Barry Mather
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barry Mather (1909-02-20 – 1982-03-30) was a Canadian journalist, columnist, and politician.
Born in Condor, Alberta, he was a journalist for the Vancouver News Herald and a columnist with The Vancouver Sun before being elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1962 federal election for the British Columbia riding of New Westminster. A member of the New Democratic Party, he was re-elected in the 1963, 1965, 1968, and 1972 elections in the ridings of New Westminster, Surrey, and Surrey—White Rock.
In 1965, he was the first Member of Parliament to introduce a freedom of information bill as a private member’s bill. Although it didn't pass, he would re-introduce the same legislation in every parliamentary session between 1968 and 1974. In 1983, an Access to Information Act would finally be passed.[1]
He was the co-author of the 1958 book, New Westminster, The Royal City. He was married to Camille Mildred Mather, a former Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the riding of Delta. They had two daughters: Mary and Jane.
He died of a heart attack during a vacation in Nerja in 1982.
[edit] References
- "Barry Mather, ex-MP, dies in Spain at 73", The Globe and Mail, April 1, 1982.
