Ronald M. Kanter (born February 25, 1948) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990.

Background

Kanter was educated at Glendon College,

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, ...

, the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto, located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It is the top ranked common law facu ...

, and

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

. He was called to the Bar in 1976. In 1984, he was named a course director at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Kanter served as special assistant to Ontario Liberal Party leader Stuart Smith from 1976 to 1980.

Politics

He served as an alderman on the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

from 1980 to 1987, and was also a member of the Metro Toronto council from 1985 to 1987. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1987 provincial election, upsetting Progressive Conservative leader and longtime MPP Larry Grossman by 3,676 votes in the constituency of St. Andrew—St. Patrick. Shortly after the election he was appointed as

Parliamentary Assistant In British politics and some Commonwealth nations, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan staff member employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties. Parliamentary assistants usually work ...

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Joan Smith Joan Alison Smith (born 27 August 1953) is an English journalist and novelist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section of International PEN and was the Executive Director of Hacked Off. Life and wo ...

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Back ...

's government. In July 1989, Kanter was implicated in the Patti Starr affair. Starr, who was head of the National Council of Jewish Women, misused her position by having the organization make political contributions to the riding associations of prominent Liberal MPPs. Kanter's riding of St. Andrew-St. Patrick was among those who received these illegal contributions. In August, when Peterson shuffled his cabinet in the wake of the scandal, Kanter was not included. The Liberals were defeated by the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

in the 1990 provincial election. Kanter's connection to the tainted Starr scandal was mentioned as one of the reasons that he finished third in his bid for re-election, 1,383 votes behind winner

Zanana Akande Zanana Lorraine Akande (born ) is a Canadian politician in Ontario. She was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1994 who represented the downtown Toronto riding of St. Andrew—St. Patrick. She served as ...

of the NDP.

Later life

Kanter now practises regulatory law with the firm of Macdonald Sager LLP. He serves on the Toronto Board of Trade Task Force, and writes and speaks frequently on municipal government and planning issues. In July 1990, he authored a publication entitled "Space for all: options for a Greater Toronto Area greenlands strategy". The report, commissioned by the provincial government recommended the establishment of a regional green lands system. Kanter said "Not only should green lands be protected, but they should be linked wherever possible by trail systems, local parks, river valleys and other green corridors." The report placed special emphasis on the protection of the

Oak Ridges Moraine The Oak Ridges Moraine is an Ecology, ecologically important Geology, geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon, Ontario, Caledon and Rice Lake (Ontario ...

Election results (partial)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanter, Ron 1948 births Living people Lawyers in Ontario Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Brantford Toronto city councillors Glendon College alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors