6 minute read
INTERVIEW - Joe Dickson
Joe Dickson
Advertisement
Member of provincial parliament for Ajax-Pickering
On behalf of the entire MBE, we would like to thank MPP Joe Dickson for giving us his precious time for this interview on such a short notice.
MBE: We started the interview by asking MPP Joe Dickson (Ajax-Pickering) about his family background and his political journey?
MPP Dickson:
My ancestors were from Ireland. In 1846, my ancestors moved to Canada and began farming in Pickering in the area of Cherrywood. My wife’s family were farmers. When they came over from England, they settled in the Bowmansville area. My parents were Mary and Lou Dickson. We were ten brothers and sisters and I’m the oldest of all. I was raised in a Christian home and my parents were very devoted people. There were three things in my parents’ life that made them successful parents; firstly, they loved God; secondly, they loved their children and thirdly and, most importantly, they loved each other.
Everybody asks me how, why and when I got involved in politics;
I guess people don’t remember that when you have nothing, everybody helps everybody else. My parents taught their children to always give back to the people and the community you live in. It seemed to me to be a natural fit with politics. Politics is yet another way to give back to my community and to Ontario, which is a great province. That’s how I got into politics. I first got elected as a Catholic School Trustee when I was 29 years of age, and I was re-elected and served for 40 years as a Trustee on the Catholic School Board. I was Regional Councilor in the municipality of Ajax for seven terms and was Deputy Mayor of Ajax. I am now the MPP for Ajax/Pickering serving my third term.
MBE: After observing two medals in MPP Dickson’s office, we asked him to tell us how he came to acquire these medals?
MPP Dickson:
Her Highness Queen Elizabeth II conferred me with these medals in appreciation of my volunteer work in the community. The first medal I received is the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. The commemorative medal was created in 2002 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Elizabeth II’s accession. It was awarded to those Canadians who contributed to public life. The second medal I was honored enough to receive from Queen Elizabeth II, is the Diamond Jubilee Medal. This medal was also created in 2012 to mark the 60th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II. This medal was awarded to those who have made significant contribution and achievements. Also, I have been awarded ‘citizen of the year’ once. Giving back to the community is something that is high on my priority list. In fact, through my printing company, Dickson Printing, I have sponsored over 1,000 sports teams.
MBE: We asked MPP Dickson to tell us a little bit about his family life with his wife and kids?
MPP Dickson:
I am married to a wonderful girl by the name of Donna. We have been married for 50 years this coming October. We were blessed with 2 children. We have a small family even though we both came from large families, mine 10 and hers 8. We have 5 grandchildren and everything is wonderful. It’s just what life is all about.
MBE: After getting to know all about his wonderful family, we asked MPP Dickson to share his experience about his Dad’s printing business, which he started in the late forties?
MPP Dickson:
My father started the first newspaper in Ajax, which was the Ajax Advertiser in 1948. In those days, we used to print the paper on a GESTETNER. It’s called a MIMEOGRAPH MACHINE and it worked on a stencil. You puts a stencil in a typewriter, type on it, cut the stencil, which is a fine case of film, puts it on GESTETNER, crank it by hand, then you take the pages, gather them and put a staple in the corner. The paper would have 4 to 5 pages, and that was it. The technology has changed a lot since then. The sophisticated and faster machines have replaced the age-old Mimeograph.
MBE: It was an amazing history and the knowledge on how printing was done in the late 40s is very interesting. We decided to ask MPP Dickson about himself, like what sports he used to play, hobbies and things he would like to do in his spare time.
MPP Dickson:
I was the Captain of the Ajax Catchers, which was a senior basketball team, and we played in various areas of Ontario. We played in the Durham Industrial League. We won that on at least one occasion. We went to the Ontario quarter finals twice with the Ajax Catchers. Ajax only had 600 homes back at that time. We were fortunate that when I started basketball here we actually had 4 leagues- Adam, Junior, Senior and Ladies. In total we had about 240 people in basketball; right from kids to young men and women generally up to age of 25. In my younger days, I loved car racing. My hobby was driving racing cars. I still own the original 1969 model Charger RT, which you only see on the TV now. Every spare moment I get, I like to spend quality time with my wife, children and grandchildren. I love to get together with them at the cottage, and by luck my children have a cottage on the same lake; so I can go there and see them, and they come to our place to visit. When it is winter time everybody is a snowmobiler, and my children love snowmobiling. I am very fortunate that I see my children regularly. Last weekend I took a break from my regular workload and went to the cottage to finish some paper work, and the kids just showed up. It’s great and peaceful to spend time with them.
MBE: We ask MPP Joe Dickson what the political leaders are focusing on, in terms of creating more jobs and providing support in setting up small businesses. We have seen during our business journey that the life of a business is very short in Canada, specifically the small businesses.
MPP Dickson:
You have to understand in Ontario the number one business has been manufacturing, and that is getting hit because of the closure of many manufacturing plants. We are doing everything to grow the manufacturing industry in Ontario. The auto industry is one of our major employers in Ontario. In recent times, some major decisions have been made by GM, Ford and other car manufacturers to cut down their production. This created a great vacuum in the job market. The Ontario government is doing its best to increase jobs in the region and promote setting up manufacturing plants in the region. We are providing support to people interested in setting up new businesses by conducting seminars, offering pre-business launch training, we have added new portfolios in the Ontario government, new ministerial positions and governance that allows us to reach and help more people. And that’s something the Premier of Ontario wants to see. As I said, the focus is on getting manufacturing industry back on track and working towards improving the job market. Our government is also working hard to help businesses become competitive globally, which will create more job opportunities and stimulate economic growth. Additionally, we are making huge infrastructure investments, which is the foundation for jobs and prosperity. Though it might take time, it is going to happen. Soon you will see an even more prosperous Ontario.
