Michael J. L. Kirby (born August 5, 1941) is 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. He sat in the Senate of Canada as 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 ...

representing

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He is the former chair of the

Mental Health Commission of Canada The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) is a national non-profit organization created by the Canadian government in 2007 in response to a senate committee tasked to study mental health, mental illness, and addiction. The committee appointed ...

. Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Kirby earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in mathematics from Dalhousie University where he was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Fraternity Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. T ...

, and, also a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in applied mathematics from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. In the 1960s Kirby was a professor of business administration and public administration at Dalhousie and also taught at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. Kirby worked as principal assistant to the Premier of Nova Scotia

Gerald Regan Gerald Augustine Paul Regan (February 13, 1928 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician (as Member of Parliament (Canada), federal MP and later as Nova Scotia House of Assembly, Nova Scotia MLA), who served as the 19th premier of Nova Sc ...

from 1970 to 1973 and Assistant Principal 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 i ...

Pierre Trudeau from 1974 to 1976. He served as President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy from 1977 to 1980. Kirby chaired the federal Task Force on Atlantic Fisheries which was established to recommend how to achieve and maintain a viable Atlantic fishing industry. It issued its report in 1982. Kirby returned to public service in the 1980s as Secretary to the

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

for Federal-Provincial Relations and Deputy Clerk of the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

. As such he participated in the federal-provincial negotiations that led to the

patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the British parl ...

of the

Canadian Constitution The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents ar ...

in 1982. He was elevated to the Canadian Senate by Pierre Trudeau in January 1984 weeks before the prime minister announced his intention to retire. He remained active in the private sector serving as vice-president of Goldfarb Consultants from 1984 to 1994 at a period when the polling firm was often employed by the Liberal Party of Canada. Kirby also served as a backroom advisor to the Liberals and frequently appeared on television as a political pundit during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, Kirby joined

Chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

' board of directors. Kirby was the principal author of a 2002 report by the committee on Canada's health care system. The report urged greater private sector involvement in health care delivery and was seen as a rival to the royal commission report on health care released by

Roy Romanow Roy John Romanow (born August 12, 1939) is a Canadian politician and the 12th premier of Saskatchewan from 1991 to 2001. Early life Romanow was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to Tekla and Michael Romanow, who were Ukrainian immigrants from Or ...

. Kirby was criticised for having a conflict of interest in his role in writing the report due to his service on the boards of directors of various private health care companies. On August 15, 2006, Kirby announced his resignation from the Canadian Senate effective on October 31, 2006. His retirement came nearly a decade before his mandatory retirement in August 2016. In 2007, he was asked by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to become the first Chair of the newly created

, a not-for-profit organization that was created in response to his 2003 Senate report on mental health. In 2008, he was made 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 cen ...

. Kirby founded Partners for Mental Health and served as its first chair. He is currently the founding chair of the organization.

References

External links

*
Health Canada page linking to key Federal reports and commissions and their background material, including Romanow Report and Kirby Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Michael J. L. 1941 births Living people Academics of the University of Kent Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Dalhousie University alumni Dalhousie University faculty Liberal Party of Canada senators Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Montreal University of Chicago faculty Canadian political consultants Directors of Scotiabank Canadian corporate directors Indigo Books and Music people Northwestern University alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians

Archives

References

External links