Barnett Jerome "Barney" Danson (February 8, 1921 – October 17, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician and

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

minister.

Family

Barnett Jerome "Barney" Danson was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

's Parkdale neighbourhood. He joined

The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have ...

in 1939 as the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant and served until he was severely wounded, losing an eye, in the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

. His ailment created an interest in the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and its library for the blind and visually impaired, which he maintained until his death. He returned to Canada and joined his family's insurance business before entering the

plastics industry The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, manufacturing and transpo ...

with his own company, the Danson Corporation. He also served as president of the

Society of the Plastics Industry Founded in 1937, the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. was a professional society representing individuals in the plastics industry. In 2010, the organization began doing business as SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, before changi ...

of Canada. In 2002, his autobiography, ''Not Bad for a Sergeant: The Memoirs of Barney Danson'', was published. His son, Tim Danson, is a Toronto lawyer known as a victim's rights advocate and for having represented the families of

Paul Bernardo Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as Paul Jason Teale, is a Canadian serial rapist and serial killer dubbed the Scarborough Rapist, the Schoolgirl Killer and, together with his former wife Karla Homolka, one of the Ken an ...

's victims.

Politics

Danson was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1968 general election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-area riding of

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket� ...

. Danson was unsuccessful during his first attempt at politics as an

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

candidate in the 1967 provincial election in the riding of

York Mills York Mills is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred around Yonge Street and York Mills Road located in the district of North York. In 2010, it encompassed the fourth and seventh most affluent postal codes in Canada. It is re ...

. In 1970, he became Parliamentary Secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

, and was appointed to the Cabinet in 1974 as

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for urban affairs. In 1976, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence. While Minister of National Defence, he was appointed the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, his regiment. He served in that position until the defeat of the Liberal government in the 1979 general election, in which he lost his seat. Danson received an honorary degree (1993) from the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

in Kingston, of which he was a former chancellor. As a Member of the Privy Council Danson was styled "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Service

Danson is the co-founder along with

Jacques Hébert Jacques René Hébert (; 15 November 1757 – 24 March 1794) was a French journalist and leader of the French Revolution. As the founder and editor of the radical newspaper ''Le Père Duchesne'', he had thousands of followers known as ''the ...

of Katimavik, the national youth volunteer programme. Danson served as Canada's

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

, the Ballet Opera House Corporation, de Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Algoma Central Corporation, General steelwares, the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...

, and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. During his last years, Danson was chairman of the advisory committee of the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and produced ''No Price Too High'', a six-part series broadcast on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

on Canada's role in World War II. A theatre in the

is named for him in honour of his service and to his four closest war-time friends killed in action; Sgt Fred B. Harris-Queen's, Lt Gerald Rayner, Lt Earl R. Stoll, and Lt Harlan David Keely.

Awards

Danson was named an Officer of France's National Order of Merit (1994), and the Churchill Society's Award for "Excellence in the Cause of Parliamentary Democracy" (1995). In 1996, Danson was named an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and promoted to Companion in 2008. In 2000, he was awarded the

Vimy Award The Vimy Award is an award presented by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDA Institute) to the "Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of Canada and the preservation of (its) dem ...

. In 2006, Danson was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

of Toronto. He was sworn in as a Member of the Privy Council on August 8, 1974, which gave him the title "The Honourable" for life. On March 28, 2007, he was made a Chevalier of the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. * Barney Danson's Medals were in Order of Precedence

Electoral record

References

External links

*
Speech given to the Empire Club of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danson, Barnett Jerome 1921 births 2011 deaths Military personnel from Toronto Canadian Army personnel of World War II Knights of the Legion of Honour Companions of the Order of Canada Jewish Canadian politicians Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Toronto Ministers of national defence of Canada Canadian politicians with disabilities Queen's Own Rifles of Canada soldiers Canadian Army officers Queen's Own Rifles of Canada officers 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada