Chaviva Milada Hošek, ; (born 6 October 1946) is a
Canadian academic, feminist and former politician.
Background
Hošek was born in
Chomutov
Chomutov (; german: Komotau) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The city centre is well preserved and is protec ...
,
Czechoslovakia. Her mother was imprisoned in
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
during
World War II. The family initially moved to
Israel but then emigrated to
Montreal in 1952.
She received her undergraduate degree from
McGill University and earned a
doctorate in English literature from
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1973.
She worked as a professor of English Literature at
Victoria University in the
University of Toronto for thirteen years, achieved tenured status and served on the University's governing council. In 1985 she was appointed co-chairman of Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
's National Economic Conference. In 1986 she resigned from the university and went to work for Gordon Capital Corp. as a pension consultant.
An active
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, she served as president of the
National Action Committee on the Status of Women from 1984 to 1986. She later described her time at the NAC as "the harshest political experience I ever had", claiming that the group was polarized by internal divisions during this period. Hošek was named
B'nai Brith Woman of the Year in 1984 and received the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in 1986 for Community and Public Service.
Politics
In the
1987 Ontario election
The 1987 Ontario general election was held on September 10, 1987, to elect members of the 34th Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
The governing Ontario Liberal Party, led by Premier David Peterson, was returned to power with their first majority ...
, Hošek won a
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
in 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 ...
as the
Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament
Member of Provincial Parliament is the title given to provincial legislators in two legislatures:
* Member of Provincial Parliament (Canada)
* Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape)
In the Western Cape province of South Africa, Member of P ...
for the
Toronto riding of
Oakwood, defeating
Ontario New Democratic Party incumbent
Tony Grande
Anthony William Grande (January 11, 1943 – August 9, 2006) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1987, as a member of the New Democratic Party who represented the Toronto ridin ...
by 1,331 votes.
She was appointed to
David Peterson's
cabinet as
Minister of Housing A Housing minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for Housing Policy.
Country-related articles and lists
* Australia: Minister for Housing
** Victoria: Minister for Housing
** Western Australia: Minister for ...
and embarked on a program to expand social housing.
In the spring of 1989, Hošek was implicated in the
Patti Starr affair
The Patti Starr affair, sometimes referred to as Pattigate or the Patti Starr scandal, was a political controversy that affected the Ontario Liberal government from 1989 to 1990. Patti Starr was a fundraiser and supporter who made illegal political ...
. Starr, a close associate of Hošek, was a Liberal fundraiser who was head of the National Council of Jewish Women (Toronto Section) and had misused her position to contribute funds illegally to the 1987 election campaigns of several Liberal MPPs. Peterson shuffled his cabinet on August 1, 1989, and Hošek was not included. Hošek did not receive funds from Starr but several key members of the Housing Ministry were implicated in the scandal. Hošek had also made an unpopular decision not to reappoint former
Toronto mayor John Sewell to the board of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority.
The Peterson government was defeated in the
1990 Ontario election, Hošek lost her riding to
Tony Rizzo
Tony Rizzo (born June 27, 1940) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 who represented the central Toronto riding of Oakwood. He was also an alderma ...
of the NDP by 2,280 votes.
Cabinet positions
Later life
Hošek became director of the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
's
caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures.
The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
research bureau in 1990. Along with
Paul Martin, she co-authored ''
Creating Opportunity'', as the party's campaign platform for the
1993 federal election was called. After Liberal leader
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
became
Prime Minister of Canada, Hošek was appointed Director of Policy and Research in the
Prime Minister's Office, and wrote the Liberal platforms for the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
and
2000 federal elections
In 2001, Hošek left the PMO to become president and CEO of the
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. She retired from this position in May 2012.
On October 27, 2002, she received an
honorary doctorate from the
University of Ottawa.
On October 5, 2006, she was appointed an Officer of the
Order of Canada.
On June 25, 2009, she received an
honorary doctorate from
York University (Ontario).
Archives
There is a Chaviva Hosek
fonds at
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
.
References
Notes
Citations
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosek, Chaviva
1946 births
Living people
Canadian feminists
Canadian people of Czech-Jewish descent
Canadian people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
Women government ministers of Canada
Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada
Czech feminists
Feminist studies scholars
Harvard University alumni
Jewish Canadian politicians
Jewish feminists
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
McGill University alumni
Officers of the Order of Canada
Politicians from Toronto
University of Toronto faculty
Women MPPs in Ontario
Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
Jewish women politicians
People from Chomutov