In 1959 he graduated from the U of T. Obituary: "A lifelong Liberal - he boasted he voted Liberal in John Diefenbaker's 1958 Tory sweep - Michael was hired by Liberal rainmaker Keith Davey in 1962. The next year, he became executive assistant to former Liberal Finance Minister Mitchell Sharp, running his unsuccessful 1968 leadership campaign. Michael was pivotal in convincing Sharp to withdraw and back winner Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Over the next 20 years, Michael held senior government positions: overseeing the Opportunities for Youth Program and assisting in the adoption of the federal Multiculturalism Policy for uber Ottawa mandarin Bernard Ostry; working with anti-inflation board chair Jean-Luc Pepin on wage and price controls; Assistant Deputy Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs; Chairman of Policy Research for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; and then Executive Director of the Canadian Film Development Corporation (which became Telefilm Canada). In 1988, he was appointed President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB). The industry was on the cusp of unprecedented change. Michael was a powerful voice, leading all private broadcast sectors - radio, television and specialty and pay services - through numerous successful initiatives before the Government, the CRTC and other industry stakeholders. When he stepped down in 2001, he was inducted into the Broadcast Hall of Fame. Not that long afterwards, Michael landed his dream job - resident director of the CIDA-funded Policy Implementation Assistance Project in Hanoi. The PIAP Project gave advice to both the Office of the Prime Minister and the most senior committees of the National Assembly of Vietnam on development regarding the legal system, gender equity, healthcare and the structure of the Prime Minister's office itself." |