Mel WATKINS

MEL WATKINS Died peacefully April 2, 2020, with his beloved wife of almost 50 years, Kelly Crichton, by his side. Mel was born on May 15, 1932, "in a Group of Seven canvas," as he once wrote, on a farm outside McKellar, Ontario. One of six children born to Sadie and Wilmot, Mel carried the imprint of his years on the farm even as he went on to a career as one of Canada's foremost progressive public intellectuals. Last year, he was named a member of the Order of Canada. A precocious student, Mel, along with twin brother Murray, enrolled at 16 at the University of Toronto. There he attended some of the last lectures of Harold Innis whose work became an intellectual north star. Mel pursued graduate work in economics at M.I.T. where he married his first wife, Delana Munroe, with whom he had his first son, Kenneth. He returned to Canada in 1958 and began a lifelong teaching career at the University of Toronto. In 1963, he published a celebrated article building on Innis's "staples theory" of Canada's resource-based economic growth which continues to inspire younger scholars to this day. Pulled increasingly to the activist left in the 1960s, Mel was tasked by former Liberal finance minister Walter Gordon with heading up a task force on American ownership of the Canadian economy. The 1968 "Watkins Report" led to the development of the Foreign Investment Review Agency. His preoccupation with economic sovereignty contributed in 1969 to his leading role in founding a movement to radicalize the NDP from within. Dubbed "The Waffle," the group called for an independent, socialist Canada and made a strong run, under candidate James Laxer, for the leadership of the party before being expelled from its ranks. In the early 1970s, the Indian Brotherhood of the NWT-now the Dene Nation-hired Mel in Yellowknife as an economic advisor as part of the landmark Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry led by Justice Thomas R. Berger. Mel's work for the Dene was the start of his lifelong activism in support of Indigenous self-determination. In the late 1980s, Mel was a leading voice opposing the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. describing such pacts as "charters of rights for corporations." He continued to teach and write widely-most notably for This Magazine-and, after rejoining the NDP, ran in two federal elections in Toronto. A dedicated peace activist, Mel was a former president of Science for Peace and a member of Pugwash Canada. Mel was a stalwart friend, always ready with support and a mischievous quip. He nurtured generations of activists and students and his dedication to a socially and environmentally just vision of Canada remained unwavering to the end. The same could be said for his intellectual curiousity; he was a legendarily voracious reader. He was also an accomplished knitter and loved to make his trademark cable stitch blankets for the newborns of family and friends. In his later years, Mel became increasingly open about his lifelong battle with depression. The greatest constant of his life, however, was his marriage with Kelly. Together, they were loving parents to Kenneth [Jackie], Matthew [Vivien], and Emily [Roger], and when Kelly reunited with her birth son, Paul became a cherished member of the family. Mel delighted in becoming a grandfather seven times over. His belief in the possibility of a better world seemed to give him a special connection to the youngest who he hoped would inherit it. The family extends its deepest thanks to Dr. Sarah Halliday and the wonderful staff at The Royal Ottawa Mental Hospital. For those wishing to offer a tribute to Mel, donations can be made to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives where a special fund has been created. Please make your donation in memory of Mel Watkins (www.policyalternatives.ca).