Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Tony Wakeham (MHA, Stephenville – Port au Port) is paying tribute to the late William W. (Bill) Marshall for his “profoundly important contributions to Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Marshall was a Member of the House of Assembly for sixteen years (1970-1986) in the caucuses of Frank Moores and Brian Peckford. where he served in several cabinet portfolios. As the minister without portfolio in the Moores administration, he drafted the Public Tender Act and the Public Service Commission Act – two pieces of legislation that targeted political patronage in the awarding of government contracts and the hiring of public employees.
Wakeham said, “You might wonder if people in opposition can make a difference when they set their sights on forming a government. In 1983-84, when the federal Progressive Conservatives were in opposition and Bill Marshall was in the Peckford government, Marshall negotiated with the federal PC energy critic, Pat Carney, to get the foundation of an agreement on shared management of offshore oil and gas resources. When the Mulroney PCs formed the federal government a few months later in 1984 and Marshall was Peckford’s minister responsible for energy negotiations, the Peckford and Mulroney governments followed through on the Marshall-Carney agreement by signing the Atlantic Accord – one of the most significant agreements in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history – not only enriching our province but writing the template for shared jurisdiction over resources we brought into Confederation.”
“Bill Marshall was instrumental in making the Atlantic Accord happen, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians owe him their enduring gratitude for his pivotal role in that monumental achievement,” said Wakeham.
A lawyer by profession, Marshall was later appointed a justice of the Appeals division of the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in 1986, where he served until 2003. In that capacity, he also headed a review of public prosecutions, following through on the Lamer Commission recommendation to eliminate the prosecutorial culture that had led to wrongful convictions.
Early in his political career, Marshall also served in important roles in the provincial PC Party, including as eastern vice-president, policy chair, president of the party association and interim leader of the party.
“Bill Marshall is a shining example to all of us of the great difference a person can make when they step up to serve, to lead, to bring their best ideas to the table and then follow through to make them happen,” said Wakeham. “He is certainly a role model for me as I now step up to lead.”
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