George Radwanski, a prominent and controversial figure in Canadian journalism and public life, died Thursday from a sudden heart attack at his Toronto home. He was 67.
Radwanski held degrees in political science and law from McGill University and had a distinguished 20-year career as a journalist, earning two National Newspaper Awards. In 1978, Radwanski published a biography of then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
In 1985, then-Ontario Premier David Peterson appointed him to head up inquiries into the education system and the service sector, which led Radwanski to work as a public policy consultant. The federal government asked him to chair a review of Canada Post in 1996.
He was appointed privacy commissioner, for a seven-year term, in 2000 but resigned in 2003 when a parliamentary committee questioned his travel and hospitality expenses and accused him of falsifying a document.
He was charged in 2006 with fraud and breach of trust and was found not guilty in 2009.
Agencies/Canadajournal