John was born and raised in Elmvale Acres and Alta Vista, and has been an active volunteer in a number of local organizations and initiatives. He spearheaded the “Our Children, Our Hospital” campaign to save the Cardiac Care Unit at CHEO (the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario) and organized a fundraiser for the Heron Road Emergency Food Bank which raised $20,000. For a number of years, he served as a palliative care volunteer at the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital and as a coach to the Canterbury Mustangs Football Team.
John understands the challenges that businesses face, having spent 18 years managing small and medium sized local businesses before entering public service. For 14 years, John served alongside Dalton McGuinty in Ottawa South, working to bring community-based solutions to important issues for the people that live and work here.
After the 2014 election, John was mandated to support the development of a comprehensive strategy for palliative and end-of-life care in Ontario. It is a mandate he asked for and one that he is grateful to have. He has long been guided by the firm belief that how we care for each other at the end-of-life is as important as at the beginning of our lives.
John has co-sponsored several bills including Rowan’s Law, a bill that passed in June 2016, whose mandate is to increase awareness about concussions in our schools and in amateur sport to help end unnecessary concussion-related tragedies in our community. He has also sponsored several Private Member Bills including Bill 53, The Protecting Passenger Safety Act 2014 which would stiffen penalties for individuals who transport passengers for compensation without a licence, permit, or authorization as well as Bill 60, an Act to proclaim November as Lebanese Heritage Month.
John is married to his high school sweetheart, Linda, and they have three grown children, Kïrsten, John Jr. and James and three grandchildren, Vaughn, Sloane and Fraser.