Tom Siddon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Edward Siddon, (born November 9, 1941) is a Canadian aerospace engineer and politician.


Early life and education

Born in
Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Vall ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Siddon pursued engineering, graduating from the University of Alberta in 1963, followed by earning his Masters and Doctorate in
aeroacoustics Aeroacoustics is a branch of acoustics that studies noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. Noise generation can also be associated with periodically varying flows. A notable example of t ...
from the University of Toronto, Institute of Aerospace. He became a professor at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
and founded an aero-acoustics firm, Siddon-Harford & Associates. Siddon married Patricia Yackimetz in 1962, with whom he has 5 children. Yackimetz is the niece of Canadian-American psychologist
Albert Bandura Albert Bandura (4 December 1925 – 26 July 2021) was a Canadian-American psychologist and professor of social science in psychology at Stanford University, who contributed to the fields of education and to the fields of psychology, e.g. social ...
.


Political career

After serving as City Councillor in Richmond, British Columbia, for two years, he was first elected to parliament in a 1978 by-election as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) to represent the
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
riding of Burnaby—Richmond—Delta. He was successively elected in five federal elections between 1978 and 1993, and worked under several prime ministers. When
Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...
became leader of the PC Party, Siddon was appointed the party's science critic in the shadow cabinet. After the Tories won the 1984 election, he was given the post of Secretary of State for Science and Technology. During his time in this role, he established the foundation for the Canadian Space Agency and signed the International Space Station Agreement with the United States in 1984. Siddon was promoted to the
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans The minister of fisheries () is the minister of the Crown responsible for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). The minister is a member of the King's Privy Council for Canada and the Canadian Cabinet ...
position in 1985, in the wake of the
tunagate Tunagate was a 1985 Canadian political scandal involving large quantities of tuna that had been declared unfit for human consumption that were sold to the public under order of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, John Fraser. The story broke o ...
scandal that had forced the resignation of previous minister, John Fraser. Siddon remained in the Fisheries post for five years, until February 23, 1990. In response to overfishing and its consequences on fish stocks, Siddon attempted to impose stiff quotas on the catch. In 1991, a complete moratorium on
cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...
fishing had to be imposed. In 1990, Siddon moved to the
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
position. Shortly after his swearing-in, Siddon worked alongside his provincial counterpart
John Ciaccia John Ciaccia (March 4, 1933 – August 7, 2018) was a Canadian politician who was provincial cabinet minister from Montreal, Quebec. Ciaccia served as a member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1973 to 1998, representing the Mount Royal rid ...
, to address the
Oka Crisis The Oka Crisis (), also known as the Mohawk Crisis or Kanehsatà:ke Resistance (), was a land rights, land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, over plans to build a golf course on land known as "The Pin ...
. As Minister of Indian Affairs, Siddon helped conclude the agreement in 1992 to create the new territory of
Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
, the signing of the Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement, the signing of the Yukon Umbrella Final Agreement, and the establishment of the
British Columbia Treaty Process The British Columbia Treaty Process (BCTP) is a land claims negotiation process started in 1993 to resolve outstanding issues, including claims to un-extinguished indigenous rights, with British Columbia's First Nations. Three treaties have ...
. When fellow British Columbian and ally
Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician who was the 19th prime minister of Canada from June to November 1993. Campbell is the first and only female prime minister of Canada. Prior to becoming the f ...
became PC leader and prime minister in 1993, Siddon was promoted to the senior cabinet, becoming Minister of National Defence on June 25, 1993. In this role, he was responsible for ordering new EH-101 navy helicopters to replace the aging Sea King helicopters. The deal was finalized, but during the next election, the opposition
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...
argued that the helicopters were too expensive. Siddon entered the 1993 election and ended up finishing third behind Raymond Chan of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
and Nick Loenen of Reform.


After federal politics

Siddon returned to the private sector, but remained active in Tory politics. He supported
Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965), a Canadian lawyer and politician, served as Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and as Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (20 ...
's leadership bid in 2003, and later became an early advocate of union between the Tories and
Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the ...
. Following his federal political career, Siddon remained active as a consultant, lecturer and corporate board member. He speaks frequently on the political challenges of combating global climate change and the long range implications for water supply management. Siddon was the founding chair of the Okanagan Water Stewardship Council, and a member of the RBC Blue Water Advisory Panel. In 2007, he was awarded a
Doctorate of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...
from the University of British Columbia , Okanagan, received the University of Alberta Honour Award in 2009, the 2010 UBC Alumni Award of Distinction, and was the 2017 recipient of the University of Toronto Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction Award. Siddon made a return to politics when he was elected to the Board of Education in Penticton, BC in November 2008. His campaign was based on more openness by the board with fewer in-camera meetings. Siddon was also a strong vocal opponent to the board's decision to tear down a historic auditorium and gymnasium in the local high school. Following a successful three years on the School Board, in 2011 Siddon decided not to seek re-election, but rather ran for the position of Area 'D' Director for the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. Siddon defeated his two contenders, receiving 50.5% support in ballots cast. In 2014 he was re-elected as Area 'D' Director. In February 2018, Siddon announced that he would be retiring from politics, and that he would not be seeking re-election in October 2018.


Lawsuit

Siddon was successful in settling out of court after suing radio commentator Rafe Mair for defamation in January 1995. Mair publicly apologized for comments made towards Siddon and settled the claims out of court.The Fastest Gums in the West
Review of Journalism


Electoral history


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siddon, Tom 1941 births Living people British Columbia school board members Canadian aerospace engineers Canadian academics in engineering Canadian Anglicans Ministers of Crown–Indigenous relations Canadian non-fiction writers Ministers of national defence of Canada Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry Members of the 25th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Drumheller Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Richmond, British Columbia city councillors Academic staff of the University of British Columbia 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada