OTTAWA – Governor General David Johnston, the late Ed Jarmain, the late Dr. George Sinclair and Dr. Michael Binder will be inducted into the Telecommunications Hall of Fame this fall as part of the class of 2011.
"This year’s Class of Telecom Laureates, including our Governor General, have all had remarkable careers in Canadian telecommunications and they bridge the conventional categories of our Hall of Fame by shining brightly as inventors, academics, businessmen and, in some cases, all three”, said Hall of Fame founder and director, Lorne Abugov.
In addition, this year’s special recognition award will go to the Canadian Business Telecommunications Alliance (CBTA), a national industry association of business telecom equipment and service users that was a driving force behind changes in the telecom industry in Canada for three decades, principally by advocating a competitive supply structure within the sector.
Johnston, the country’s 28th Governor General, will be inducted into the Advocates and Academics category. After beginning his professional career as assistant professor in the faculty of law at Queen’s University (1966), he has recently chaired the advisory committee on on-line learning, the committee on information system for the environment, the national task force on high speed broadband access, and the broadband national selection committee. He has spoken extensively on the development of both a digital communications policy and a broadband strategy for Canada, and has raised awareness on the issues associated with convergence and communications in the 21st century.
As the acknowledged father and pioneer of cable television in Canada, Edwin Roper Jarmain foresaw the promising future of cable television before others, spearheading many technical developments and contributed notably to the technical and operational advancement of the industry. While his business foresight and risk-taking have been widely recognized, he always placed equal or greater importance on making the technical breakthroughs that were necessary for the young industry to move forward. His company, London Cable TV, became the nucleus of a group of cable TV systems in Southern Ontario. Jarmain, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 100, will be inducted under the Icons of Business category.
Throughout his extensive and exemplary career in the federal public service, Dr. Michael Binder was the driving force within the federal government behind the development of a world-class communications and information infrastructure in Canada. He oversaw Canada’s transition to a network economy, and was responsible for the policy development of the telecommunication industries, the regulation of the wireless frequency spectrum and the introduction of spectrum auctions in Canada, the promotion of electronic commerce, and the development and use of information and communications technologies for the economic, social and cultural benefit of all Canadians. He will be inducted under the Servants of the Public category.
Dr. George Sinclair was a Canadian pioneer in the development of radio antennas and filters for military and civilian applications. After forming Sinclair Radio Laboratories Ltd. in 1951, the company established and still maintains a strong international reputation for its designs and products, especially multi couplers and antennas, which are used for mobile radio, public safety, and military, cellular, and transportation applications. Following his retirement, the company was renamed Sinclair Technologies and run for many years by Dr. Sinclair’s three daughters before being purchased by Norsat this year. Sinclair, who passed away in 1993 at the age of 82, will be inducted under the Inventors & Innovators category.
The 7th annual Telecom Laureate Awards Gala dinner and induction ceremonies will be held at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa on November 2, 2011.
