TORONTO - An NDP member of the Ontario legislature wants to enshrine the name of late Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie in a law creating the province's first poet laureate.
Windsor-Tecumseh Percy Hatfield's Poet of Ontario Act (In Memory of Gord Downie) was introduced Tuesday in the legislature.
Hatfield notes that Canada has a poet laureate, as do numerous cities in the province.
The poet laureate would write poetry, occasionally for use in the legislature, visit schools, present or arrange poetry readings, and assist with writing workshops or other activities.
The poet laureate would also advise the legislative library regarding its collection and acquisitions.
Hatfield says Downie, who died of brain cancer earlier this year at age 53, was a poet, a singer and advocate for Indigenous issues.
