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How
a young immigrant became
one of Ontario's most influential politicians
Perspectives: Vol. 7, No. 3, October 2000
By Burke Campbell
TORONTO
Frank Klees worked strenuously to help rebuild the Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party.
The son of German immigrants, Frank Klees came to Canada as
a boy of 5, from his home in Thaleischweiler, a village 50 kilometres east of
Saarbrücken (Rhineland-Palatinate). Today, he is chief party whip of Ontario
Premier Mike Harris' Progressive Conservative government, a meteoric career that
has made him one of the most influential politicians in Ontario.
Many believe that it was Mr. Klees' persistence in
recruiting grassroots support for conservative economic and social policies that
was instrumental in putting the Harris government into power in 1995 and again
in 1999. At the invitation of Mike Harris, Klees put in place a structure by
which Ontarians could formulate government policy, rather than have it dictated
by a party elite.
1999. At the invitation of Mike Harris, Mr. Klees put in
place a structure by which Ontarians could formulate government policy, rather
than have it dictated by a party elite.
An inheritor of the German work ethic, Mr. Klees, 49, is
tireless in his efforts to involve people in shaping the kind of government and
society they need and want.
Over the years, Mr. Klees travelled a great deal, but was
hesitant to return to Germany, to the village of his early youth. "I wasn't
altogether sure my memories were real," he said. But in 1989, he went back.
"The people who were driving us stopped at an address
I had given them. I looked at the home and I said, "This is not it. It just
can't be. I turned to my wife and I said, 'This is not what I remember.' I got
out, knocked on the door and introduced myself. But there was something wrong
about this location. I got back into the car and we went maybe another couple of
blocks, and all of a sudden, I spotted the house. 'This is it here!' I
said."
Walking around to the backyard, he realized it was his old
home. "Little had changed," he mused. His childhood memories flooded
back. Clearly proud of his German roots, Mr. Klees is uneasy about
government-sponsored "multiculturalism" which, he suggests, can
segregate rather than unify a people.
"I think the wrong kind of multiculturalism can
undermine our society. It's one thing to celebrate our past, and that's good.
But we also have to go forward together, as a society and as a nation, rather
than emphasizing our differences."
Although 10 per cent of Ontario's population claims German
ancestry, Mr. Klees notes, "I think it's clear that the German people have
focused on integrating into Canadian society, moreso than perhaps any other
ethnic group. Over the years, they have made every effort to integrate. They
have brought their skills and traits, their values and work ethic and played an
important role in the building of this province and this country."
Mr. Klees sees the German emphasis on hard work as a key
ingredient of success. "When you take a look at what has been accomplished
by German immigrants in this country, and other countries, and what the Germans
have accomplished in rebuilding their own country, it's a true lesson in what is
possible."
The success he has enjoyed is evident. He had no English
when he arrived with his parents but, like most children, he picked up the
language quickly. By the time he was 8, he was going with his father to the
bank, acting as a translator, securing loans for the family's new business.
Watching his father, he received the most valuable lesson of his life.
"The most important education that I got was to see
the determination of my father to re-establish his family, and establish himself
in the community and do business in an ethical way."
In the 1980s, Frank Klees was working in the financial
services business. Then a nephew and three of his collegiate friends were
overlooked for a CFL evaluation camp. The nephew told Mr. Klees, who set out to
discover why. Eventually the four were invited to attend and one of the boys was
picked up for pro-football. Mr. Klees was asked to negotiate the contract. Word
got around that he was good, and over the next eight years, he wound up
representing 25 athletes, honing his negotiating skills in the high-stakes arena
of professional sports.
Years earlier, however, it was apparent that Klees' true
passion was for public service. "My parents were strong, devout Christians
and they believed in looking after their neighbours and friends. I have no doubt
that that sense of calling had its roots in what I was being taught in the home
environment."
In 1975, when he was 24, Mr. Klees ran for the PCs in a
Liberal stronghold and nearly won. Running again in 1977, his bid was wrecked
when, in mid-election, a disagreement arose between him and the then-Premier
Bill Davis, absolute master of the party in Ontario. As a candidate, Mr. Klees
had agreed to the idea of opening a French-language high school in his riding,
but insisted the school should occupy existing facilities. The Premier and his
advisors said the school required a new building. Mr. Klees opposed this,
calling it a waste of taxpayers' money. Publicly, the party tolerated his
viewpoint but privately, he found himself shunned, quietly abandoned of party
support.
The incident was a defining moment for him. Placed in
political limbo, he continued to work at a grassroots level. When the party was
swept from power in the mid-1980s, he worked to rebuild it, this time ensuring
it would stay in touch with the elec-torate. In the early '90s, new leader Mike
Harris asked him to help create a process by which PC members, or those with
sympathetic views, could contribute to government policies.
In 1995, when Mike Harris came to power, Mr. Klees was
elected in Oak Ridges, a riding north of Toronto that includes Richmond Hill and
Stouffville. When he won re-election four years later he was named Chief
Government Whip and Deputy House Leader.
Mr. Klees and his wife Jaine live in Aurora and they have
two children, Alissa, 21, and Robert, 17. He is an avid athlete and sponsor of
community sports.
He is also a strong believer in "power by the people,
for the people." He has played a major role in creating a series of
volunteer advisory councils, which advise Queen's Park, and help shape
government policy. Mr. Klees insists that government policy must be developed at
a grassroots level and "not by some political scientist working in the
bowels of Queen's Park."
He goes out of his way to welcome those who wish to
participate in these advisory councils, to contact his office for information or
referral. "I'm convinced that any political party that does not involve its
grassroots in a meaningful way will not last."
Today, Frank Klees sits in his office as Chief Government
Whip, the room appointed with symbols of power and authority.
"The two proudest moments in my life were … the
first time I was elected to the provincial parliament and to be able to share
that moment with my parents. My parents never dreamed when they came to this
country that some day their son would be sitting in the provincial parliament.
"The second time was when I called and told them that
I had been appointed to the Cabinet."
Now, in his late forties, Mr. Klees looks bright,
confident, full of energy. In fact, he appears right at home.
Visit Frank Klees at: www.frank-klees.on.ca
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