Walter Harris

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Walter Edward Harris PC QC (born January 14, 1904 in Kimberley , Ontario - † January 10, 1999 ) was a politician of the Liberal Party of Canada who was Minister for various departments in the 17th cabinet of Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent . As co-chair of a joint committee of the Parliament of Canada , he was instrumental in the design of a new flagship flag for Canada in 1946 .

Life

Lawyer and Member of the House of Commons

Harris completed a law degree after attending school and graduated with a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL). After the lawyer's approval, he joined as a barrister and was for his services as a lawyer later Attorney-General (Queen's Counsel) appointed.

Flag design from 1946

In the election of March 26, 1940 , Harris was elected as a candidate of the Liberal Party for the first time to a member of the House of Commons and represented there until his defeat in the election on June 10, 1957, the Ontario constituency of Gray-Bruce . During his membership in the House of Commons, he was between September and December 1945 and again from March to August 1946 co-chair of a joint parliamentary committee that drafted a new flag of Canada, which, however, was not used.

Harris took his first government office on October 30, 1947 as Parliamentary Assistant to Louis Saint-Laurent, Foreign Secretary in the 16th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King , and held this position until November 15, 1948. During this time he was between also chaired a House of Commons special committee on the Dominion Elections Act 1938 on December 5, 1947 and June 30, 1948 . After Louis Saint-Laurent succeeded King's Prime Minister on November 15, 1948 and formed Canada's 17th Cabinet, Harris served from November 15, 1948 to April 30, 1949 and again between July 18, 1949 and January 17, 1950 as Parliamentary Assistant to the Prime Minister.

Federal Minister

He then took over on 18 January 1950, his first ministerial post and was until June 30, 1954 Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and at the same time on May 9, 1953 to April 12, 1957 as chairman of the faction of the Liberal Party and leader of the government in House of Commons. In addition, he was from February 28, 1952 to November 20, 1952 chairman of the House of Commons special committee for redistribution and between June 12 and September 16, 1953 acting minister for public works.

As part of a government reshuffle, Harris became Treasury Secretary and Treasurer in Saint-Laurent's cabinet on July 1, 1954, and held this ministerial office until June 20, 1957.

After he lost his mandate and his ministerial office, he worked as a lawyer again.

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personal data
SURNAME Harris, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harris, Walter Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician (Liberal Party)
DATE OF BIRTH January 14, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Kimberley , Ontario
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 1999