View source for Jake Epp

{{short description|Canadian executive and former politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{BLP sources|date=September 2007}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| honorific-suffix = [[King's Privy Council for Canada|PC]], [[Order of Canada|OC]]
| image=
|birth_name=Arthur Jacob Epp
| birth_date={{birth date and age|1939|09|01}}
| birth_place=[[Saint Boniface, Winnipeg|Saint Boniface]], [[Manitoba]], Canada
| death_date=
| death_place=
| spouse=
| residence=
| constituency_MP2=[[Provencher]]
| parliament2=Canadian
| term_start2= October 30, 1972
| term_end2= October 24, 1993
| predecessor2=[[Mark Smerchanski]]
| successor2=[[David Iftody]]
| office=[[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of [[Tyndale University College and Seminary]]
| term_start=2005
| term_end=2009<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Chancellors|url=https://www.tyndale.ca/about/chancellor/past|access-date=February 18, 2020}}</ref>
| predecessor=John N. Gladstone
| successor=[[Brian Stiller]]
| cabinet=Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (1989-1993)<br />Minister of National Health and Welfare (1984-1989)<br />Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development First Mennonite in Cabinet (1979-1980)
| profession=Business executive, teacher
| party=[[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]]
| religion=
| website=
}}
'''Arthur Jacob "Jake" Epp''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|OC}} (born September 1, 1939) is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] executive and former [[politician]].

==Life and career==
Born into a [[Mennonite]] family in [[Manitoba]], Epp was a high school history teacher in [[Steinbach, Manitoba]] before entering politics.  Jake Epp was first elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] as a [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]]  [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) in the [[1972 Canadian federal election|1972 election]] for the riding of [[Provencher]], which was the home of [[Atomic Energy of Canada Limited]]'s  [[Whiteshell Laboratories]].

In the wake of the 1977 murder of [[Emanuel Jaques]], Epp wrote to the National Gay Rights Coalition: "I would like to see what kind of support you have now after what has taken place in Toronto. What is needed is not protection for homosexuals, but for Canadians who are not deviant."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://contests.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_10.24.02/news/editorial.php |title=Eye Weekly - Murder and history - 10.24.02 |access-date=2008-05-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710212845/http://contests.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_10.24.02/news/editorial.php |archive-date=2011-07-10 }}</ref>

After the [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979 election]], he served in the short-lived [[Canadian Cabinet|Cabinet]] of [[Joe Clark]] as [[Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)|Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]]. As a minister, he wrote the ''Epp letter'', which instructed the [[Commissioner of the Yukon]] to abandon some of her powers and established [[responsible government]] in the [[Yukon]]. He retained his seat in the [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980 election]] despite the defeat of the Clark government and returned to the [[Parliamentary Opposition|Opposition bench]].

When [[Brian Mulroney]] led the Conservatives back to power in the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]], he appointed Epp as his [[Minister of Health (Canada)|Minister of National Health and Welfare]]. At the Cabinet table, he was a vocal proponent that life begins at conception.<ref>[https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/11/17/mulroneyera_cabinet_documents_reveal_struggle_to_replace_abortion_law_thrown_out_by_court.html 17 Nov 2013 Toronto Star: "Mulroney-era cabinet documents reveal struggle to replace abortion law thrown out by court"]</ref>  In the spring of 1988, the activist organization AIDS Action NOW! burned an effigy of Epp at [[Toronto City Hall]] to draw attention to his neglect of the AIDS epidemic.<ref>{{Cite web|last=calgarygayhistory|date=2020-04-10|title=AIDS 1988: lighting a fire under Health Minister Epp|url=https://calgarygayhistory.ca/2020/04/10/aids-1988-lighting-a-fire-under-health-minister-epp/|access-date=2020-12-10|website=Calgary Gay History|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Push for Treatment Access|url=https://www.catie.ca/en/positiveside/winter-2016/push-access|access-date=2020-12-10|website=www.catie.ca|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021050720/https://www.catie.ca/en/positiveside/winter-2016/push-access|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1989, Epp became [[Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (Canada)|Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources]]. Epp retired at the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 election]], and returned to private life. From 1993 until 2000, he was Senior Vice President and Vice President at [[TransCanada Pipelines]] Ltd.

Epp was one of the Tories who joined the [[Canadian Alliance]] when it was created in an attempt to attract Progressive Conservatives to the former [[Reform Party of Canada]].

The Tory [[Mike Harris]] government appointed Epp to head a review of the ongoing cost over-runs and delays that plagued [[Ontario Power Generation]]'s restart of the four "A" reactors at the [[Pickering Nuclear Generating Station]].  The two other panel members were Peter Barnes and Dr. Robin Jeffrey.  The review's report was released on December 4, 2003, and attributed blame for the project to management problems.

The election of the [[Ontario Liberal Party]] in 2003 delayed action on the Epp report.  The government of [[Dalton McGuinty]] appointed Epp to the Ontario Power Generation Review headed by [[John Manley (politician)|John Manley]] to examine the future role of [[Ontario Power Generation]] (OPG) in the province’s electricity market, examine its corporate and management structure, and decide whether the public utility should proceed with refurbishing three more nuclear reactors at the Pickering [[nuclear power]] plant. The report recommended proceeding with the restart Pickering "A" reactors 1, 2, and 3, sequentially. The report argued that the restart of units 2 and 3 would be contingent on whether "OPG will be able to succeed at the Unit 1 project."<ref>Ontario Power Generation Review Committee, Transforming Ontario’s Power Generation Company, March 2004, p. 47</ref>

The McGuinty government accepted the OPG Review Committee's recommendation and allowed the restart of reactor 1, which still underwent cost over-runs and delays.
In August 2005, the OPG Board of Directors announced that Units 2 and 3 would not be refurbished due to specific technical and cost risks surrounding the material condition of these two units.

In 2004, the McGuinty government made Epp [[Chair (official)|Chairman of the Board]] of OPG.

Between 2005 and 2009 Epp served as Chancellor of [[Tyndale University College and Seminary]] in Toronto.<ref>[http://www.tyndale.ca/news/2005/04/honourable-jake-epp-appointed-as-new-tyndale-chancellor Jake Epp Appointed as new Tyndale Chancellor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722081853/http://www.tyndale.ca/news/2005/04/honourable-jake-epp-appointed-as-new-tyndale-chancellor |date=2011-07-22 }}, April 25, 2005.</ref>

In 2010, Epp was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]].<ref>[http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13725&lan=eng Governor General announces 74 new appointments to the Order of Canada]</ref>

== The AIDS Crisis ==
{{tone|section|date=May 2022}}
Jake Epp played a significant role in allowing the [[HIV/AIDS in Canada|AIDS crisis]] to grow unchecked by continuously ignoring pleas from [[community organizations]] to develop and implement a National AIDS Strategy. Beyond invitations for conversation, a blind eye was turned to AIDS activist protests as well. [[HIV/AIDS activism|HIV/AID activism]] in opposition to Jake Epp came to a head when activists from AIDS Action Now! in [[Toronto]] called attention to his neglect by burning him in [[effigy]] in [[Nathan Phillips Square]]. Jake Epp's willful ignorance exacerbated the AIDS crisis in Canada and contributed to the growing number of AIDS-related deaths. Despite the desperate need for action, the government made no change until Epp was replaced by [[Perrin Beatty]]. Only then was there involvement in HIV-related matters at the federal level in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-11-17|title=David Hoe|url=https://aidsactivisthistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/aahp-david-hoe-final1.pdf|access-date=2022-01-27|website=AIDS Activist History Project|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 15, 2016|title=Heidi McDonell|url=https://aidsactivisthistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/09/aahp-heidi-mcdonell-final.pdf|access-date=January 27, 2022|website=AIDS Activist History Project}}</ref>

==Electoral history==
{{1988 Canadian federal election/Provencher}}
{{1984 Canadian federal election/Provencher}}
{{1980 Canadian federal election/Provencher}}
{{1979 Canadian federal election/Provencher}}
{{1974 Canadian federal election/Provencher}}
{{1972 Canadian federal election/Provencher}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=5602}}
* [http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=107230&lang=eng Jake Epp fonds, Library and Archives Canada]

{{Mulroney Ministry}}
{{Clark Ministry}}
{{CA-Ministers of Health}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epp, Jake}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian Mennonites]]
[[Category:Ministers of health and welfare of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the 21st Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba]]
[[Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Ministers of Crown–Indigenous relations]]
[[Category:Chancellors by university and college in Canada]]
[[Category:People from St. Boniface, Winnipeg]]
[[Category:People from Steinbach, Manitoba]]
[[Category:Politicians from Winnipeg]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]