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David Suzuki Foundation mourns Jim Fulton
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“He was inspiring,” said Dr. David Suzuki. “He was the kind of rare giant who comes along and makes us all better for having known and followed him.” Dr. Suzuki heaped praise on Fulton for his leadership in the DSF’s formative years. Dr. Suzuki credited Fulton for having “created and molded” DSF as it exists today, “taking it to national prominence.” Stepping aside last year after 18 months of illness, Fulton released his position, now ably shouldered by Peter Robinson, former CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op.
“I could never thank Jim enough for what he did for the foundation, for this province, for this country,” Dr. Suzuki said. “He was determined to save the world in spite of itself, and to have a barrel of fun doing it.”
Raised in British Columbia and educated at Simon Fraser University, Jim Fulton worked in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) as a probation officer before entering politics. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1979 and re-elected three times, representing northwestern B.C., the Skeena riding – an area the size of France.
Always a passionate advocate for the environment, Fulton’s political career may be best remembered for an incident in 1985 when – angry over policies blocking spawning salmon in his riding – he smacked a sockeye from northern BC onto the desk of then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Retiring from a political career lauded on both sides of the House, Fulton applied in 1993 for the job as first Executive Director of the then-fledgling Suzuki Foundation. “How thrilled we were!” said DSF co-founder Dr. Tara Cullis, adding that, “Everyone knew he could have commanded five times the pay elsewhere.” Dr. Cullis also noted the engaging effect of Fulton’s famously gregarious nature: “We were so proud to introduce him as our ED,” she said. “Powerful people were impressed in spite of themselves.”
For the next 13 years, Fulton opened doors in the halls of power, charmed reporters, devised winning strategies, and consistently convinced large philanthropic foundations to support the increasingly ambitious DSF work program. Under his leadership, the DSF rose from a staff of six to 60 and, according to recent polling by McAllister Opinion Research, became the most credible voice in Canada on such major environmental issues as climate change.
Fulton was a famous storyteller and a fierce debater, a quick study and a brilliant strategist. His zest for metaphorical thinking inspired Tara Cullis to record innumerable gems, including such comments as, “The reason I couldn’t pull any teeth is most people around there have chicken mouths, no teeth to pull”; and, “if the tiger gets grabbed by the tail Monday, our Starship Enterprise will hit a big rock.”
But most people agreed that Fulton’s defining characteristics were his warmth, his optimism and his great love of people, whom he generally met with a giant bear hug. “I believe the David Suzuki Foundation increased its influence under Jim’s leadership in part because people wanted to sign on, just so they could be part of Jim’s team,” said David Suzuki Foundation Chair Hoggan.
“There is definitely a void at the Foundation without Jim,” said DSF board member Stephen Bronfman. “But with our worthy new CEO Peter Robinson we are accomplishing a hell of a lot thanks to the bricks that Jim laid, the passion he brought, and the foundation he built.”
Media contact:
Dominic Ali
Senior Communications Specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
Cell: 647-203-4701
dali@davidsuzuki.org
