George Milton Gibault

On behalf of the Citizenship Commission, I wish to extend to all of George’s family and friends, our sincere condolences. I am moved by the heart-felt tributes to a man who is remembered in our midst for his brilliance, kindness, and generosity of spirit.

– Renata Brum Bozzi, Senior Citizenship Judge

I first worked with George back in the early 80’s and fondly remember our sessions In his small office deep in the ‘Ledge near the stacks where he could lay his hands on just about anything to built his political research. I was in awe of his vast knowledge and in particular his culinary skills. I enjoyed many a late night Szechaun meal at his place as we soldiered in the political trenches. A great colleague and mentor. God bye George. It was truly great knowing you.

I am very moved by the tributes recorded by George’s numerous friends here. I knew him, on and off, for many decades. We met in a bookstore in Kamloops where I had a summer job–this must have been 1979. There was a file box with index cards tracking the glacial progress of twenty or thirty incredibly obscure books he had special-ordered, and I wondered in advance of his first appearance in the shop who on earth could have had such diverse and recondite interests. So when he appeared in due course after some holiday and identified himself, I exclaimed loudly, SO YOU ARE GEORGE GIBAULT! We struck up a friendship almost immediately–he worked nearby–and sometimes had lunch, sometimes longer talks. The owner of the bookshop said only half-jokingly that she would have gone out of business without his constant patronage.

That summer in Kamloops is the time I like to remember best. But we stayed in touch and met again, this time in Victoria, in the mid-1990s. George was a reliably fascinating companion, and could be counted on to be knowledgeable about everything under the sun, as noted again and again in these comments by his friends; he was extremely generous, warm-hearted, unguardedly human, vulnerable in some respects, and had a dark melancholic side. The last few years it was clear that he was in terrible health, but he never complained, not once–part of his authentic greatness of spirit.

I have had the advantage of reading the notes which memorialize George on this site and am pleased to see that so many of us shared such profound affection and admiration for this great man. In another time, George would have been Merlin; in another, a Clan Chieftain doing battle with the Sassenachs; in another, the sage who passed oral traditions and family history to his relatives in the Smoky Mountains, while playing a two hundred year old refrain on a two hundred year old banjo; in another, a respected Citizenship Court Judge who welcomed newcomers to Canada in a moving and elegant paean to our Country; in another, a solon who crafted words and phrases to inspire and cajole the masses, delivered by lesser mortals who stood in positions of power. George was all of those things and a great deal more. He enjoyed the past as if he had lived it and recounted it for those of us fortunate enough to be able to share in his knowledge. It is pleasing to think that he spoke not of history he had learned but history he had experienced. May his next life be as full of accomplishment and friendship as this one has been. But how could it not? After all, this is George.

I was deeply saddened to learn of George’s passing, but thrilled and encouraged to read the farewell letters of his friends who understood and appreciated his true essence. See you soon, dear friend.

Sincerely, Bill Miller

I was sorry to learn of George’s passing. George was a true original. No-one that I have known has been consumed by such a range of preoccupations, or had the way of thinking about things or expressing ideas about things, that George had. Whether the subject was the linguistic family mapping of central European Slavic languages, Gaelic poetry, the bloody assizes during the Glorious Revolution, or regional variations of bluegrass music (all subjects upon which I can specifically recall George holding forth), he always knew his subject, had formed strong opinions, and was a brilliant raconteur. I only wish I had attended one of his citizenship ceremonies to hear his elaboration of the meaning of Canadian citizenship. I know it would have been substantial and intelligent, with no hint of maudlin sentimentality. And, as I say, it would have been original.

For all his intelligence, though, my fondest memories of George are graced not by his great intelligence, but his kind and gentle nature. Sincere condolences to his dearest friends and to his niece.

George was one of best. I started working with him in 1985. He was smart, thorough, and insightful He also did not take care of himself. Still a highlight of my life will always be the lunch with him when he was sworn in as a citizenship judge, Mike Donison, Jim MacEachern and I. His passing causes great sorrow. It reminds me to strive ever harder to achieve our shared goals.
– Owen Lippert

I knew George from his time as a Citizenship Judge, & he was brilliant! Knowing his steel-trap researcher’s mind, one might have thought he would be too academic in his speeches at Citizenship ceremonies…..but such was not the case with George. His passion for our Country, and his humour, always came across …..as did his unbounded pride in each & every “New Canadian” he swore in! He even “forgave” me for being a Liberal (because I volunteered for the Institute for Canadian Citizenship)!!…….He will be sorely missed.
– Chris Colman

This is sad news. George was a brilliant man and a delightful person. I had the great privilege of working closely with him for a couple of years when I was in the Premier’s office. He shared considerable strategic insight, always offered with a well informed historical context, often recounted with numerous humorous anecdotes. He was a gentleman with many quirky habits that made one’s relationship with him that much more meaningful and interesting. I remember one day visiting his rather small office jammed with stacks of books, on my mission to get from him a policy paper he had promised to write for the Premier some weeks earlier. George assured me the task had been accomplished and the paper was somewhere to be found among many other papers, files and books piled about two feet high on his desk. He started rummaging through the stacks while telling me the story of some unrelated event in BC’s political history. He was flinging papers here and there and suddenly stopped when he came across a flattened package wrapped with wax paper that had been jammed in the pile. He slowly unwrapped it. “Well, I wondered where that cheese sandwich had gone last week. I was terribly hungry after giving up searching for it.” I particularly enjoyed George’s history lessons about Social Credit– especially the federal party, and his stories of Real Caouette, full of great quotes and dramatic emphasis. George dedicated his life to the country and its democracy that he so loved. He made many friends who will miss him. I count myself among them.
– Bob Ransford

A very special friend died yesterday.
It’s hard to think of what to write. He certainly wouldn’t be impressed with me calling him “very special”.
I guess now that he’s passed on, I will say it anyway.
We used to often go to dinner and a movie. He especially loved horror movies, but not if they were too dark (not the storyline, but the actual light level). He had a tendency to fall asleep if it wasn’t bright enough.
Dinner would usually come “after” the movie, and usually at Paul’s Motor Inn, and would often stretch for hours and hours and hours into the morning.
And you couldn’t sit with him for more than 5 minutes and not learn something, and you’d prod him for more.
Even the very last time we had lunch, I walked away a little smarter.
He was such a brilliant man. Genius wasn’t a strong enough word. And for one only 19 years my senior, he knew so much, had experienced so much. It’s funny to think I’m almost as old now as he was when we met.
He confided in me so much of his life, and even a few “secrets”, many of which may or may not have been embellished (or completely fabricated) – but they remain part of the intrigue nonetheless.
To say he was a mentor would also be too massive an understatement. He wouldn’t hesitate to call my bullshit for what it was, and challenge every preconceived notion I ever had, but not vindictively, just in his charming “matter of fact” way.
In the end, he was very sick. We knew it was only a matter of time, and he’d leave this world too soon.
I only wish I’d had more time with him, especially over the last few years where my life has been so tumultuous.
Thank you for your friendship George, and for the impact you’ve had on my life.
– Paul Holmes

One thing I’ve learned in politics is that occasionally you find great people amongst the ranks of your political adversaries. George was one of those people. I got to know him when Sean would have the two of us on his show to do a point-counterpoint segment. After we finished arguing on the air, we would have wonderful conversations about people we both knew and events we both took part in. And we also talked about George’s interest in folk music. I last saw George a year ago and I’m genuinely saddened to hear that he is gone.
– Chris Gainor

I am very sad to advise that George Gibault passed away this afternoon. George was a beloved friend to many people who worked in politics in and around Victoria for many years. I know many NDPers, Greens, and even Liberals who had a fond affection for George’s profound insights into human behaviour, cultural history, and campaign strategies. George was a lifelong Conservative who achieved some notoriety as a Social Credit researcher, speechwriter, and administrator. In his later years, he served with distinction on a number of boards and commissions, including a stint as a Citizenship Judge. As a young lawyer, before he entered a lifetime in politics, he worked for Fulton and Company on the Kamloops v Nielsen case, which came to be one of the most importaint cases in BC law. George will be missed by many. I count myself fortunate to have known him and been his friend.
– Bruce Hallsor

GEORGE GIBAULT by his Childhood friend of over 60 years:
As a child, George was kind, gentle and curious about things most kids weren’t even aware of. George spent his elementary school years in Williams Lake, where he took a great interest in space and built rockets which he launched from his back yard. His mission was to reach the moon so he could prove it was made of green cheese. Anyone who knew George was aware of his brilliant intellect and knowledge of very diverse topics.
This curiosity continued throughout his life, leading him to explore theatre, languages, cooking, various, genealogy, chess, history, poetry, music genres, playing classical Spanish guitar, and the banjo in the old timey music tradition, the law and politics.
In 1966 George won an award for directing theatre at his high school in Nelson. He continued acting while at UBC, and was in some films later in Victoria. He was the co-host of The Magic Carpet with Howie Siegel, a radio show in Victoria, in which guests in the many topics that interested them, from witches to music to the occult to cooking. He studied screenwriting, had written several scripts and despite ill health in the past several years, was writing a play for his friends, Bill Miller and Eric Holmgren.
His career was as diverse as his personal life, having practised law, worked in politics for the BC Social Credit Party and the Federal Conservative Party, and conducted memorable Canadian Citizenship ceremonies as a Citizenship Court Judge. George was a respected Public Member of the Board of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses, and most recently was a Member and the Vice-Chair of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Aside from his accomplishments, George was unique in his kind heartedness. The saying, “he didn’t have a mean bone in his body” could have been written of him. Because of this, and because of his voluminous knowledge of many topics, George had a lot of friends from very different backgrounds. He was a true renaissance man, an eccentric character in the best of ways, and a loyal and true friend. He will be so very greatly missed by those of us who knew and loved him.
– Charlene Simon

There’s is no possible way to summarize George’s life in a few short lines. His mind, his personality – all of it was bigger than life. He made his way through the world, meeting many people and affecting all of them. His presence and his mind touched many and varied fields – politics, law, radio, music, screenwriting, languages. One can only summarize what his mind touched, he encompassed multitudes. In talking to him, the conversation could dance from interest to interest, from subject to subject. History, philosophy, film, current events, poetry, science, radio, chess, cosmology, books – the conversation would follow a coherent thread, soaring and twisting through a forest of interests. Never losing the essential truths that tied them all together. In a world where people spent their entire lives specializing in one thing, George stood out. His specialty was everything.
I was glad to call him my friend. I’m devastated that we can never again meet as friends.
– Robert Blazek