Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House of Commons to remember the long and rich life of Dr. James A. Gibson, who passed away last week at the age of 91.
Born in Ottawa, Dr. Gibson grew up in Victoria and graduated at the age of 18 with a B.A. in history from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Gibson was a Rhodes scholar and a graduate of Oxford University.
In 1937, he began teaching government and economics at the University of British Columbia. Early in his career, he was private secretary to Prime Minister Mackenzie King. He then would go on to serve as Dean of Arts and Science at Carleton University.
Dr. Gibson will be remembered for the significant contribution he made to education in my community of St. Catharines. He was Brock University's founding president from 1964-74, and today the library at Brock University bears his name.
A recipient of the Order of Canada, Dr. James A. Gibson dedicated 70 years of his life to higher education.
I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to Dr. Gibson's daughters, Julia Matthews and Eleanor Joly, and to his son Peter. He was a fine example of a great Canadian.