Barnett Jerome "Barney" Danson, (February 8, 1921 – October 17, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

minister.

Family

Barnett Jerome "Barney" Danson was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

's Parkdale neighbourhood. He joined

The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada ("In peace prepared") , colours = None (Rifle regiments have no colours) , march = , mascot = , battle_honours = See #Battle honours , website ...

in 1939 as the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

broke out. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant and served until he was severely wounded, losing an eye, in the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

. His ailment created an interest in the

Canadian National Institute for the Blind The CNIB Foundation (french: Fondation INCA) is a volunteer agency and charitable organization dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians. Founded ...

(CNIB) and its library for the blind and visually impaired, which he maintained until his death. He returned to Canada and joined his family's insurance business before entering the

plastics industry The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, and transportation. It is ...

with his own company, the Danson Corporation. He also served as president of the Society of the Plastics Industry of Canada. In 2002, his autobiography, ''Not Bad for a Sergeant: The Memoirs of Barney Danson'', was published. His son, Tim Danson, is a Toronto lawyer known as a

victim's rights Victims' rights are legal rights afforded to victims of crime. These may include the right to restitution, the right to a victims' advocate, the right not to be excluded from criminal justice proceedings, and the right to speak at criminal just ...

advocate and for having represented the families of

Paul Bernardo Paul Kenneth Bernardo (born August 27, 1964), also known as The Scarborough Rapist and The Schoolgirl Killer, is a Canadian serial killer and serial rapist. He is known for initially committing a series of rapes in Scarborough, Ontario, a subu ...

's victims.

Politics

Danson was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the 1968 general election as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for the Toronto-area riding of

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket—A ...

. Danson was unsuccessful during his first attempt at politics as an

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

candidate in the 1967 provincial election in the riding of

York Mills York Mills is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred around Yonge Street and York Mills Road located in the district of North York. In 2010, it encompassed the fourth and seventh most affluent postal codes in Canada. It is re ...

. In 1970, he became Parliamentary Secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

, and was appointed to the Cabinet in 1974 as

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for urban affairs. In 1976, he was promoted to Minister of National Defence. While Minister of National Defence, he was appointed the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, his regiment. He served in that position until the defeat of the Liberal government in the 1979 general election, in which he lost his seat. Danson received an honorary degree (1993) from the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

in Kingston, of which he was a former chancellor. As a Member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Danson was styled "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Service

Danson is the co-founder along with

Jacques Hébert Jacques René Hébert (; 15 November 1757 – 24 March 1794) was a French journalist and the founder and editor of the extreme radical newspaper ''Le Père Duchesne'' during the French Revolution. Hébert was a leader of the French Revolution ...

Katimavik Katimavik ( iu, ᑲᑎᒪᕕᒃ "meeting place") is a registered charity that engages Canadian youth through volunteer work. Katimavik provides opportunities for young Canadians to participate in five to six-month periods of community service t ...

, the national youth volunteer programme. Danson served as Canada's

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from 1984 to 1986. He served on corporate and not-for-profit boards of directors such as the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO), Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, the Atlantic Council, the

Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

, the Ballet Opera House Corporation,

de Havilland Aircraft The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

of Canada, Algoma Central Corporation, General steelwares, the

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edward ...

, and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. During his last years, Danson was chairman of the advisory committee of the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and produced ''No Price Too High'', a six-part series broadcast on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

on Canada's role in World War II. A theatre in the

is named for him in honour of his service and to his four closest war-time friends killed in action; Sgt Fred B. Harris-Queen's, Lt Gerald Rayner, Lt Earl R. Stoll, and Lt Harlan David Keely.

Awards

Danson was named an Officer of France's National Order of Merit (1994), and the Churchill Society's Award for "Excellence in the Cause of Parliamentary Democracy" (1995). In 1996, Danson was named an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and promoted to Companion in 2008. In 2000, he was awarded the

Vimy Award The Vimy Award is an award presented by the Conference of Defence Associations Institute (CDA Institute) to the "Canadian who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of Canada and the preservation of (its) dem ...

. In 2006, Danson was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

of Toronto. He was sworn in as a Member of the

on August 8, 1974, which gave him the title "The Honourable" for life. On March 28, 2007, he was made a Chevalier of the

French Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

. * Barney Danson's Medals were in Order of Precedence