Gord Mills

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Gordon L. Mills (born March 30, 1928 in Brighton, Sussex, England, died June 4, 2004) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995.

Mills worked as a farmer between 1942 and 1957, and was a police officer from 1957 to 1979. From 1979 until his election to the Legislature in 1990, he worked as a tax auditor for the Ontario government. He was also a news reporter, and worked with the Special Investigation Unit of the Canadian Military Police. Mills received a General Service Medal from NATO (1964-67), a Canadian Forces Decoration (1970), a United Nations medal (1971) and a Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (1992).

From 1976 to 1982, Mills was an alderman in the city of Barrie. He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1990, defeating Liberal Kirk Kemp by over 3,000 votes in the riding of Durham East, near Oshawa. The NDP won an unexpected majority government in this election, and, because of his police background, Mills served as the parliamentary secretary to the Solicitor-General for most of the period from 1990 to 1995. As one of the oldest members of the NDP caucus, he was a strong advocate for pension benefits and for including the residents of land-lease communities (many of whom are seniors) under the Landlord and Tenants Act.

In 1994, he was one of twelve NDP Member of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) who voted against a government bill to extend spousal benefits to same-sex couples. This decision cost him the support of many within the party.

The NDP were defeated in the 1995 provincial election, having lost much of their support in the Greater Toronto Area. Mills was personally defeated in Durham East, finishing a poor second against Progressive Conservative John O'Toole.

He died in 2004, at age 76.