When Hazel McCallion retired in 2014 as the mayor of the Canadian city of Mississauga, she was 93.
But while most people her age typically retreat from the spotlight of public life, “Hurricane Hazel” has shown little interest in slowing down. At 101, she recently accepted an offer to extend her role as a director for the greater Toronto airport authority, a contract that will last three years.
Omar Alghabra, Canada’s transport minister, congratulated the centenarian, commending her four decades of community service and her future “overseeing and guiding Canada’s largest airport”.
The job extension was announced last week, less than a month after she renewed her role as special adviser to the University of Toronto Mississauga, with the school praising her “encyclopaedic knowledge of politics”
Known for her blunt demeanour and pugilistic style of governing, McCallion has loomed large over Ontario civics for decades, despite her diminutive height. A school, library, parade and baseball team all bear her name. A light rail project dubbed the Hazel McCallion Line was announced in February.
“She looms very large in Ontario politics, far beyond what one would expect simply by reading the statutes about the powers of a mayor,” said Tom Urbaniak, a professor of political science at Cape Breton university and author of a book about McCallion. “One former premier remarked, ‘She’s the one politician in Ontario who scares the bejesus out of me.’ So whenever she wants to pronounce on an issue to this day – whenever she wants to wade into something – it gets noticed.”
Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, described McCallion as the “icon of Canada” at a celebration of her 100th birthday last year. “I love her, she’s a mentor and she’s taught me so much and she’s always there for everyone,” he said.
Source: The Guardian