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Sol Simon Reisman, OC, public servant (born 19 June 1919 in Montreal, QC; died 9 March 2008 in Ottawa, ON). Simon Reisman contributed to significant trade negotiations and agreements. He is recognized for his role as chief negotiator during free trade talks with the United States in the 1980s. (See also International Trade.)
Education and Career
Simon Reisman was educated at McGill University. After serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery during the Second World War, he studied at the London School of Economics. (See also Canadian Army.) He joined the Canadian Department of Labour in 1946 and shortly thereafter moved to the Department of Finance, then the nerve centre of the federal government. Reisman specialized in trade policy as a member of Canada's delegation to the first General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks and as an assistant director of research for the Royal Commission on Canada’s Economic Prospects. (See also International Trade; Walter Gordon.)
He was promoted to the new post of deputy minister of industry in 1965; he subsequently served as secretary of the Treasury Board (1968-70) and deputy minister of finance (1970-74). He was Canada's principal negotiator for the Canada-United States Automotive Products Agreement of 1965, a role for which his reportedly forceful personality and ingenious disposition was ideal (see Canada-US Auto Pact).
After a spell as an Ottawa lobbyist, he was chosen by the Mulroney government to head Canada's negotiating team in the free trade negotiations with the United States in 1985 (see Brian Mulroney). After 16 months of often fractious negotiation, an agreement was finally signed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Reisman returned to private business after the completion of the free trade agreement negotiations.
Honours and Awards
Simon Reisman was admitted to the Order of Canada in 1978 as an Officer. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Carleton University in 1998. In Reisman’s honour, the university established the Simon Reisman Chair in Trade Policy in 2000.
Key Terms
Free trade – Trade without barriers, such as tariffs, quotas and other restrictions. A government that practises free trade does not create a disadvantage for imported goods and services.
