named after him.
Following Munro's death, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
said he was "a very good man. He was a very good Member of Parliament and he was a very good minister and a guy who worked very, very hard (on) all the files that (were) given to him. He was a...grassroots politician, very socially oriented and a very effective minister.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(March 16, 1931 – August 19, 2003) was a Canadian
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. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian 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 1962 election
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
, and served continuously as a 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 Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
in the electoral riding of Hamilton East until his resignation in 1984, following his defeat for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada which was eventually won by John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
.
History
John Munro was appointed to Cabinet by Prime MinisterPrime 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 served variously as Minister of Amateur Sport, Minister of Health and Welfare and Minister of Labour from 1968 to 1978 when he was forced to resign from over the "Sky Shops" scandal. He returned to cabinet when Trudeau returned to power in the 1980 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1980
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
and served as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development throughout Trudeau's final term.
On June 21, 1981, the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
ran a front-page story accusing Munro of profiting from illegal insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
through his advance knowledge of Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...
's bid to acquire Petrofina Canada. Munro sued the paper, its editors, and the two reporters for libel. Not only was there no evidence that the stock transaction described in the Sun had ever taken place, the corporation through which the deals were said to have been made never actually existed. Even with the Suns retraction and apology, the paper was ordered to pay Munro $75,000—at the time a very high award for a libel case in Canada. One of the reporters was fired, the other was allowed to resign.
Munro ran at the 1984 Liberal leadership convention coming in sixth. Munro attempted to return to Parliament in the 1988 general election
Canadian federal election, 1988
The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....
, in the riding of Lincoln but was defeated by Progressive Conservative Shirley Martin
Shirley Martin
Shirley Martin, PC is a former Canadian politician.A businesswoman, Martin was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1984 federal election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Lincoln, Ontario.In 1987, she became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public...
. He again attempted to win the Liberal nomination in the riding of Lincoln in the 1993 general election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
, but the nomination eventually went to Tony Valeri
Tony Valeri
Tony Valeri, PC is a former Canadian politician. Valeri was the Canadian Government House Leader in Paul Martin's government from 2004 until 2006...
after an acrimonious fight between Munro and the Liberal Party national office.
His leadership campaign led to trouble when Munro and his associates were investigated under the Criminal Code and faced 37 charges alleging illegal kickbacks to his 1984 leadership campaign and other irregularies. The charges were thrown out in 1991, but Munro's reputation was ruined, and he was nearly bankrupted by legal expenses. He sued the federal government in 1992 for compensation over being wrongfully charged. The case dragged on for seven years until the government agreed to an out-of-court settlement of $1.4 million, of which $1.2 million went to Munro's lawyers and other creditors.
Hamilton's John C. Munro International Airport
Hamilton/John C. Munro International Airport
John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport or Hamilton International, , is an international airport in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is named for John C...
is named after him.
Following Munro's death, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
said he was "a very good man. He was a very good Member of Parliament and he was a very good minister and a guy who worked very, very hard (on) all the files that (were) given to him. He was a...grassroots politician, very socially oriented and a very effective minister.