SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 235

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 19, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 235 - Oct/19/23
Mrs. Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, NDP)
  • Oct/19/23 2:15:20 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, recently, the city of Elliot Lake lost a giant of a man who helped steer the city through some of its hardest challenges. George Farkouh was a legendary community leader. Born in Palestine and having spent his early years in Beirut and Lebanon, he and his family moved to Canada in 1959, settling in Elliot Lake. While George and his wife Louise started their careers in Toronto, they eventually returned to Elliot Lake, where George became a pillar of the business community as owner of Algoma Chrysler. George was elected mayor of Elliot Lake in 1988 and led the city for a remarkable 17 years. His days as mayor were not easy. The closing of the uranium mines in the early 1990s had a major impact on the local economy, but George saw a path to pivot the city from mining to retirement community. He created an economic model transition that allowed it not only to survive but to thrive. It is a model that other cities going through a major economic shift can look to for guidance. I, along with all Elliot Lakers, owe George a debt of gratitude. May he rest in peace.
197 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border