Born in Chesterville, Ontario, Cass was the older son of William Joseph Mavety Cass and Agnes Isabel (McIntosh) Cass, whose great-grandfathers were John McIntosh, of apple fame, and John Cook.
He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1936 and joined his father, who had been called to the Bar in 1911, in the practice of law under the firm name, Cass & Cass. His wife, Olive, was herself the daughter of a former provincial politician, William H. Casselman, who represented Dundas as a United Farmers of Ontario member from 1919 to 1923.
While he was Attorney-General, Cass continued to practise on the weekends as a small-town lawyer in his hometown of Chesterville and another office in nearby Winchester, where his mother lived. However, to avoid a conflict of interest, he stayed out of the courts and practised solely as a solicitor.
Cass provoked serious controversy when, in response to an organized crime scare, he proposed Bill 99, a sweeping amendment to the Police Act, which would have broadened police powers allowing the Ontario Police Commission the right to interrogate and cross-examine witnesses in camera in contravention of the traditions established by English Common Law. When queried on the amendments by the press, Cass said "Yes, these are drastic, draconian measures that in some ways are really unbelievable in a country that has an English common law system." The resultant uproar and, in particular, a speech by Liberal MPP Andy Thompson forced Cass to resign from Cabinet on March 23, 1964. Thompson's success buoyed him into the position of leader of the Liberal Party several months later.
The controversy led to the Robarts government appointing the McRuer Commission on Civil Rights that led to a number of reforms to enhance civil liberties in Ontario.
Following his re-election in the 1967 general election,[2] Cass was rehabilitated by being chosen Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario once the body reconvened on February 14, 1968. He was a popular presiding officer and served until his retirement at the 1971 election. As Speaker, Cass ruled that Opposition MPPs could no longer begin their questions during Question Period with the word "why", as questions were "usually not aimed at soliciting information from cabinet ministers, but at giving the questioner an opening to catalogue his complaints about the government." This resulted in various verbal gymnastics as Opposition MPPs struggled to find a way to say "why" without saying "why.[3]
^Canadian Press (June 10, 1955). "Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies". The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa. p. 4. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
^Canadian Press (October 18, 1967). "Tories win, but..." The Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. p. B2. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
^[1] 2017-01-03 at the Wayback Machine| Tribute in the Legislative Assembly, December 5, 2000
External linksedit
Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
January 01, 1970
frederick, cass, high, sheriff, hertfordshire, died, 1861, rector, frederick, charles, cass, frederick, mcintosh, cass, august, 1913, november, 2000, canadian, politician, served, both, attorney, general, ontario, speaker, legislative, assembly, served, progre. For the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire see Frederick Cass died 1861 For the rector see Frederick Charles Cass Frederick McIntosh Cass Q C C D August 5 1913 November 25 2000 was a Canadian politician who served as both Attorney General of Ontario and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly He served as a Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament from 1955 until his retirement in 1971 Cass served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War from 1941 to 1945 Fred CassOntario MPPIn office 1955 1971Preceded byGeorge Holmes ChalliesSucceeded byDonald IrvineConstituencyGrenville DundasPersonal detailsBorn 1913 08 05 August 5 1913Chesterville OntarioDiedNovember 25 2000 2000 11 25 aged 87 Political partyProgressive ConservativeSpouseOlive CasselmanRelativesJohn McIntosh great great grandfather John Cook great great grandfather William H Casselman father in law OccupationLawyerMilitary serviceAllegianceCanadaBranch serviceCanadian ArmyYears of service1941 19451961 1983RankMajorHonourary ColonelUnitStormont Dundas and Glengarry HighlandersBattles warsSecond World War Italian Campaign North West Europe Campaign Contents 1 Background 2 Politics 2 1 Cabinet posts 3 References 4 External linksBackground editBorn in Chesterville Ontario Cass was the older son of William Joseph Mavety Cass and Agnes Isabel McIntosh Cass whose great grandfathers were John McIntosh of apple fame and John Cook He was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1936 and joined his father who had been called to the Bar in 1911 in the practice of law under the firm name Cass amp Cass His wife Olive was herself the daughter of a former provincial politician William H Casselman who represented Dundas as a United Farmers of Ontario member from 1919 to 1923 Politics editCass represented the riding of Grenville Dundas just south of Ottawa He first won a seat in the 1955 provincial election 1 He was appointed to provincial cabinet in 1958 as Minister of Highways under Leslie Frost and became known as the cabinet s troubleshooter In 1961 Frost retired and Cass was considered one of his potential successors Instead he supported provincial treasurer James Allan at the party s leadership convention Allan was defeated by John Robarts who appointed Cass Minister of Municipal Affairs and later Attorney General in 1962 While he was Attorney General Cass continued to practise on the weekends as a small town lawyer in his hometown of Chesterville and another office in nearby Winchester where his mother lived However to avoid a conflict of interest he stayed out of the courts and practised solely as a solicitor Cass provoked serious controversy when in response to an organized crime scare he proposed Bill 99 a sweeping amendment to the Police Act which would have broadened police powers allowing the Ontario Police Commission the right to interrogate and cross examine witnesses in camera in contravention of the traditions established by English Common Law When queried on the amendments by the press Cass said Yes these are drastic draconian measures that in some ways are really unbelievable in a country that has an English common law system The resultant uproar and in particular a speech by Liberal MPP Andy Thompson forced Cass to resign from Cabinet on March 23 1964 Thompson s success buoyed him into the position of leader of the Liberal Party several months later The controversy led to the Robarts government appointing the McRuer Commission on Civil Rights that led to a number of reforms to enhance civil liberties in Ontario Following his re election in the 1967 general election 2 Cass was rehabilitated by being chosen Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario once the body reconvened on February 14 1968 He was a popular presiding officer and served until his retirement at the 1971 election As Speaker Cass ruled that Opposition MPPs could no longer begin their questions during Question Period with the word why as questions were usually not aimed at soliciting information from cabinet ministers but at giving the questioner an opening to catalogue his complaints about the government This resulted in various verbal gymnastics as Opposition MPPs struggled to find a way to say why without saying why 3 Cabinet posts edit Ontario provincial government of John Robarts Cabinet posts 2 Predecessor Office Successor Kelso Roberts Attorney General1962 1964 Arthur Wishart Bill Warrender Minister of Municipal Affairs1961 1962 Wilf Spooner Ontario provincial government of Leslie Frost Cabinet post 1 Predecessor Office Successor James N Allan Minister of Highways1959 1961 Bill Goodfellow Special Parliamentary Responsibilities Predecessor Title Successor Donald Morrow Speaker1968 1971 Allan ReuterReferences edit Canadian Press June 10 1955 Complete Results of Ontario Voting by Constituencies The Ottawa Citizen Ottawa p 4 Retrieved 2014 03 22 Canadian Press October 18 1967 Tories win but The Windsor Star Windsor Ontario p B2 Retrieved 2014 03 30 1 Archived 2017 01 03 at the Wayback Machine Tribute in the Legislative Assembly December 5 2000External links editOntario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Cass amp oldid 1182473385, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
