Andy Thompson
Encyclopedia
Andrew Ernest Joseph "Andy" Thompson (born December 14, 1924) is a former Canadian
politician. Thompson was leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
and later served as a Senator
.
, Northern Ireland
, he was educated at Monkton Combe School
in England
and Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto
. He attended the University of Toronto
from 1942 to 1943 until he joined the Royal Canadian Navy
during World War II
. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant. He completed his education at Queen's University
and received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1947. He received a Master of Social Work
from the University of British Columbia
in 1949.
as a candidate of the Ontario Liberal Party
in the Toronto
riding of Dovercourt
. Thompson was close to federal Liberal cabinet minister Walter Gordon
having organized his federal candidacy in the federal equivalent of Thompson's Dovercourt constituency.
He made his name in the Ontario legislature in March 1964 when he assailed Attorney-General Fred Cass over Bill 99, which would have amended the Police Act to allow the Ontario Police Commission to interrogate individuals in secret leading to it being derisively referred to as the "Police State Bill". The scandal forced Cass to resign and enhanced Thompson's reputation considerably. He was elected leader of the party in the fall of 1964 when he defeated Charles Templeton
on the sixth ballot.
Thompson suffered a physical breakdown. He also had health problems, specifically a heart murmur
, combined with exhaustion, high blood pressure and a lengthy bout of influenza. On the advice of doctors, Thompson resigned as leader in November 1966 without ever having led his party in an election. He was succeeded as Liberal leader by Robert Nixon
.
in April 1967.
Thompson's time in the Senate was relatively uneventful.
He kept a low profile until his woeful attendance was revealed in a series of investigative reports by journalist Jack Aubry of the Ottawa Citizen
. Thompson told the reporter he was unable to attend Senate sessions due to illness, but continued to draw his salary by showing up for a few days at the beginning of each session. Thompson had technically not violated any Senate rules, as he has not yet missed two complete consecutive sittings and produced medical certificates for his absence.
With growing media attention on Thompson's lengthy absences from the red chamber, the Reform Party
made Thompson's absence a cause celebre, repeatedly pointing to the fact that he was living in Mexico
. Reform Members of Parliament
hired a Mariachi
band and served burritos in the lobby of the Senate to draw attention to the issue. Thompson was held up as an example of why the Senate needed to be reformed.
The resulting furor resulted in Thompson being expelled from the Liberal caucus
on November 19, 1997. The Senate first voted to strip him of his privileges and other perks. Later they found Thompson in contempt of the upper chamber for not complying with orders to return to Ottawa to explain his attendance record, resulting in his suspension of his $64,400 salary and $10,100 tax-free expense allowance. In December 2007, Thompson lost his Senate office and other privileges. Some Senators disagree with the suspension, arguing that it was too lenient and that he should have been expelled from the chamber instead, as one colleague suggested that Thompson had brought disrepute to the upper chamber. He resigned on March 23, 1998, 20 months ahead of his scheduled retirement, and was entitled to a pension of $48,000.
The media's exposure of Thompson's attendance and his colleagues' tolerance of it led the Senate to toughen the rules governing its members and sick leave while also increasing the financial penalties for missing too many sittings during a session.
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. Thompson was leader of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
and later served as a Senator
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
.
Early life and career
Born in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, he was educated at Monkton Combe School
Monkton Combe School
Monkton Combe School is an independent boarding and day school of the British public school tradition, near Bath, England. The Senior School is located in the village of Monkton Combe, while the Prep School, Pre-Prep and Nursery are in Combe Down on the southern outskirts of Bath...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Oakwood Collegiate in 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...
. He attended the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
from 1942 to 1943 until he joined the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant. He completed his education at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
and received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1947. He received a Master of Social Work
Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work is a master's degree in social workand especiality of sociology.- United States :In the United States, MSW degrees must be received from a graduate school that has been approved by the Council on Social Work Education...
from the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in 1949.
Provincial politics
Thompson was first elected as a Member of Provincial Parliament in the 1959 Ontario electionOntario general election, 1959
The Ontario general election of 1959 was held on June 11, 1959, to elect the 98 members of the 26th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
as a candidate of the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
in the 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...
riding of Dovercourt
Dovercourt (electoral district)
Dovercourt was the name of a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It existed from the 1926 election to the 1999 election. When it was established, it bordered Parkdale on its west-side, York South on its north-side, and Bracondale on its east-side.Lake Ontario was its southern border...
. Thompson was close to federal Liberal cabinet minister Walter Gordon
Walter Gordon
Walter Gordon may refer to:*Jamaa Fanaka, African-American filmmaker . He is sometimes credited as either Walt Gordon or Walter Gordon....
having organized his federal candidacy in the federal equivalent of Thompson's Dovercourt constituency.
He made his name in the Ontario legislature in March 1964 when he assailed Attorney-General Fred Cass over Bill 99, which would have amended the Police Act to allow the Ontario Police Commission to interrogate individuals in secret leading to it being derisively referred to as the "Police State Bill". The scandal forced Cass to resign and enhanced Thompson's reputation considerably. He was elected leader of the party in the fall of 1964 when he defeated Charles Templeton
Charles Templeton
Charles Bradley Templeton was a Canadian cartoonist, evangelist, agnostic, politician, newspaper editor, inventor, broadcaster and author. He was born and died in the same city, Toronto, Canada...
on the sixth ballot.
Thompson suffered a physical breakdown. He also had health problems, specifically a heart murmur
Heart murmur
Murmurs are extra heart sounds that are produced as a result of turbulent blood flow that is sufficient to produce audible noise. Most murmurs can only be heard with the assistance of a stethoscope ....
, combined with exhaustion, high blood pressure and a lengthy bout of influenza. On the advice of doctors, Thompson resigned as leader in November 1966 without ever having led his party in an election. He was succeeded as Liberal leader by Robert Nixon
Robert Nixon
Robert Fletcher Nixon is a retired politician in the province of Ontario, Canada. The son of former Premier of Ontario Harry Nixon, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a 1962 by-election following his father's death...
.
Senator
Thompson was named to the Canadian SenateCanadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
in April 1967.
Thompson's time in the Senate was relatively uneventful.
He kept a low profile until his woeful attendance was revealed in a series of investigative reports by journalist Jack Aubry of the Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
. Thompson told the reporter he was unable to attend Senate sessions due to illness, but continued to draw his salary by showing up for a few days at the beginning of each session. Thompson had technically not violated any Senate rules, as he has not yet missed two complete consecutive sittings and produced medical certificates for his absence.
With growing media attention on Thompson's lengthy absences from the red chamber, the Reform Party
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
made Thompson's absence a cause celebre, repeatedly pointing to the fact that he was living in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Reform Members 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,...
hired a Mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...
band and served burritos in the lobby of the Senate to draw attention to the issue. Thompson was held up as an example of why the Senate needed to be reformed.
The resulting furor resulted in Thompson being expelled from the Liberal caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
on November 19, 1997. The Senate first voted to strip him of his privileges and other perks. Later they found Thompson in contempt of the upper chamber for not complying with orders to return to Ottawa to explain his attendance record, resulting in his suspension of his $64,400 salary and $10,100 tax-free expense allowance. In December 2007, Thompson lost his Senate office and other privileges. Some Senators disagree with the suspension, arguing that it was too lenient and that he should have been expelled from the chamber instead, as one colleague suggested that Thompson had brought disrepute to the upper chamber. He resigned on March 23, 1998, 20 months ahead of his scheduled retirement, and was entitled to a pension of $48,000.
The media's exposure of Thompson's attendance and his colleagues' tolerance of it led the Senate to toughen the rules governing its members and sick leave while also increasing the financial penalties for missing too many sittings during a session.