The Basin Record Newsletter Vol.6 Issue 1

Published by the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History CBIRH Newsletter : Vol. 6 No.1 Terance Patrick “Terry” Segarty was born November 4, 1946 just north of Dublin in a rural part of Ireland. The second eldest of 13 children, Terry left grade school at 14 and went to serve an apprenticeship as a mechanic graduating at age 19 in 1966. He was in the garage one day when a man from Canada came in looking to have his car tuned up, and Terry asked if he could go with him. He immigrated to Canada on March 1, 1966 and after arriving in Vancouver, he was robbed that night. That led him to meet someone on the street who offered to have Terry live with him, and shortly after Terry had a job on the Queen Charlotte Islands at Jedway, an iron ore mine. Terry noticed he was only getting apprenticeship wages, and when he asked about journeyman wages they said he would have them after he put together an Air Track that was missing the manual. Terry completed the job, but Jedway denied the raise intended to support his family back in Ireland. The Mine Mill Union would not agree to Terry’s claims so he phoned the Union of Operating Engineers and told them the Union was not representing their people or looking after them. He received membership books from them and once they were all filled out, he made the mistake of calling the Operating Engineers from the office at Jedway. The supervisor overheard the conversation and fired him on the spot. Terry then went back to Vancouver and went to the Operating Engineers Union hall, telling them about the incident, he was enrolled and they dispatched him to Mica Creek, where he worked on mile 44 of the Big Bend highway. He was working at the Peace River Dam when he met his wife Hilary Mary Fitzpatrick, who was teaching at the Notre Dame School in Dawson Creek. They got engaged and planned to get married and Terry decided he wanted to get out of construction and look for an opportunity somewhere else. He got a job with Kaiser Resources in Sparwood, so he got on the bus in Dawson Creek and went through the mountains and the towns of Natal and Michel. He saw the beautiful little houses with their red doors and green windows and snow on the rooftops, but the conveyor going across the road had left a layer of coal dust over top of all. The bus driver had told him that was his stop, but he said no and kept going into Fernie. Terry came into Cranbrook in 1968 and Crestbrook Forest Industries was looking for a mechanic in Canal Flats, so he relocated there. His interest in politics was mildly influenced by his father, who was involved in the Labour Party in Ireland, as well as from the time when President Kennedy was elected. W.A.C. Bennett was inspirational to Terry for his vision and ability to look after the everyday needs of people, as was Leo Nimsick for his respect and ability to articulate the needs of working people. In 1972, Segarty joined the Social Credit Party when they got defeated, because they seemed out of touch with the community and they never carried the riding of Koote- nay. He worked down in the Elk Valley for a period for Finning Tractors during the International Woodworkers of America strike, getting to know a lot of people in the area and continuing to build the Social Credit Party. In 1979 the Inn of the South, now Heritage Inn was opened and a few weeks later Terry said he would seek the nomination. He won the Socred nomination spot over Lloyd Sharp with 680 votes, and later won the 1979 election with 6,051 votes. As MLA, Terry Segarty played a role in a lot of development in the Kootenay area, from education, recreation and leisure facilities to transportation and the health care industry. In addition, he served as Government Caucus chair, and chaired the select standing committees for agriculture, environment and resources, and munici- pal affairs and housing. He also served as BC Minister of Labour from 1984 to 1986. He was and still is a very community-minded person in terms of social and economic growth for the City of Cranbrook and surrounding areas. He was the driving force behind government funding for EKCC, now College of the Rockies, expansions on East Kootenay Regional Hospital, formerly Cranbrook District Hospital, the Key City Theatre, the Habitat Conservation Fund and the revitalization of Cranbrook. Currently he is part of the Salvation Army Community Council and a chairman of the Cranbrook and Kimberley Hospice Society. Terry has also done a lot of unofficial work under Terrim Property Management by helping people in need and making available housing for working people. While Segarty sees the current council is focused on road and infrastructure building, which the community needs and requires, if Cranbrook gets the support it deserves from Federal and Provincial governments and the community at large, he believes it has a positive future. We can change the culture and grow, but we must change our thinking to accommodate that. His vision for Cranbrook includes embracing the arts and the historical origin of the First Nations. Terry believes that people need to feel more welcome to take advantage of the things we already have and Cranbrook will continue to be an amazing place to live. Although Segarty feels he did not have enough time as MLA of Kootenay and he could’ve done a lot more, people will say the Social Credit Party did well. He doesn’t think enough resources were put into education and when he looks back on his term in office, he believes the Socreds failed there. Segarty believes it’s not what you plant today, it’s what you reap down the road. Basin Biography