John A. Amyot

John A. Amyot

First Deputy Minister of the Federal Department of Health and First Chairman of the Dominion Council of Health

Lt.-Col. John A. Amyot was born in Toronto in 1867 and graduated in Medicine from the University of Toronto in 1891. In 1900, he was appointed Director of the Ontario Provincial Board of Health Laboratory, where he served until 1919. Dr. Amyot had a leading role in introducing the filtration and chlorination of water and the pasteurization of milk in Canada. In 1919, Dr. Amyot became the first Deputy Minister of the Federal Department of Health, where he secured the co-operation of provincial and local health authorities throughout Canada. When the Department of Soldiers’ Civil Re-establishment and the Department of Health were united in 1928 under the name of the Department of Pensions and National Health, he was made Deputy Minister of the new department. Dr. Amyot exercised a wide influence on public health in Canada for nearly 40 years and endeared himself to a wide circle of friends. Lt.-Col. John A. Amyot was awarded CPHA’s Honorary Life Membership in 1934./p>

(Canadian Public Health Journal, Vol. 25, 1934)