RIP Jim Flaherty

[Anonymous]

Canada's former steady hand at wheel has passed away at the age of 64 in Ottawa. In 2009 Euromoney magazine called him the best finance minister in the world.

Former finance minister Jim Flaherty has passed away.



Police and paramedics were gathered Thursday around a downtown Ottawa condominium.



The House of Commons immediately suspended business.



Flaherty, 64, had been battling a rare skin condition, but insisted upon his surprise resignation last month that his health was not a contributing factor in his decision to step down. He had stayed on as the MP for Whitby-Oshawa, but was not planning to seek re-election.



The former minister was discovered with no vital signs.



CBC was reporting Thursday afternoon that he might have died of a heart attack.



Former Liberal leader Bob Rae, one of the first to comment, told CBC Flaherty was "an effective and tenacious" politician and a "very decent man."



When Flaherty announced he was leaving after serving as finance minister for eight years, it came as a shock to his staff and colleagues, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper.



In a statement issued March 18, Flaherty — a practicing lawyer before entering politics — said he would "focus on life beyond politics as I return to the private sector". "This decision was made because it is the right one for me and my family at this time."



As for medical issues, he said: "I am on the road to a full recovery and the decision to leave politics was not related in any way to my health."



James Michael Flaherty was born Dec. 30, 1949, in the Montreal suburb of Lachine, the sixth of eight Flaherty children.



His family were Liberal supporters, meaning he was one by default. It was while at Osgoode Hall Law School that Flaherty once said he gained the "independence of thought" that led him to be a Conservative.





Statement by the family of Jim Flaherty on his passing



Christine Elliott and her triplet sons, John, Galen and Quinn would like to make Canadians aware that her beloved husband an father passed away peacefully today in Ottawa.



We appreciate that he was so well supported in his public life by Canadians from coast to coast to coast and by his international colleagues.



The family asks for privacy at this time.

.

He attended Princeton University on a hockey scholarship after being noticed by a scout at an invitational tournament at McGill University. It was at Princeton he heard Robert Kennedy speak about the call of public service.



Known for his characteristic green neckties to celebrate his Irish roots, Flaherty spent most of his time as minister trying to pull federal finances out of the red and back into the black following a global economic downturn.



He was widely credited by political observers and many economists as the steady economic hand who helped the government fight its way back from the depths of the recession to the verge of a balanced budget.



Yet some of the government's current fiscal woes can be linked to the 2006 campaign promise Flaherty was responsible for implementing: reducing the GST from seven per cent to five per cent.



Several cabinet ministers entered the House of Commons grim-faced, declining comment. Employment Minister Jason Kenney was visibly upset.



The prime minister was expected to comment later.



Recently, Flaherty had openly questioned the wisdom of the government's plan to introduce income-splitting for families, a position that placed him at odds with other cabinet ministers and even Harper.



Flaherty also served as a minister in the cabinet of Ontario premiers Mike Harris and Ernie Eves from 1997 to 2003, including about a year as the province's finance minister.



Flaherty was known as one of Harris's most trusted MPPs, and later vied for the Progressive Conservative leadership in 2002 after Harris stepped down, ultimately losing to Eves.



Flaherty was known as one of Harris's most trusted MPPs, and later vied for the Progressive Conservative leadership in 2002 after Harris stepped down, ultimately losing to Eves.



Despite his background at Queen's Park, or perhaps because of it, Flaherty didn't shy away from mixing it up with Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty. The two often feuded in public over the Ontario's finances, including its corporate tax rate.



Flaherty is survived by his wife, Ontario Tory MPP Christine Elliott, and triplet boys: John, Quinn and Galen who were born in 1991.



Flaherty was extremely open about his son John's mental disability, which served as an impetus for his championing more support for people with disabilities as an MP.



The first public reports that Flaherty had been diagnosed with the rare skin disease bullous pemphigoid came in January 2013. Bullous pemphigoid causes large blisters on certain areas of the skin. Treatment usually involves powerful steroids that suppress the immune system. There was no indication of whether this had contributed to his death.



The Ontario legislature also recessed Thursday.

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[Renee]

I did a double take when I saw the title of this thread because at first glance I thought it read "Joe Flaherty".

[Anonymous]

I did a double take when I saw the title of this thread because at first glance I thought it read "Joe Flaherty".

No, as far as I know Joe Flaherty is still alive and kickin.

[Anonymous]

I heard it was a massive heart attack.

[Anonymous]

I am watching this on Global news..



He was the father of triplet sons including one that was mentally handicapped from an insect bite at the age of two..



My deepest condolences to his widow and sons.

[Gary Oak]

I like the way Harper has clamped down on Chinese buying their way into Canada. I don't like the way he wants to give all our wealth and companies to China.