David William Smith (born December 30, 1938) is a former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

in Ontario, Canada. He was a

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 the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1985 to 1990 representing the southwestern riding of Lambton.

Background

Smith was educated at Ridgetown Agricultural School, and worked as a farmer before entering political life.

Politics

He served as

reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

of Plympton Township, and was Warden of

Lambton County Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Cla ...

in 1983. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1985 provincial election. He defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Bob Boyd by 860 votes in the southwestern riding of Lambton. He was re-elected with an increased majority in the 1987 election. During his time in the legislature, Smith served as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

supporter of

David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgro ...

's government. Shortly after his election in 1985, Smith was appointed to a committee to study funding for Roman Catholic schools. During one session in July 1985, he made some controversial remarks where he appeared to support some of the views of holocaust denier

James Keegstra James "Jim" Keegstra (March 30, 1934 – June 2, 2014) was a public school teacher and mayor in Eckville, Alberta, Canada, who was charged and convicted of hate speech in 1984. The conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal of Alberta but r ...

. After the meeting he told reporters that he did not know whether Keegstra was right or wrong in denying the mass murder of Jews during the Second World War. He later resigned from the committee. David Peterson distanced himself from the comments in a letter to the

Canadian Jewish Congress The Canadian Jewish Congress (, , ) was, for more than ninety years, the main advocacy group for the Jewish community in Canada. Regarded by many as the "Parliament of Canadian Jewry," the Congress was at the forefront of the struggle for human r ...

in which he called Smith's remarks unconscionable. Roger Pazey, a rabbi in Sarnia said that Smith's remarks were naive. Pazey said, " mithis a little naive and doesn't really know much about the general background of the Jewish people." Smith later recanted his remarks. The Liberals were defeated by the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

in the 1990 provincial election, and Smith finished third against NDP candidate

Ellen MacKinnon Ellen MacKinnon (April 27, 1926 – February 12, 2001) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the southwest Ontario riding of Lambton from 1990 to 1995. Background MacKinno ...

in his bid for re-election.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, David William 1938 births Living people Ontario Liberal Party MPPs Politicians from Sarnia