Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp, (born September 1, 1939) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

executive and former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Life and career

Born into a

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

family in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Epp was a high school history teacher in

Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () is the List of cities in Manitoba, third-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada, and with a population of 17,806, the largest community in the Eastman Region, Manitoba, Eastman region. The city, located about southeast of ...

before entering politics. Jake Epp was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the 1972 election for the riding of Provencher, which was the home of

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL, Énergie atomique du Canada limitée, EACL) is a Canadian Crown corporation and the largest nuclear science and technology laboratory in Canada. AECL developed the CANDU reactor technology starting in th ...

's Whiteshell Laboratories. In the wake of the 1977 murder of Emanuel Jaques, Epp wrote to the National Gay Rights Coalition: "I would like to see what kind of support you have now after what has taken place in Toronto. What is needed is not protection for homosexuals, but for Canadians who are not deviant." After the 1979 election, he served in the short-lived Cabinet of

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. As a minister, he wrote the ''Epp letter'', which instructed the

Commissioner of the Yukon The commissioner of Yukon () is the representative of the Government of Canada in the Canadian federal territory of Yukon. The commissioner is appointed by the federal government and, in contrast to the governor general of Canada or the lieuten ...

to abandon some of her powers and established

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

in the

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

. He retained his seat in the 1980 election despite the defeat of the Clark government and returned to the Opposition bench. When

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was 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 studi ...

led the Conservatives back to power in the 1984 election, he appointed Epp as his Minister of National Health and Welfare. At the Cabinet table, he was a vocal proponent that life begins at conception. In the spring of 1988, the activist organization AIDS Action NOW! burned an effigy of Epp at

Toronto City Hall The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in ...

to draw attention to his neglect of the AIDS epidemic. In 1989, Epp became

Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources The minister of energy and natural resources () is the minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). In addition to NRCan, the minister oversees the federal government' ...

. Epp retired at the 1993 election, and returned to private life. From 1993 until 2000, he was Senior Vice President and Vice President at TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. Epp was one of the Tories who joined the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the ...

when it was created in an attempt to attract Progressive Conservatives to the former

Reform Party of Canada The Reform Party of Canada () was a right-wing populism, right-wing populist and conservative List of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada that existed from 1987 to 2000. Reform was founded as a Western Canada- ...

. The Tory

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC ...

government appointed Epp to head a review of the ongoing cost over-runs and delays that plagued

Ontario Power Generation Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of the electricity generation in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is w ...

's restart of the four "A" reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. The two other panel members were Peter Barnes and Dr. Robin Jeffrey. The review's report was released on December 4, 2003, and attributed blame for the project to management problems. The election of the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

in 2003 delayed action on the Epp report. The government of

Dalton McGuinty Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr. (born July 19, 1955) is a Canadian former 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 ...

appointed Epp to the Ontario Power Generation Review headed by John Manley to examine the future role of

(OPG) in the province’s electricity market, examine its corporate and management structure, and decide whether the public utility should proceed with refurbishing three more nuclear reactors at the Pickering

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

plant. The report recommended proceeding with the restart Pickering "A" reactors 1, 2, and 3, sequentially. The report argued that the restart of units 2 and 3 would be contingent on whether "OPG will be able to succeed at the Unit 1 project." The McGuinty government accepted the OPG Review Committee's recommendation and allowed the restart of reactor 1, which still underwent cost over-runs and delays. In August 2005, the OPG Board of Directors announced that Units 2 and 3 would not be refurbished due to specific technical and cost risks surrounding the material condition of these two units. In 2004, the McGuinty government made Epp

Chairman of the Board The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of OPG. Between 2005 and 2009 Epp served as Chancellor of

Tyndale University College and Seminary Tyndale University is a Canadian Private university, private Interdenominationalism, interdenominational Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian university in Toronto, Ontario, which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Tyndale students co ...

in Toronto. In 2010, Epp was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

The AIDS Crisis

Jake Epp played a significant role in allowing the

AIDS crisis The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

to grow unchecked by continuously ignoring pleas from

community organizations A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

to develop and implement a National AIDS Strategy. Beyond invitations for conversation, a blind eye was turned to AIDS activist protests as well. HIV/AID activism in opposition to Jake Epp came to a head when activists from AIDS Action Now! in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

called attention to his neglect by burning him in

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

Nathan Phillips Square Nathan Phillips Square is an city square, urban plaza in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or ''New City Hall'', at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named after Nathan Phillips ( ...

. Jake Epp's willful ignorance exacerbated the AIDS crisis in Canada and contributed to the growing number of AIDS-related deaths. Despite the desperate need for action, the government made no change until Epp was replaced by Perrin Beatty. Only then was there involvement in HIV-related matters at the federal level in Canada.

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Jake Epp fonds, Library and Archives Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epp, Jake 1939 births Living people Canadian Mennonites Ministers of health and welfare of Canada Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Ministers of Crown–Indigenous relations Chancellors by university and college in Canada People from St. Boniface, Winnipeg People from Steinbach, Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada