John Clair, a former director of the Canadian Wheat Board, died Dec. 31. He was 62.
Clair was elected to the CWB in the inaugural director elections in 1998, resigning after one four-year term to devote more time to his farm at Radisson, Sask., and help his children get started in farming.
Before his election, Clair served eight years as a member of the board’s producer advisory committee.
He was also a director of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and worked with the Western Grains Research Foundation and the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association, where he was president in 2003-04.
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He was involved in local school and co-op boards and 4-H.
People who worked with Clair described him as someone who always thought carefully before expressing an opinion.
“He never did or said anything off the cuff,” said Blair McClinton, executive manager of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association.
“Everything was well planned, well thought out and well argued.”
He said the experience Clair brought to the SSCA from the other organizations he had been involved with proved invaluable in the association’s dealings with politicians and senior bureaucrats.
He was an advocate of soil stewardship and environmental sustainability, McClinton added.
CWB chair Larry Hill, who was also elected as a director in 1998, said Clair was quiet, but when he spoke people paid attention.
“You knew he had given consideration to his words,” said Hill, adding he was well respected in the industry.
“He was a dedicated farmer who was proud of his farm and his family and always had ideas about how to do things better.”
Clair is survived by his wife, Margaret, and five children.
