John Gerretsen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Philip Gerretsen (born June 9, 1942) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and is a Minister in the Cabinet of Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Gerretsen was born in Hilversum, The Netherlands during World War II, and moved to Canada with his parents in 1945. He was educated at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, receiving a BA degree in 1964 and an LL.B in 1967. He subsequently worked as a solicitor, serving with Manulife Insurance Company, Toronto from 1969 to 1970.

Gerretsen's political career began in the early 1970s, at the municipal level. He was elected as a Kingston Alderman in 1972, and remained on the City Council until 1980 (serving as Deputy Mayor from 1976 to 1980). Gerretsen was himself elected Mayor of the city in 1980, and was re-elected twice (a city record) before stepping down in 1988. He was also President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario from 1986 to 1987, and a trustee of Queen's University from 1981 to 1992.

After retiring from municipal politics, Gerretsen served as the Chair of Ontario Housing Corp. (1989-1992) and was a Deputy Judge in the province's Small Claims Court (1993-1995). He also became active in politics at the provincial and federal levels. Gerretsen was an Executive Member of the Ontario Liberal Party's Kingston and the Islands riding association from 1989 to 1993, and was President of the Liberal Party of Canada's federal riding association from 1993 to 1995.

Gerretsen was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1995, defeating Progressive Conservative Sally Barnes and incumbent New Democrat Gary Wilson in Kingston and the Islands. This was a close three-way race -- Gerretsen received 10314 votes, Barnes 8571, and Wilson 8052.

The general election was won by the Progressive Conservatives and Gerretsen entered parliament as a member of the opposition, serving as Opposition Critic on Housing and Chief Opposition Whip. In 1996, he ran to succeed Lyn McLeod as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. Gerretsen's campaign appealed to the conservative wing of the party, and achieved some support in his home base of eastern Ontario. He could only achieve a fifth-place finish (out of seven candidates), and dropped out after the second ballot. After withdrawing from the race, he gave his support to Dalton McGuinty, the eventual winner. (See Ontario Liberal Leadership Conventions.)

Gerretsen was easily re-elected in the 1999 provincial election, although the Progressive Conservatives were again victorious across the province. Gerretsen continued as Opposition Whip, and remained a vocal Liberal MPP for the next four years.

The Liberal Party won the 2003 election with 72 seats out of 103, and Gerretsen was re-elected in Kingston & The Islands with over 60% support. On October 23, 2003, he was named Minister of Municipal Affairs, with responsibility for Seniors. In March 2004, his portfolio was renamed the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Gerretsen was the primary spokesperson for the McGuinty government in its controversial decision to permit further housing expansion on the Oak Ridges Moraine, despite an election promise not to do so. The Liberals claimed, perhaps correctly, that they lacked the legal authority to prevent further development in the area.

After a cabinet shuffle on June 29, 2005, the responsibility for Seniors Issues was transferred to another government minister. Gerretsen was retained as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

He has a wife, Assunta, and three children: Michelle, Mark, and Paul.^{[citation needed]}