Peter Stollery
Canadian Parliament for Spadina | |
---|---|
In office 1972–1981 | |
Preceded by | Sylvester Perry Ryan |
Succeeded by | Dan Heap |
Personal details | |
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | November 29, 1935
Political party | Liberal |
Committees | Chair, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Chair, Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade |
Portfolio | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Communications (1980-1981) Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State of Canada (1980-1981) |
Peter Alan Stollery (born November 29, 1935) is a former Canadian politician and businessman.
Background
An old Yorkville family, the Stollerys owned a furnishings store named Stollery's, which opened in 1901 in downtown Toronto. Peter Stollery, the founder’s grandson, worked on and off at the haberdashery for 24 years, first as a furnishings’ man and eventually as a manager from 1965 to 1968 after his father, Alan Stollery, died suddenly. His attachment to these roots explain his later designation in the Senate of Canada as Senator for "Bloor and Yonge", the intersection at which the store was located.
Before entering public life, Stollery also worked as a teacher in Algeria and travel writer for Maclean's. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and a Member of the National Liberal Club in London.
Career in Parliament
Stollery was elected to the
In 1981, Stollery was appointed to the
In the Senate, Stollery served on several committees. He took part in numerous overseas delegations and assumed the position of Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs (1999–2005).[2] He continued to serve on the committee as Vice-Chair until his retirement from the Senate. He has been involved with the Canada-Europe Interparliamentary Union.
Controversy
On May 29, 2006, during a session of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, Stollery criticized Hamid Karzai, then President of Afghanistan. Although Karzai was democratically elected, Stollery implied that Karzai's ascent to power was due to US influence.[3] He argued that Canadian troops could be better used to help “create a democratic society in Afghanistan”.[4]
In September 2006, Stollery added that the limited presence of Canadian troops on the African continent was a result of military officials believing it was not as "sexy" as helping the U.S. by fighting in Afghanistan. He was subsequently criticized by Liberal Senator Roméo Dallaire, who called Stollery's comments "scandalous language." Dallaire stated that "Nothing is sexy in war. The whole concept of war is perverse, and the reason we're in one area and not another is because political decisions have been taken."[5][6]
References
- ^ By-election in Spadina to Tories’ advantage, Trudeau tells Commons, by Marina Strauss, The Globe and Mail, July 4, 1981.
- ^ Out of their depth in Africa, by Carol Goar, Toronto Star, February 23, 2007.
- ^ Senator calls Afghan president Karzai a 'stooge' Archived 2007-08-09 at the Wayback Machine by Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service (reprinted by the Saskatchewan Star Phoenix), May 30, 2006.
- ^ Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, May 29, 2006.
- ^ "Senator slams sparse Canadian military presence in Africa". September 26, 2006. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Brewster, Murray. "Africa not 'sexy' enough: Senator". The Hamilton Spectator. Ottawa, Ontario. The Canadian Press. p. A11. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via newspapers.com.