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John Bassett




Born in Ottawa, Ontario , he was the son of John Bassett ( 1886 - 1958 ), publisher of the '' Montreal Gazette '', and Margaret Avery. Bassett attended Ashbury College and graduated from Bishop's University with a BA in 1936 . He became a Reporter for the Toronto '' Globe And Mail ''.

After fighting with the Army in World War II, Bassett ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada , in the 1945 Canadian Election in the riding of Sherbrooke. He lost to the Liberal candidate, Maurice Gingues . He also ran in the 1962 Election in the riding of Spadina. He lost again to the Liberal candidate, Perry Ryan .

His first experience in newspaper ownership was with the '' Sherbrooke Daily Record '', which he bought from his father. In 1952 , Bassett purchased part ownership of the '' Toronto Telegram ''. In 1960 , he founded Baton Broadcasting to run Toronto 's first commercial Television Station , CFTO . From 1957 until 1979 , Bassett was the owner of the Toronto Argonauts , a team in the Canadian Football League .

In 1989 , he was appointed, for a three-year term, Chairman of the Security Intelligence Review Committee, an independent body that reports to the Parliament Of Canada on the operations of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service . Due to the requirements under the Official Secrets Act , Bassett was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council For Canada .

He married Isabel Bassett in 1970 .

Bassett had six children : John Frederick , Doug and David from an earlier marriage and Avery, Sarah and Matthew from his marriage to Isabel. Former Tennis star Carling Bassett-Seguso is the daughter of John Frederick Bassett.


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