True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: November, 2019
His Honour Mr. George P. G. Springate. C.M., B.A., BCL, LL.B., LL.D.
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
One morning in mid-March, 2019 I joined a group of RCMP Veterans for our bi-weekly bacon, eggs and toast breakfast at Dunn's Restaurant in Ottawa.
One can easily feel old when sitting with mostly grey-haired, sore, elderly and retired RCMP, and hardly anyone paid attention to the unidentified man who joined our group and simply introduced himself as 'George'.
George was accompanied by Ottawa Veteran Michel Pelletier, and it just so happened that I was lucky this day because George and Michel sat at my end of the table and next to me.
Within a flash of sitting down, George mentioned hockey and especially 'les Canadiens de Montréal'. George expounded in full detail all the ills of his beloved and sacred Canadiens de Montréal and he soon had the entire table in an uproar over les Canadiens versus the Ottawa Senators.
I had a unique advantage because I sat in the middle of this highly charged and friendly fray.
And all the while, no one at the table except Michel Pelletier knew the true identity of the mystery guest who simply called himself George.
I was so impressed with George's jovial nature, his high energy and his enthusiasm that I asked him to pose with me for a photo.
He was warm and wonderfully good natured.
It was only a few days later that Michel Pelletier told me of George's true identity.
His full name was rightly: His Honour Mr. George Philip Gregory Springate.
It was a very memorable occasion for me to have rubbed shoulders with him on that morning over breakfast.
His Honour had an remarkable life which began in Montreal, QC where he was born. In the 1960's he joined the Montreal City Police. Many members of the RCMP knew George Springate including BC RCMP Veteran Inspector Al Speevak who went to university with George in the late 1960's. Al Speevak recalled that George was always a huge supporter of the RCMP.
George led a varied life; he was also a football player, a politician, a CBC sportscaster, and a professor of both civil law and criminal law. In 2008, he was appointed Canada's Senior Citizenship Judge for a 5 year term, and in 1989 he was appointed to the Order of Canada.
George Springate passed away on November 20, 2019 at age 81, with his cherished wife of 35 years, Judy, at his side. R. I. P.
It was an honour for me to have met him. George Springate was a remarkable Canadian.
