Jean Robert Roy was a Liberal party

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

. He was born in Timmins

Timmins

Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 and became a businessman, contractor and quantity surveyor

Quantity surveyor

A quantity surveyor is a professional working within the construction industry concerned with building costs.The profession is one that provides a qualification gained following formal education, specific training and experience that provides a general set of skills that are then applied to a...

 by career.

Roy, a Franco-Ontarian

Franco-Ontarian

Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....

, studied 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...

 in Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario

Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...

 before working in accounting, then in the construction industry.

He was first elected at the Timmins

Timmins (electoral district)

Timmins was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1949 to 1979. It was located around the city of Timmins in the northeastern part of the province of Ontario...

 riding in the 1968 general election

Canadian federal election, 1968

The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...

. Roy was re-elected there in the 1972

Canadian federal election, 1972

The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive...

 and 1974 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1974

The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...

s, and after completing his term in the 30th Parliament

30th Canadian Parliament

The 30th Canadian Parliament was in session from September 30, 1974 until March 26, 1979. The membership was set by the 1974 election on July 8, 1974, and was only changed somewhat due to resignations and by-elections before it was dissolved prior to the 1979 election.It was controlled by a...

 he left federal politics due to reported health concerns.

During a House of Commons session during the 1970 October Crisis

October Crisis

The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...

, Roy excoriated NDP

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 members who opposed the proclamation of the War Measures Act

War Measures Act

The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...

 in response to terrorist actions in Quebec. NDP member Harold Winch demanded that Roy retract an accusation that Winch's party's vote against the Act was tantamount to "support for the murderers".

Roy also opposed increases in Canadian content

Canadian content

Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...

 on television as his riding's only available television broadcasts at that time were from CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 and felt a reduction in the minimal American programming provided would be a "disservice".

After he left federal politics, he was President of the Standards Council of Canada

Standards Council of Canada

- About the SCC :The Standards Council of Canada is a federal Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective voluntary standardization. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the Standards Council has a 15-member governing Council and a staff of approximately 90...

 and served on the International Joint Commission

International Joint Commission

The International Joint Commission is an independent binational organization established by the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.The Commission has responsibilities related to the following treaties and agreements:...

 regarding the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

.

Roy died suddenly at his home in Timmins on 28 December 1996, leaving a daughter, a son and his wife Georgette Clément (m. 1947).

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