Wednesday, December 6, 2023
John was a longstanding and distinguished member of the Hebrew University Halbert Advisory Committee on Canadian Studies, which I chair. It was always a pleasure to spend time with him at our annual meetings, and with him and Helen on the less frequent occasions when we had the opportunity to socialize.
In 2012-13, I spent the year in Washington, DC, and remember meeting John on the street. "John, what are you doing here? Are you at the Brookings Institution?" No. "Attending a conference?" No. "Then what?" He told me that many of their friends in Saskatoon went south to somewhere hot and sunny in the winter. Instead, he and Helen went to DC, and rented an apartment for several months. Helen loved art, of which there was a great deal in the City, and John loved politics, of which there was an inexhaustible supply, with think-tanks and political institutes thick as fleas on a dog's back scattered all over the downtown core. The weather was mild, if not hot and sunny, and they were both blissfully happy. I thought: how smart is that, and resolved to follow his example when I had the chance.
I shall miss them both.
David Cameron
Professor of Political Science
University of Toronto
