John Trevor Eyton,OCQC(July 12, 1934 – February 24, 2019) was aCanadianbusinessman, lawyer, andSenator.
J. Trevor Eyton | |
|---|---|
| Senatorfor Ontario | |
| In office September 23, 1990 – July 12, 2009 | |
| Appointed by | Brian Mulroney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Trevor Eyton July 12, 1934 Quebec City,Quebec,Canada |
| Died | February 24, 2019(aged 84) Toronto,Ontario,Canada |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative(1990–2004) Conservative(2004–2009) |
Life and career
editEyton was born inQuebec Cityin 1934 and was educated and raised in Quebec andToronto, Ontario.He was educated at Beaupré Public School andJarvis Collegiate Institute.In 1957 he received hisBachelor of Artsfrom theUniversity of Toronto,and earned hisBachelor of Lawsfrom theUniversity of Toronto Law Schoolin 1960.
After completing his studies, Eyton joined the law firm ofTory Tory DesLauriers & Binnington,where he remained until 1979 when he left to become president and chief executive officer ofBrascanLimited, a post he held for 12 years. Eyton remained with Brascan as chairman and senior chairman until 1997 and served on its board of directors. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1991 byBrian Mulroney
Eyton was a board member of a number of corporations, includingCoca-Cola Enterprises(Atlanta),General Motors of Canada,Noranda,Nestle CanadaandCoretec,and served as Chairman and a director ofIvernia West.He was involved in amateur sport and philanthropic organizations including Junior Achievement, the Canadian Olympic Foundation and is Chairman ofCanada's Sports Hall of Fame.Senator Eyton is a member of theCanadian Journalism Foundation,theCanadian Institute for Advanced Research,and the Advisory Committee of theToronto ZooFoundation.
For many years Eyton sat on the board ofGrenville Christian Collegeduring the period that Father Charles Farnsworth was headmaster of the school. The former Canadian private school is now the subject of a class action lawsuit. Widespread child abuse has been alleged in the media where it has also been alleged that the school was operated as a mind control cult.
In the 1980s Eyton organized a consortium intended to fund Toronto'sSkydomesports stadium with private financing. Massive cost overruns ended up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.[1]
Eyton was an Officer of theOrder of Canada,Queen's Counselfor Ontario, and was awarded honorary Doctors of Laws by both theUniversity of Waterlooand theUniversity of King's Collegeat Dalhousie – where he was Chancellor from 1996 to 2001. In 2000 he was awarded Mexico’sOrder of the Aztec Eagle– the highest award given to foreigners by the government of Mexico.[2]
In his spare time he enjoyed skiing and golf. Trevor Eyton married to Barbara Jane Montgomery in 1955. They had five children: Deborah Jane, Susannah Margaret, Sarah Elizabeth, Adam Tudor, and Christopher Montgomery, who have given the Eytons 11 grandchildren.
Eyton retired from the Senate on July 12, 2009, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. He died on February 24, 2019, at the age of 85.[3]
In December 2019, theToronto Starreported that Eyton died owing millions in income taxes, despite his high profile business career and long-term senate appointment.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Globe and Mail June 3, 2009
- ^Canada Gazette Part I, Vol. 135, No. 8Archived2012-03-06 at theWayback Machine
- ^Samek, Ellen (2019-02-26)."Distinguished lawyer, businessman and senator J. Trevor Eyton dies aged 84".National Post.Retrieved2019-02-26.
- ^Toronto Star Dec 11, 2019