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John Allen Fraser Quotes

John Allen Fraser, is a Canadian retired parliamentarian and former Speaker of the House of Commons.Fraser was born in Yokohama, Japan, where his father was working as a lumber salesman. His parents returned to British Columbia when Fraser was four years old. He grew up and was educated there and graduated from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in Spring 1954. Fraser first won a seat in Parliament in the 1972 general election as a Progressive Conservative from Vancouver. He stood as a candidate at the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention to replace Robert Stanfield, but did poorly. He was re-elected in 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1988.In 1979, Fraser became Minister of the Environment in the short-lived government of Joe Clark, returning to the Opposition benches in 1980. He returned to the Cabinet in the wake of Brian Mulroney's landslide victory in the 1984 federal election, and became Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. He was forced to resign in 1985 as a result of the "Tainted Tuna" affair.In 1986, he became Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, the first to be elected by fellow Members of Parliament, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1993.



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✵ 15. December 1931
John Allen Fraser photo
John Allen Fraser: 16   quotes 0   likes

Famous John Allen Fraser Quotes

“If the institutions of parliamentary democracy are worth preserving, the duty to explain them to the people they are meant to serve becomes vitally important.”

John Allen Fraser

Afterword, p. 174
The House Of Commons At Work (1993)

“as I became Speaker in 1986, I made a point of setting up a public information office to respond to requests and provide information about Parliament and how it functions.”

John Allen Fraser

Preface, p. ix
The House Of Commons At Work (1993)

“In the long and dogged crusade that the human race has fought in favor of democracy, the ideal of liberty, of freedom, has always been the goal.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 1, The System of Government, p. 4

“Democracy is not a form of government. It is a political philosophy that can be embodied in various systems of government.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 1, The System of Government, p. 5

“On a craggy bluff above the majestic Ottawa River stands the remarkable embodiment of our system of governance: Parliament.”

John Allen Fraser

Preface, p. ix
The House Of Commons At Work (1993)

“The office of Speaker is almost as ancient as Parliament itself. It emerged in the Middle Ages when the Commons - the ordinary people - of England needed a spokesman in their dealings with the King, someone who would voice their grievances and present their petitions. This was by no means a safe or easy thing to do at that time, and potential spokesman generally had to be pressured into accepting the responsibility.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 4, The Office of Speaker of the House of Commons, p. 46

John Allen Fraser Quotes

“The institutions which our ancestors established to to sustain and defend democracy in this country are still with us today, more than two hundred years later.”

John Allen Fraser

Afterword, p. 172
The House Of Commons At Work (1993)

Democracy , Country

“The purpose of privilege is not to place parliamentarians above the law, but rather to allow them to carry out their duties independently and effectively, in the national interest.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 10, The Business of the House, p. 152

Law

“The House Of Commons has never been a tea-party. It consists of strong-minded, often very idealistic people, who are trying to accomplish something for our country. We are inheritors of an adversarial system and that, in itself, fosters conflict.”

John Allen Fraser

Preface, p. xi
The House Of Commons At Work (1993)

People , Strong , Tea , Housing

“The very structures, the corridors, the rooms and offices, are eloquent testimony to our past.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 2, The Parliament Buildings, p. 28

Past

“A careful and sympathetic sense of humour can also be a great asset when there is need to get out of difficult situations gracefully.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 4, The Office of Speaker of the House of Commons, p. 55

Sense

“Question Period is not part of the legislative process, and has nothing to do with it. It is a means of monitoring the Executive that the Government cannot evade.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 9, The House of Commons Functions, p. 122

Question , Parting

“For two years now, my office has had the honour and the privilege of sponsoring seminars on the functioning of government in this country for Eastern Europeans. These seminars and exchanges have brought together representatives from such nations as Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republic, Roumania, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine, all of them anxious to learn what makes a society as diverse as Canada work and how our institutions make it governable.”

John Allen Fraser

Afterword, p. 173
The House Of Commons At Work (1993)

Learning , Country

“But while the American Constitution was the child of war, ours grew out of discussion, bargaining and negotiation.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 1, The System of Government, p. 6

War

“As our parliamentary system now stands, we say that this role of overseeing the Government has probably become the main function of the House of Commons. the purpose of this function is to illuminate the weaknesses in government policies, the errors that may have been committed and the sectors that may have been forgotten, and to suggest alternative solutions.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 9, The House of Commons Functions, p. 122

Error , Housing

“Debates must take place in an atmosphere of courtesy.”

John Allen Fraser

Source: The House Of Commons At Work (1993), Chapter 10, The Business of the House, p. 150

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