Keith Spicer, who as a spirited government official pushed his fellow Canadians to define their national identity and reconcile their bilingual heritage more than two centuries after the British defeated the French to capture Quebec, died on Aug. 24 in Ottawa.
His death, in a hospital, was confirmed to The Canadian Press by Nick Spicer, one of his three children.
Raised by Protestant parents who were anti-Catholic and anti-French, Mr. Spicer began his professional career as a political science professor before being drafted by two prime ministers into ombudsman’s jobs that more risk-averse Canadians might have rejected.
One task was to get all Canadians to accept their country as officially bilingual; the other was hear them out if they complained about language mandates and other irritants.
Persons:
Keith Spicer, Nick Spicer, Spicer
Organizations:
British, The Canadian Press, Catholic
Locations:
Quebec, Ottawa