Fred Cass | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cass in 1962 | |
| Ontario MPP | |
| In office 1955–1971 | |
| Preceded by | George Holmes Challies |
| Succeeded by | Donald Irvine |
| Constituency | Grenville—Dundas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1913-08-05)August 5, 1913 |
| Died | November 25, 2000(2000-11-25) (aged 87) |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse | Olive Casselman |
| Relatives | John McIntosh (great-great grandfather) John Cook (great-great grandfather) William H. Casselman (father-in-law) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Branch/service | Canadian Army |
| Years of service | 1941 - 1945 1961 - 1983 |
| Rank | Major Honorary Colonel |
| Unit | Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
Frederick McIntosh CassQ.C.,C.D. ( August 5, 1913 – November 25, 2000) was a Canadian politician who served as bothAttorney-General of Ontario andSpeaker of the Legislative Assembly. He served as aProgressive ConservativeMember of Provincial Parliament from 1955 until his retirement in 1971. Cass served in the Canadian Army during theSecond World War from 1941 to 1945.
Born inChesterville, Ontario, Cass was the older son of William Joseph Mavety Cass and Agnes Isabel (McIntosh) Cass, whose great-grandfathers wereJohn McIntosh, of apple fame, andJohn Cook.
He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1936 and joined his father, who had been called to the Bar in 1911, in the practice of law under the firm name, Cass & Cass. His wife, Olive, was herself the daughter of a former provincial politician,William H. Casselman, who represented Dundas as aUnited Farmers of Ontario member from 1919 to 1923.
Cass represented theriding ofGrenville—Dundas just south ofOttawa. He first won a seat in the1955 provincial election.[1] He was appointed toprovincial cabinet in 1958 asMinister of Highways underLeslie Frost and became known as the cabinet's troubleshooter. In 1961, Frost retired and Cass was considered one of his potential successors. Instead, he supported provincial treasurerJames Allan at the party'sleadership convention. Allan was defeated byJohn Robarts, who appointed CassMinister of Municipal Affairs, and later,Attorney General in 1962.
While he was Attorney-General, Cass continued to practise on the weekends as a small-town lawyer in his hometown of Chesterville and another office in nearby Winchester, where his mother lived. However, to avoid a conflict of interest, he stayed out of the courts and practised solely as asolicitor.
Cass provoked serious controversy when, in response to anorganized crime scare, he proposed Bill 99, a sweeping amendment to the Police Act, which would have broadened police powers allowing the Ontario Police Commission the right to interrogate and cross-examine witnessesin camera in contravention of the traditions established byEnglish Common Law. When queried on the amendments by the press, Cass said "Yes, these are drastic, draconian measures that in some ways are really unbelievable in a country that has an English common law system." The resultant uproar and, in particular, a speech byLiberal MPPAndy Thompson forced Cass to resign from Cabinet on March 23, 1964. Thompson's success buoyed him into the position of leader of the Liberal Party several months later.
The controversy led to the Robarts government appointing the McRuer Commission onCivil Rights that led to a number of reforms to enhancecivil liberties in Ontario.
Following his re-election in the1967 general election,[2] Cass was rehabilitated by being chosenSpeaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario once the body reconvened on February 14, 1968. He was a popular presiding officer and served until his retirement at the1971 election. As Speaker, Cass ruled thatOpposition MPPs could no longer begin their questions duringQuestion Period with the word "why", as questions were "usually not aimed at soliciting information from cabinet ministers, but at giving the questioner an opening to catalogue his complaints about the government." This resulted in various verbal gymnastics as Opposition MPPs struggled to find a way to say "why" without saying "why.[3]
| Robarts ministry,Province of Ontario (1961-1971) | ||
| Cabinet posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Kelso Roberts | Attorney General 1962–1964 | Arthur Wishart |
| Bill Warrender | Minister of Municipal Affairs 1961–1962 | Wilf Spooner |
| Frost ministry,Province of Ontario (1949-1961) | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| James N. Allan | Minister of Highways 1959–1961 | Bill Goodfellow |
| Special Parliamentary Responsibilities | ||
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
| Donald Morrow | Speaker 1968–1971 | Allan Reuter |
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