Joseph Robert "Joe" Comuzzi,
PCThe Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
(born April 5, 1933) is a former
CanadianCanada 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...
politicianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Comuzzi was born in
Fort William, OntarioFort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...
. He graduated with a
Bachelor of ArtsA 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 from the
University of WindsorThe University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
in 1954. In 1966, Comuzzi received the University of Windsor Alumni Award of Merit, the Alumni Association's most prestigious award. After twenty-four years in the Thunder Bay business community, he returned to his alma mater, and obtained his law degree in 1980. He is married and has four children.
Comuzzi was first elected to the
House of CommonsThe 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...
in 1988 for the riding of
Thunder Bay—Superior NorthThunder Bay—Superior North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1976....
(Ontario). He has served as chair of the Standing Committee on Transport and a member of the Standing Joint Committee on the Scrutiny of Regulations. Comuzzi has also served as co-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group and chaired the National Highway Committee of the National Liberal Caucus.
Beginning in 1988, Comuzzi’s six terms as a Member of Parliament have been devoted to important riding issues: Great Lakes transportation and water quality, the pulp and paper industry, the softwood lumber dispute, grain transportation, mining, small business, health care and the local economy. During his terms of office, he served in many leadership capacities that related to transportation and industry.
Comuzzi became Minister of State responsible for the
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern OntarioThe Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario is a program of Industry Canada whose mission is to address the economic development, diversification and job creation in Northern Ontario. FedNor especially aids women, Franco-ontarians, youth, and Aboriginal peoples in Ontario...
(FedNor) on December 12, 2003. While Minister of State, he was forced to apologize for remarks about Quebecers when, in commenting on the
Sponsorship scandalThe sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
, he stated, "I guess that's how they do politics there." He was also appointed Co-Vice-Chair of the Cabinet committee on Canada-United States Relations. He was a member of the Cabinet Committee on Aboriginal Affairs.
An opponent of
same-sex marriage in CanadaOn July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
, he resigned from cabinet on June 28, 2005, so that he could be free of a
two-line whipA whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
and oppose
Bill C-38The Civil Marriage Act was legislation legalizing same-sex marriage across Canada...
.
When the Liberals were asked to form the Official Opposition in 2006, Comuzzi was left out of the Shadow Cabinet and also not included in the associate critic positions.
He was expelled from the Liberal caucus for pledging to support the Conservative budget on March 21, 2007. "It's for a single issue that's of absolute critical importance to all the people in Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario, and that's the cancer research centre", he said. He joined the Conservative Party on June 26.
He has served as a board member for many organizations including the
Ontario Hospital AssociationAccording to the Ontario Hospital Association website, the OHA is a member association that represents approximately 154 public hospitals in Ontario. The association regards itself as "the voice of Ontario's public hospitals". To find out more about the OHA, its programs and services, visit...
, the Lakehead Board of Education, the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic, St. Joseph’s Heritage, and the Liberal Party of Canada.
On September 5, 2008, he announced he would not seek re-election.
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