NOTEWORTHY DEATHS

Ex-Canadian Finance Minister Flaherty

TORONTO - Former Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty, a fixture on the world financial stage who stepped down last month, has died. He was 64.

Mike Harris, Ontario's former premier and a friend, said he suffered a massive heart attack.

Flaherty, who had held the job since 2006, was the longest-serving finance minister among the Group of Seven leading industrial economies until he announced that he was stepping down three weeks ago to return to the private sector. He had battled a rare skin disease over the past year but had said his decision to leave politics was not related to that.

Flaherty was Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s only finance minister since Harper took power eight years ago. He is credited with helping get Canada back on track to a balanced budget after pumping stimulus money into the economy following the 2008 financial crisis.

Ottawa police said they responded to a medical call shortly after noon at Flaherty’s residence. He is survived by his wife, Christine Elliott, and his triplet sons, John, Galen and Quinn.

Born in Lachine, Quebec, Flaherty earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a law degree from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School.

Flaherty spent almost 20 years in politics, including stints as minister of finance, attorney general and deputy premier at the provincial level in Ontario. In 2006, after two unsuccessful bids to lead the Ontario Conservatives, Flaherty entered national politics.

Arkansas, Pages 14 on 04/11/2014

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