Peter Shurman (born November 18, 1947) is a former politician in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. He was a
Progressive Conservative member of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007 to 2013 who represented the riding of
Thornhill. Prior to his time in the legislature, he was a radio talk show host on
CFRB
CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West.
CFRB is a ...
in Toronto.
Background
Shurman was 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 ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. He attended
Sir George Williams University
Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974.
History
In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène ...
, now Concordia University, and apprenticed in communications with
Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object t ...
, holding various positions with the company's Montreal AM and FM stations,
CJAD and
CJFM
CJFM-FM (95.9 FM) is a commercial English-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned and operated by Bell Media, the station broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format branded as ''95.9 Virgin Radio''.
CJFM-FM broadcasts with an eff ...
, including general manager.
Shurman left university without completing his BA degree and started out in technical maintenance, progressing through a number of positions including program announcing, reporting, sales, and management. He moved to Toronto in 1983 and eventually rising through the ranks to become Standard Broadcasting's President of Radio at age 36.
[
Shurman left Standard Broadcasting in 1987. His activities immediately thereafter included buying 14 radio stations for a total of $22.5 million in less than one year for third parties; undertaking an assignment to grow a minor Toronto paging company, into one of the area's largest and most important operators in only eighteen months; applying for an FM radio licence in Toronto in 1990. When the licence was not granted, he purchased an ailing telephone answering service, The Receptionists Ltd., and renamed it Universal TeleResponse Corporation. UTR became a multimillion-dollar enterprise handling 7x24 communications for FP/ Fortune 500 companies. After 22 years in the radio broadcasting business, Shurman became CEO and principal shareholder of Universal TeleResponse Corporation (UTR), a major call centre in North Toronto.
In 2003, Shurman sold UTR and remained for one year as part of the sale agreement before returning to broadcasting. He was a talk radio host for ]CFRB
CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West.
CFRB is a ...
until announcing his intention to run in the 2007 Ontario provincial election.
Politics
In 2007, Shurman ran for the Progressive Conservative nomination for the riding of Thornhill and was challenged by Norm Gardner
Norman "Norm" Gardner (born February 13, 1938) is a politician and administrator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a former North York and Toronto City Councillor, serving most recently as chair of the Toronto Police Services Board (1998–2003 ...
. John Tory
John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 65th and current mayor of Toronto since 2014.
After a career as a lawyer, political strategist and businessman, Tory ran as a mayoral candidate in the 200 ...
, the party leader at the time requested that Gardner step aside for Shurman. Shurman then successfully campaigned as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 2007 Ontario general election
The 2007 Ontario general election was held on October 10, 2007, to elect members ( MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Liberals under Premier Dalton McGuinty won the election with a majority government, ...
becoming the MPP
MPP or M.P.P. may refer to:
* Marginal physical product
* Master of Public Policy, an academic degree
* Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada
* Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa
* ''Merriweather Post Pavilio ...
for the riding of Thornhill. His election provided focus for the issue surrounding public funding of private faith-based schools, a major issue in Thornhill which has a large 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 ...
(35%) population.
Towards the end of 2008, 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 ...
(a university that is close to Shurman's political riding) was effectively shut down due to a call for a strike by Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3903. Shurman became involved with a student anti-strike group, ''York Not Hostage'' and was successful in bringing significant pressure to bear on the government of Premier Dalton McGuinty
Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2013. He was the first Liberal leader to win two majority governments since Mitchell Hepburn nea ...
. Back-to-work legislation was presented to the Legislature which was recalled from winter break to pass it and bring an end to the strike.
Shurman subsequently brought a resolution to the floor of the Ontario Legislative Assembly condemning Israeli Apartheid Week on Ontario campuses. The resolution, debated in late February 2010, passed unanimously. Shurman also co-sponsored two private member's bills with Liberal and NDP members. One proclaimed May as Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario and the other created Italian Heritage Month in the province every June. Both of these bills became law and the affected communities celebrate annually.
During his tenure he served as the Opposition Critic for Economic Development & Trade, Francophone Affairs and was Vice-Chair of the Legislature's Standing Committee on Public Accounts. He served as PC Caucus Finance Critic until September 8, 2013 when he was removed from the position after a "heated exchange" with party leader Tim Hudak in which Shurman refused to repay a housing allowance he had received for a Toronto apartment . Shurman was permitted to do this under the rules as he had moved his principal residence from his riding to Niagara-on-the-Lake which is more than 50 kilometres away from the provincial capital. It was later reported that Shurman had proposed to Hudak that he run in a Niagara area riding, in or near his new home, in the 2011 provincial election but Hudak insisted he run in Thornhill because he was concerned that the seat would otherwise be lost. Hudak refused to admit to media that he was aware of the accommodation arrangement which Shurman noted had been discussed with Hudak in early 2011. In the October 2011 election, Shurman ran and held his Thornhill seat against a challenge by former 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 ...
CEO Bernie Farber
Bernie M. Farber (born 1951) is a writer, commentator, and the former chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress and a social activist. He has testified before the Canadian courts as an expert witness on hate crime.
He was appointed ...
, running as the 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 since August 2022.
The party espouses the principles of li ...
candidate.
In December 2013, leaks to media suggested an impending resignation would be tendered by Shurman - December 9, 2013. Shurman received a letter dated December 3 and delivered by hand to his office on December 8 by senior staff of Progressive Conservative leader, Tim Hudak. The letter admonished Shurman for claiming mileage from his Niagara-on-the-Lake home to Toronto as an expense, something specifically cleared by the Legislative Finance Department. Shurman dismissed Hudak's accusation as nonsensical and politically motivated and labeled it 'bogus'. He did announce (on December 9) that he would resign his seat effective December 31. In a letter to his constituents, he said, "The decision is entirely my own and results from lengthy reflection and discussion with family... I have concluded that continuing with my political career would be a mistake for me."
Peter Shurman continued to reside in Niagara-on-the-Lake until 2018 and now makes his home in midtown Toronto. He is engaged in business and political consulting activities and talk radio broadcasting. He appeared regularly on Global News Radio 640 Toronto as a fill-in host until October 2021.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shurman, Peter
1947 births
Anglophone Quebec people
Canadian talk radio hosts
Jewish Canadian politicians
Living people
People from Thornhill, Ontario
Politicians from Montreal
Politicians from Toronto
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
Sir George Williams University alumni
21st-century Canadian politicians