Posts with the Steve Paikin tag

Barris Beat

Getting close to a prime minister

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
John Turner when justice minister in Pierre Trudeau cabinet

When they talk about brushes with fame, I consider a morning at Sidney Airport on Vancouver Island, among them. It happened in the early 2000s. I’d arrived for my flight to Toronto early. I’d gone through security and arrived at my gate, when there sat John Turner, the former prime minister of Canada, reading a newspaper and waiting for the same flight.

Never intimidated by celebrity and always attracted to political figures, I sat down near him and said something like, “I’ll bet, since your retirement, trips back East are a whole lot less stressful than when you were prime minister.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Turner said with a smile. He turned to me and added, “but they’re still awfully long.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Learning-by-doing minister Bill Davis

Written by Ted Barris on . 2 Comments
Bill Davis may have helped more young Ontarians find their way in education than any other 20th century provincial leader. Globe and Mail.

Halfway through my career teaching journalism, around the year 2008, I received a note of thanks from a young man I’d taught reporting skills, news gathering, copy editing and feature writing, among other things. After graduating from Centennial College’s three-year journalism program, Dharm Makwana had left Toronto, moved to the West Coast and landed a job with the Vancouver Sun.

“Because of you, I feel ready to tackle the challenges of an everyday journalist,” he wrote in his thank-you card. “You contributed more to my professional development than any other teacher I’ve ever had.

“I thank you,” he said finally, “for the impact you’ve had on my life.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Closest to the premiers

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment

A few weeks ago, as I showered, shaved and made my way to work, CBC Radio’s local Toronto morning show invited audience comment. Host Matt Galloway wondered: “Where do Torontonians go, to find absolute silence?”

In a matter of a few seconds, I had an answer and texted it to him: “Sealed inside the rare books section at the Robarts Library, right down to the white gloves so your hands don’t rustle pages.”

I hadn’t thought about Ontario’s 17th premier in a long time. But when Galloway posed the question, I quickly remembered research I had conducted back in the early 1970s. I needed to find excerpts from particularly rare books and the only source was the then brand new John P. Robarts Research Library at the University of Toronto. By coincidence, this past week, I’ve been reading my colleague Steve Paikin’s new book, “Paikin and the Premiers.” Among other things, Paikin reminded me that Premier Robarts gave this province much more than a quiet research library.

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