Edward Gerald Byrne (23 July 1912 – 14 May 2003) was a

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

lawyer and politician, who was made

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and Member of the

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.Halifax Chronicle Herald, p. A19 14 May 2003

Biography

Byrne was born to medical doctor Thomas Ives and Rita Ross in Chatham, New Brunswick on 23 July 1912. Already a practicing lawyer, Byrne rose to the rank of Flight Commander in the RCAF during his two years' service in the

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. Later, on 27 June 1946, he married another veteran, Ruth Ann Corr. For one year prior to his election in 1949 as

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of Bathurst, Byrne was President of his local chapter of the Rotary Club. Byrne appeared in many, if not most, of the important trials that related to business in Gloucester County during his 34-year career there. Byrne chaired the New Brunswick ''Royal Commission on Finance and Municipal Taxation'' whose 1,000-page report,archives.gnb.ca: "Silhouettes - Spring 2008 - Number 26"
/ref> tabled in November 1963,New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network : "Byrne Report Revisited 50 Years After Release"
/ref> was instrumental in the development of the

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian francophone university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on higher ed ...

,gnb.ca: "Office of the Premier - Premier's condolences on death of Edward Byrne"
16 May 2003 and led to the adoption of the province's Equal Opportunity Programme, which revolutionised the financial and social policies of the province: When the Byrne Commission was established in 1962, three New Brunswick counties were on the brink of bankruptcy. The report provided for equalization grants to municipalities that could not afford to provide a standard level of service. Premier

Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Early ...

said in his condolences that: An earlier writer considered the Report and Programme as hauling Byrne was at one point or another appointed a director of the

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, Consolidated Bathurst Pulp and Paper Ltd., Gotaas Larsen Shipping, Brunswick Mines and

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, among others. Byrne was recognized by the Ecole de Sacre Coeur, Bathurst,

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and

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, which all awarded him Doctor Honoris Causa. Byrne passed away in

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on 14 May 2003 at 90 years of age. A Roman Catholic, he was predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Ruth Ann Corr, and survived by his twins, Joseph Ross and Anne.

Elimination of tax concessions in New Brunswick

Buried in the Byrne Commission report was a recommendation to abolish municipal tax concessions. Section 3 of Bill 118, which was to become the Assessment Act, read: This sparked many lawsuits, including some that went to the

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, over what was meant by "real estate property":

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''Bathurst Paper Limited v. Minister of Municipal Affairs of NB (1971)'', ''Minister of Municipal Affairs (N.B.) v Canaport Ltd (1975)'' and ''Irving Oil Co v Minister of Municipal Affairs of NB (1975)''.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Edward Gerald 1912 births 2003 deaths Mayors of places in New Brunswick Lawyers in New Brunswick Canadian King's Counsel 20th-century Canadian lawyers Members of the Order of Canada