Personalities behind the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce (1986-1989)

John Doole (1986)

At 84, John Doole feels terrific, despite having developed cancer 2 1/2 years ago, which he finds “a bit of a nuisance.” However, he still does the Argentine tango really well, he says.

Doole says the big issue of his day was the contract for the CF-18 fighter aircraft. The Pawley government was in power and despite viewing him as “a caged tiger” — a right-wing conservative — they asked him to go to Ottawa with them to meet with Mulroney and his cronies.

In a silky voice, Doole says: “Mulroney was as smooth as a velvet jacket.” Some of the Manitoba delegation got a bit raucous, but Muironey handled them in a very diplomatic, toned down way.

“It (lobbying) didn’t work. We lost the contract.”

The CF-18 issue probably characterized Doole’s term at The Chamber.

“I was an impatient president. A hell of a lot of issues came up, including the payroll tax. I adopted the attitude that there was such a need for instant reaction, I wouldn’t wait until the next meeting for the (Chamber) council’s position. I’d tell the media what I’d think and if the council disagreed, to hell with them. I never had a single complaint.”

Being Chamber president took up a lot of time — what with breakfast meetings and dinner meetings with rubber chicken.

But he made some really good friends, and to this day, he maintains a nodding acquaintance with NDP Premier Gary Doer, involved back then in the CF-18 issue.

Dorothy Dobbie (1987)

“It wasn’t important to me, but it was significant to the business community,” says Dorothy Dobbie, who became The Chamber’s first female president in 115 years.

“At the time, it (The Chamber) really was a male enclave.”

Women, in general, tend to be more direct, and as Chamber president, she didn’t pull any punches, Dobbie says. The Pawley government called her “the unofficial opposition.”

She came to blows with them over the introduction of the payroll tax.

Michael Decter, who’s now married to Pamela Wallin, came up with the idea that would see The Chamber protest the tax by sending out 20,000 payroll stuffers, which read: “If your pay cheque is smaller today, you can blame it on the payroll tax.”

Later, the Conservative government would fail to live up to its promise to scrap the tax, and it continues to be an issue today.

Michael Hill (1988)

“The real issue of that day was free trade — NAFTA. It was a huge debate across the land,” says Michael Hill.

“We hosted a number of educational events — I don’t know whether educational is the right word — over the issue of free trade to countermand those against it. We even hosted the prime minister.”

Being president was a wonderful experience, he adds, saying it’s something he would never have experienced if he hadn’t got involved in the first place.

“It was a fun year. I met a lot of great people and continue to bump into those people. I met some of the most fascinating, influential business leaders in the community.”

It became a standard joke: “I didn’t see your picture in the post office, you must have been a president of The Chamber.”

Herb Middlestead (1989)

Herb Middlestead

The talk around The Chamber table when he was president was focused on taxation — make changes to the GST and lower fuel and business taxes.

“We wanted the government to make it (the GST) visible, for there to be a minimum number of exemptions and for it to be integrated with the PST,” says Herb Middlestead.

“We also wanted to reverse the deterioration of Manitoba’s role as a transportation hub. There had been cuts in VIA jobs.

We felt the airport was greatly under-utilized. Highway 75 was in great shape (said tongue-in-cheek).”

The Chamber felt that Winnipeg was at the centre of the continent and had a role to play in international trade through the airport and trucking to Chicago.

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