Victor Goldbloom

Victor Goldbloom
Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for D'Arcy-McGee
In office 1966–1979
Succeeded by	Herbert Marx
Minister of Municipal Affairs and the Environment
In office 1973–1976
Personal details
Born	Victor Charles Goldbloom July 31, 1923 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	February 15, 2016 (aged 92) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Sheila Barshay-Rothstein

Victor Charles Goldbloom, CC OQ (July 31, 1923 – February 15, 2016) was a Canadian pediatrician, lecturer, and politician.

Life and career

He was born in Montreal, the son of Alton Goldbloom and Annie Ballon. He studied at Selwyn House and Lower Canada College. He studied at McGill University receiving his BSc in 1944, his MD in 1945, his DipEd in 1950 and his DLitt in 1992. Dr. Goldbloom was assistant resident at the Babies' Hospital of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, in New York.^[1]

He was elected in 1966 as the MNA for the Montreal riding of D'Arcy-McGee. He was re-elected in 1970, 1973, and 1976. While Robert Bourassa was Premier of Quebec, Goldbloom was Minister of State responsible for Quality of Environment (1970–73). In 1973, he was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs as well as Quebec's first Minister of the Environment, serving in both positions until the Liberal government's defeat in 1976.^[2] Goldbloom was in charge of the Olympic Installations Board for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal .^[1][3]

He was the first member of the Jewish community to become a cabinet minister in the Quebec government. He kept his seat in the 1976 provincial election that defeated the Liberal government and sat on the Opposition benches until he resigned his seat on October 16, 1979 after Claude Ryan became Liberal leader.

Subsequently, from 1980 to 1987, he was CEO of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews. From 1991 until 1999, he was Canada's Commissioner of Official Languages.

In June, 1948, he married Sheila (born Barshay-Rothstein), of New York and Peekskill, . His sons are Michael Goldbloom, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Bishop's University and former publisher of the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette,^[4] and Jonathan Goldbloom, founder and president of Jonathan Goldbloom & Associates. His daughter, Susan Restler, lives in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2009, he expressed concerns on the state of Catholic-Jewish relations after the lifting of the excommunications of the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X.^[5] Goldbloom died of a heart attack at Montreal in February 2016.^[6][7]

Honours

• Officer of the Order of Canada (1983), was promoted to Companion in 2000.
• Officer of the National Order of Quebec. (1991)
• Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa.(1994)
• Honorary Doctorate from the Université Sainte-Anne at Church Point (Pointe de l'Église), Nova Scotia (1996)
• James H. Graham Award of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (1996)
• Knight of the Order of St. Sylvester^[8] (2012) ^[9]

Shelia and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award

In June 2009, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) established the Sheila and Victor Goldbloom Distinguished Community Service Award in their honor.

In September 2009, the first awards were presented to lawyer and longtime promoter of quality and English rights Casper Bloom, Eastern Townships-based health-care advocate Marjorie Goodfellow, and researcher Jack Jedwab, who has contributed to the knowledge and understanding of English-speaking Quebec.

Electoral record (partial)

Quebec general election, 1966: D'Arcy-McGee
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Victor Goldbloom	24,709	90.57
	Union Nationale	Boris Garmaise	1,548	5.67
	RIN	Louise Belzile	895	3.28
	Ralliement national	Gilles Côté	129	0.47
Total valid votes			27,281	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			699
Turnout			27,980	60.88
Electors on the lists			45,962
Source: Official Results, Le Directeur général des élections du Québec.

References

1. "Victor Charles GOLDBLOOM". Assemble Nationale Quebec. Quebec National Assembly. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
2. "Victor Goldbloom, former Quebec cabinet minister, dead at 92". CBC News. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
3. "Former official languages commissioner Victor Goldbloom dies aged 92". Toronto Sun. Canadian Press. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20140816064442/http://www.ubishops.ca/about-bu/principal/biography.html. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. "Story". Calgary Herald. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
6. "Turkish troops roll into Iraq | CTV Montreal News". Montreal.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
7. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/public-servant-victor-goldbloom-remembered-as-a-unifying-force/article28776715/
8. "Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops - Pope Benedict XVI grants papal honours on two Canadian pioneers in ecumenical dialogue and interfaith conversations". Cccb.ca. 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
9. "Official Report * Table of Contents * Number 272-A (Official Version)". Parl.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-17.

External links

• The Great Names of the French-Canadian Community
• Multicultural Canada, article in the Canadian Jewish Review on Goldbloom's wedding, June 25, 1948
• "Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
• Victor Goldbloom: Eminent Quebecker brought people together Globe and Mail obituary by Lisa Fitterman, Feb.28, 2016