Browse "Civil Servants"

Albert Jackson, letter carrier (born c. 1857–58 in Delaware; died 14 January 1918 in Toronto , ON). Albert Jackson is thought to be the first Black letter carrier in Canada (see Postal System). Jackson was born into enslavement in the United States, and escaped to Canada with his mother and siblings when he was a toddler in 1858. In 1882, Jackson was hired as a letter carrier in Toronto, but his co-workers refused to train him on the job. While his story was debated in the press for weeks, the Black community in Toronto organized in support of Jackson, meeting with Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to have Jackson reinstated. Jackson returned to his post days later and served as a letter carrier for almost 36 years.

Lampman began as a writer in the pages of his college magazine, Rouge et Noir, graduating to the more prestigious pages of The Week, and winning an audience in the major American magazines of the day such as Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and Scribner's.

Throughout the controversies that arose over the funding and regulation of the new medium of television, Dunton was a persuasive defender of the corporation's independence and a strong advocate of the need to fund publicly a television system that would be of great national benefit.

Arthur (Emil) Semple. Flutist, conductor, civil servant, b Toronto 9 Mar 1876, d there 9 Feb 1963; Fellow Toronto College of Music, LRAM, LAB, before 1912; B MUS (Toronto) 1915.

Arthur Thomas Bushby. Amateur musician, civil servant, b London 2 Mar 1835, d New Westminster, BC, 18 May 1875. Bushby's 1856 diary shows that he played violin and sang in musical societies in London. He spent the summer of 1856 in Italy, studying voice, piano, and Italian.

Bernard Ostry, public servant (b at Wadena, Sask 10 Jun 1927). After studying history at U of Man, Ostry launched an academic career at the universities of London and Birmingham in England. There, in collaboration with H.S. Ferns, he published The Age of Mackenzie King: The Rise of the Leader (1955; 2nd ed, 1976), a critical and controversial study of the former prime minister.

Between the 1950s and the 1990s, the Canadian government responded to national security concerns generated by Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union by spying on, exposing and removing suspected LGBTQ individuals from the federal public service and the Canadian Armed Forces. They were cast as social and political subversives and seen as targets for blackmail by communist regimes seeking classified information. These characterizations were justified by arguments that people who engaged in same-sex relations suffered from a “character weakness” and had something to hide because their sexuality was considered a taboo and, under certain circumstances, was illegal. As a result, the RCMP investigated large numbers of people. Many of them were fired, demoted or forced to resign — even if they had no access to security information. These measures were kept out of public view to prevent scandal and to keep counter-espionage operations under wraps. In 2017, the federal government issued an official apology for its discriminatory actions and policies, along with a $145-million compensation package.

Charles Mair, writer, civil servant (b at Lanark, UC 21 Sept 1838; d at Victoria 7 July 1927).

The Chief Electoral Officer oversees Elections Canada, the non-partisan agency that administers Canada’s federal elections and referendums.

Clifford Clark, civil servant (b at Martintown, Ont 18 Apr 1889; d at Chicago 27 Dec 1952). Clark attended Queen's and Harvard before returning to Queen's as a lecturer in 1915, where he helped establish banking and commerce courses. In 1923 he joined the American investment firm of S.W.

A Commissioner for Oaths is any person over 18 years of age commissioned by a lieutenant-governor to administer oaths and take affidavits.

Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages ensures that the Official Languages Act (adopted in 1969, amended in 1988 and 2005) is followed within the federal government and the Parliament of Canada. The Commissioner also ensures that both of Canada’s official languages, English and French, are recognized as having equal status in accordance with Canada’s language policy.

A coroner is a public servant responsible for carrying out investigations to determine how and why deaths other than those by natural causes occurred.

Crown attorneys are agents of either the ATTORNEY GENERAL for Canada or the attorneys general for the provinces and territories, who respectively are the chief legal officers for the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Daniel Grafton Hill, OC, O Ont, human rights specialist, historian, public servant (born 23 November 1923 in Independence, Missouri; died 26 June 2003 in Toronto, ON).

David Vivian Currie, VC, auto mechanic, welder, soldier, House of Commons sergeant-at-arms (born 8 July 1912 in Sutherland, SK; died 24 June 1986 in Ottawa, ON). During the Second World War, Major Currie was the only member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on April 3, 1995. Partner content is not updated.

Douglas Valentine LePan, OC, public servant, educator (born 25 May 1914 in Toronto, ON ; died 27 November 1998 in Toronto ).

Duncan Campbell Scott, poet, writer, civil servant (born 2 August 1862 in Ottawa, ON; died 19 December 1947 in Ottawa, ON). Scott’s complicated legacy encompasses both his work as an acclaimed poet and his role as a controversial public servant. Considered one of the “poets of the Confederation” — a group of English-language poets whose work laid the foundations for a tradition of Canadian poetry — his intense works made use of precise imagery and transitioned smoothly between traditional and modern styles. However, his literary work has arguably been overshadowed by his role as the deputy superintendent of the Department of Indian Affairs. He enforced and expanded residential schools, failed to respond to a tuberculosis epidemic and oversaw a treaty process that many claim robbed Indigenous peoples of land and rights. His oft-quoted goal to “get rid of the Indian problem” became, for many, characteristic of the federal government’s treatment of Indigenous peoples.

Adolphus Egerton Ryerson, Methodist minister, educator (born 24 March 1803 in Charlotteville Township, Norfolk County, Upper Canada; died 18 February 1882 in Toronto, Ontario). Egerton Ryerson was a leading figure in education and politics in 19th century Ontario. He was born into a prominent Anglican, Loyalist family. He converted to Methodism and was ordained in 1827 in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He helped found and edit the Christian Guardian (1829), founded Upper Canada Academy (1836) and became the first principal of Victoria College (1841). He was known as a supporter of religious freedom and as the founder of the public education system in Ontario. Ryerson University was named in honour. However, his role in the development of residential schools has led to calls for the university to be renamed.