Clare Westcott
Encyclopedia
Clare Westcott was a long-time political aide to Ontario Premier
Bill Davis
and subsequently served as chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission.
where is father struggled to make money as a watch repairman.
Westscott left school in grade 11 to join the Canadian Army but was rejected as unfit. He got a job working as a lineman with Ontario Hydro
and worked for them for a decade until an accident in 1946 resulted in his seeking a new line of work.
"I struck a bolt with a hammer, causing a sliver of steel to fly into my left eye", blinding him in that eye, recalled Westcott decades later. It was not until 1995 that an operation restored his sight in that eye.
Having previously worked for the weekly Seaforth News, he got a job with the Toronto Telegram
but was fired after two days when he informed his boss he wouldn't work weekends so that he could return to Seaforth, Ontario
with his wife and baby son.
He got a job with a brokerage firm and got into political organizing for premier Leslie Frost
. He was eventually hired by energy minister, Robert Macaulay
becoming his executive assistant.
In the 1960s he was appointed to the Board of Governors of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.
He worked for Bill Davis in the 1960s when he was Education Minister and helped him set up the Ontario community college system and the Ontario Science Centre
. When Davis became Premier of Ontario in 1971, Westcott moved with him becoming Executive Assistant to the Premier, a position he held until 1985 when Davis retired.
In 1985, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission becoming its chairman but was fired by Liberal Premier David Peterson
in 1989 who replaced him with a Liberal. During his term he helped set up the Crime Stoppers program.
Westcott then was appointed to the National Parole Board for several years before becoming special assistant to federal Minister of International Trade
Michael Wilson
until 1993 when he was appointed a citizenship court judge in Scarborough, remaining in the position until 1998.
In the 1980s and 1990s he also returned to the Huron Expositor in Seaforth to write a weekly column.
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
and subsequently served as chairman of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission.
Biography
Westcott grew up in Seaforth, OntarioSeaforth, Ontario
Seaforth is a Southern Ontario community in the municipality of Huron East, in Huron County, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
where is father struggled to make money as a watch repairman.
Westscott left school in grade 11 to join the Canadian Army but was rejected as unfit. He got a job working as a lineman with Ontario Hydro
Ontario Hydro
Ontario Hydro was the official name from 1974 of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario which was established in 1906 by the provincial Power Commission Act to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity generated by private companies already operating at Niagara...
and worked for them for a decade until an accident in 1946 resulted in his seeking a new line of work.
"I struck a bolt with a hammer, causing a sliver of steel to fly into my left eye", blinding him in that eye, recalled Westcott decades later. It was not until 1995 that an operation restored his sight in that eye.
Having previously worked for the weekly Seaforth News, he got a job with the Toronto Telegram
Toronto Telegram
The Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
but was fired after two days when he informed his boss he wouldn't work weekends so that he could return to Seaforth, Ontario
Seaforth, Ontario
Seaforth is a Southern Ontario community in the municipality of Huron East, in Huron County, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
with his wife and baby son.
He got a job with a brokerage firm and got into political organizing for premier Leslie Frost
Leslie Frost
Leslie Miscampbell Frost, was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the 16th Premier from May 4, 1949 to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man Ontario".-Early years:...
. He was eventually hired by energy minister, Robert Macaulay
Robert Macaulay
Robert William Macaulay was a Canadian politician.Robert William Macaulay was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament for the Toronto riding of Riverdale in the 1951 Ontario election...
becoming his executive assistant.
In the 1960s he was appointed to the Board of Governors of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute.
He worked for Bill Davis in the 1960s when he was Education Minister and helped him set up the Ontario community college system and the Ontario Science Centre
Ontario Science Centre
Ontario Science Centre is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eglinton Avenue East...
. When Davis became Premier of Ontario in 1971, Westcott moved with him becoming Executive Assistant to the Premier, a position he held until 1985 when Davis retired.
In 1985, he was appointed to the Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission becoming its chairman but was fired by Liberal Premier David Peterson
David Peterson
David Robert Peterson, PC, O.Ont was the 20th Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada, from June 26, 1985 to October 1, 1990. He was the first Liberal premier of Ontario in 42 years....
in 1989 who replaced him with a Liberal. During his term he helped set up the Crime Stoppers program.
Westcott then was appointed to the National Parole Board for several years before becoming special assistant to federal Minister of International Trade
Minister of International Trade (Canada)
The Minister of International Trade is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet is the head of the federal government's international trade department and the provisions of treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement .The post was first established in 1983 as the Minister...
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson may refer to:*Michael Wilson , member of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1977–1985*Michael Wilson , former player of the Harlem Globetrotters and the University of Memphis, also known as 'Wild Thing'*Michael Wilson , American theater director*Michael Wilson , former...
until 1993 when he was appointed a citizenship court judge in Scarborough, remaining in the position until 1998.
In the 1980s and 1990s he also returned to the Huron Expositor in Seaforth to write a weekly column.