Background
CLEMENT, JOHN was born on August 28, 1928 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
CLEMENT, JOHN was born on August 28, 1928 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
He went to Queen"s University and later attended Osgoode Hall Law School which he attended at the same time as future premier Bill Davis.
Clement married Carol Panayi. Clement"s first political involvement was as a Trustee on the Niagara Falls School Board. In the 1971 provincial election, Clement ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding of Niagara Falls beating Liberal incumbent George Bukator by 1,821 votes.
In September 1972 he was named as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations.
In January 1975, he was named as Attorney General and Provincial Secretary for Justice. In February 1975, he was also appointed Solicitor General when George Kerr resigned from cabinet due to an election donation scandal.
In the 1975 election he was defeated by Liberal Vince Kerrio by 168 votes. Clement called for a recount and a margin of 172 was confirmed.
Cabinet posts
Clement was known as an excellent public speaker and spent many years served as Master of Ceremonies at a number of public events-- both political and charitable.
Over the years he served on the boards of a number of charitable organizations including the Ontario branch of the Canadian Red Cross. In 1979, Clement was hired by Metro Transport-Public Advertising Limited., a company that wanted to supply advertising for the Toronto Transit Commission. Later that same year he was appointed to the Toronto Police Services Board to study ways to increase minority hiring on the police force.
In 1983, Clement was a director for Crown Trust and Greymac Trust, two of three companies that collapsed.
He was found not to have been involved and was cleared of any in wrongdoing. The Ontario government seizing the assets to protect the depositors.
This cost the government $1.2 Billion. In 1988, he was named to the Public Service Staff Relations Board, a committee that adjudicates disputes between the Federal government and its employees.
Niagara District Board of Education, 1965-1969. Ontario Cabinet, 1972-1975. Chairman, Law Enforcement Advisory Committee, Niagara College.
1968-1971.
Master of Public Policy, Niagara Falls, 1971-1975. Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations, 1972-1975. Attorney General and Provincial Secretary for Justice, 1975.
Honorary Counsel, Ontario Red Cross Society, 1979.
Member, Editorial Board, Ontario Lawyers Weekly, 1984. Member: Niagara Falls (President, 1966) and Canadian Bar Associations.
Canadian Owners and Pilots Association. (Also practices individually at same address).