Career
He was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Robarts and Bill Davis. Bales joined the Toronto law firm of McLaughlin, Soward in 1946 while he was a law student. He was called to the bar in 1949 and eventually became partner.
He defeated Paul Graham in Ward 2 by 780 votes.
He was re-elected in 1960. In 1963, he ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of York Mills.
He defeated Liberal James Service by 8,434 votes. He was re-elected in 1967 and 1971.
In 1966 he was appointed Minister of Labour in the government of Premier John Robarts.
In 1971, Bill Davis appointed him Minister of Municipal Affairs. In 1972 he was promoted to Attorney General of Ontario. In 1972, Bales and several other cabinet ministers were accused of being in a conflict of interest over property they owned.
In Bales" case he was accused of having purchased land in Markham, Ontario in 1969 while the Cabinet was considering development plans in the area.
Bales offered to resign from cabinet but his resignation was refused. The incidents resulted in Davis issuing the province"s first conflict of interest guidelines for cabinet ministers and later parliamentary assistants to follow.
He was dropped from cabinet in 1974 during a major cabinet shuffle. Bales cited declining health and a minor heart attack in 1973 as the reasons for requesting a reduction in his responsibilities.
He left politics the next year to return to his legal practice.
Cabinet posts
Bales died at the age of 59 when he was struck by a car while attempting to cross Bayview Avenue in Toronto. He is buried at York Cemetery in Toronto.