TRIBUTES ‘Uncompromising commitment to excellence’

“During his long and distinguished career, Beland Honderich established himself as a determined visionary in the roughandworld of journalism. He inherited a proud tradition of journalistic integrity at the Toronto Star

and built the newspaper into one of Canada’s leading defenders of the interests of everyday Canadians. “His uncompromising commitment to excellence attracted many highly talented writers who helped transform the Toronto Star

into a must-read for the growing urban market it served. Mr. Honderich often led his newspaper on crusades to uncover political or social injustice. As a result, he inspired great respect in political, business and social circles. “Beland Honderich transformed the Toronto Star and, in many ways, helped transform the craft of journalism.” Paul Martin, Prime Minister “What we have lost today is an icon of journalism. But more importantly, he was a champion of the common man. "He embraced the cause of working families long before the expression was ever coined. And he understood the value of those causes being brought to the fore. For that we will always be grateful.” Dalton McGuinty, Ontario premier “This guy was the chief justice of the Liberal court of Canada and he would pass judgment on all other Liberals. Lots of times he was the repository of the Liberal party, its soul. . . . “He scared the hell out of a lot people, but I liked him. Bee was very nice to me. Underneath the gruffness there was a niceness.” David Peterson, former Ontario premier “Beland Honderich never lost sight of the public service role of the media. In this age of infotainment, Beland’s life work stands out as an example of the best of an earlier era when the media’s purpose was to inform, and newspapers set the standard of Canadian journalism. His commitment to substance over splash should be both remembered and celebrated.” Joe Clark, former prime minister “He was one of the better guys around, I’ve got to tell you. I had great respect for his abilities as a publisher. We didn’t always agree on every issue, but he was very committed with respect to the constitutional issues and was very committed to confederation and to Canada. “He was a shy person, which some people won’t agree with. He never looked for personal credits of any kind. He didn’t have a personal agenda other than his views on the economic situation as it applied to the less fortunate and so on.” William Davis, former Ontario premier “I knew Beland Honderich as a magnificent leader of a great newspaper. He was a formidable presence in the city and the province and the country. "The provinces and the country are richer for having had a citizen and a person of Beland’s strength and fortitude and we’re the poorer for his having left us.” Bob Rae, former Ontario premier “Political leaders of all stripes were very careful to go down and pay their respects to Mr. Honderich from time to time just to take his temperature and make sure he had a chance to ask questions about what you were up to. “He was carrying on the mandate . . . of the Atkinson principles. I can’t think of an instance in which I remember him calling (then-premier William) Davis, or the premier’s office . . . raising anything that was to do with any other agenda. It was to do with policy matters and values and the direction the government was taking.” John Tory, Ontario Conservative leader and principal secretary to former premier William Davis