Today, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Gerry Martiniuk, former MPP for Cambridge and North Dumfries.
Gerry Martiniuk served as a municipal councillor, a school trustee on the Waterloo County
Board of Education, and as an alderman for the town of Preston. He also served as Chairman of the
Waterloo Regional Police Commission. He was later elected and served as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Cambridge and North Dumfries from 1995 until 2011. During that time he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Attorney General.
He graduated from Osgoode Hall and worked as a lawyer before getting involved in public life and was involved with organizations like St. John’s Ambulance, Preston-Hespeler Rotary Club, and the United Way of Cambridge. Gerry was also President of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.
Amongst his other accomplishments, Mr. Martiniuk introduced and passed a bill proclaiming September 7th as Ukrainian Heritage Day in Ontario to mark the anniversary of the arrival of the first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada in 1891.
On behalf of the residents of the Kitchener-Waterloo, I would like to extend my condolences to his family and friends. I would also like to sincerely thank his family for sharing Gerry with our community.