It gets people talking about arts and culture.вЂќ But if a poet laureate comes to town, thatвЂ™s big news. вЂњThis is so important to small-town Ontario, rural Ontario,вЂќ he said. Hatfield said the bill was a non-partisan attempt to promote poetry and literacy. вЂњI just thought it was time for Ontario to have a poet laureate and name it in Gord DownieвЂ™s honour,вЂќ he said. He said the government signalled recently it would support his private memberвЂ™s bill. Hatfield has been working since 2017 to introduce the role as a tribute to Downie. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The initiative aimed to raise awareness about CanadaвЂ™s history of residential schools through music, dance and art. It tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibwe boy who died while trying to escape an Ontario residential school in 1966. He also helped create the multiplatform вЂњSecret PathвЂќ project. While Downie is best known for his time with The Tragically Hip, he published a book of poetry in 2001 called Coke Machine Glow. вЂњTo create this position, and put his name behind it, I think he would have loved it.вЂќ вЂњItвЂ™s just a great acknowledgment of some of the things Gord did,вЂќ he said.

Mike Downie said the poet laureate will help bring the arts to smaller communities and thatвЂ™s something his brother would have supported. вЂњIt was really touching to hear such a heartfelt outpouring of love and appreciation for Gord, the man, and his artistic contribution,вЂќ he said. Patrick Downie said it was moving for the family to witness the many tributes to their brother. The pair gave the thumbs up as politicians from all parties approved the legislation. Members of DownieвЂ™s family, including his brothers Mike and Patrick, watched the passage of the bill. 17, 2017, after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Hatfield said now Ontario will join the federal government and some other provinces that have poet laureates.Дownie, who was the frontman of the rock band from Kingston, died on Oct. вЂњДЄfter winning election handily in 2009 against Harry Bell, 54 percent to 46 percent, and running unopposed in 2013, Downie did not seek re-election in November.It establishes a provincial poet laureate to promote art and literacy. вЂњHe just loved the interaction with people.

вЂњThe rest of us, youвЂ™re looking at your clock or your watch and youвЂ™re wondering how much longer this meeting is going to be. вЂњThis is what we say in my family: We never met anybody who liked to go to meetings more than Patrick,вЂќ she said. That urge extended to unlikely venues - meetings. вЂњHe was always talking to people,вЂќ Jayne said. He boarded vessels, talking to passengers about where they were from and such. She said her husband had an insatiable urge to talk to people, a desire never more apparent than when he arranged entertainment for American Cruise Lines ships that dock at City Pier every summer. вЂњHe felt like he was making a difference to people that really needed it.вЂќ вЂњHe liked helping people,вЂќ Jayne Downie said. He also was a bishop in the 1980s at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They included chairing Paint the Town and integral involvement with the North Olympic Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau, the Port Angeles Light Opera Association and a task force on the city urban growth plan. In April 1997, area Realtors gave Downie a special community service award. While working in the private sector, community involvement was DownieвЂ™s lifeblood. They later opened the Baskin-Robbins ice cream franchise before Patrick became a commercial real estate agent at Carroll Realty and Jayne was the supervisor for the North Olympic Library SystemвЂ™s Outreach to the Homebound program. Patrick DownieвЂ™s parents lived in Sequim when the Downies and their two daughters, Lynn and Erin, moved to Port Angeles, where the Downies owned the Royal Victorian Motel on First Street. in Burbank, Calif., Jayne Downie said Friday. He earned a sociology degree from California State University, Northridge, before working in the computer division at Lockheed Martin Corp. вЂњWhile all that was going on, he was fighting cancer.вЂќДownie, born in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 3, 1942, grew up in Burbank. вЂњTo me, what he did took a tremendous amount of courage. вЂњTo me, that transcends quote, unquote, compromising his principles. вЂњHe held himself out there in order to stop the bitterness that was developing in the city. вЂњTo those who say he compromised his principles, all I have to say is that to understand the man, you have to look beyond that and look at what he did.

Patrick downie