# Bill Domm

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**William Henry Domm** (July 24, 1930 – January 8, 2000) was a [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(Canada)) (MP) in the [House of Commons of Canada](/source/House_of_Commons_of_Canada) from 1979 to 1993. He was best known for his crusades against the [metric system](/source/Metric_system) and in favour of [capital punishment](/source/Capital_punishment).[1]

Domm represented the [riding](/source/Riding_(division)) of [Peterborough](/source/Peterborough_(electoral_district)), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), from the [1979 federal election](/source/1979_Canadian_federal_election) until his defeat in the [1993 election](/source/1993_Canadian_federal_election).

Born in [St. Catharines](/source/St._Catharines), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), Domm was the son of a [United Church of Canada](/source/United_Church_of_Canada) minister. He was educated at the [Ryerson Institute of Technology](/source/Ryerson_Institute_of_Technology) and became a radio broadcaster in [Peterborough](/source/Peterborough,_Ontario).

Domm's campaign against [Metric conversion in Canada](/source/Metrication_in_Canada) was most vocal during the final [Pierre Trudeau](/source/Pierre_Trudeau) government of 1980 to 1984. In 1983, he and other Tory MPs illegally pumped gas using [Imperial measurements](/source/Imperial_system) at their "Freedom to Measure" gas station. The station was leased by the MPs in hopes of provoking the government into laying charges and thus allowing a legal challenge to mandatory use of metric. The government ignored the station and it closed after a year. When the Progressive Conservatives formed government following the [1984 federal election](/source/1984_Canadian_federal_election), Domm became [parliamentary secretary](/source/Parliamentary_secretary) to the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, the government minister responsible for the metrification program. However, while the Metric Commission was disbanded and rules on enforcing metric were loosened, the "metrification" of the country was not reversed.[2]

Domm's lobbying for the death penalty resulted in a [free vote](/source/Free_vote) being held in the House of Commons in 1988; however, the motion to restore capital punishment was defeated.

He was more successful in his campaign for the restoration of [Via Rail](/source/Via_Rail) service on the Toronto-Peterborough-Havelock line. Domm also took stands against [bilingualism](/source/Bilingualism), [abortion](/source/Abortion) and [gun control](/source/Gun_control) voting against his party on several occasions.

## Archives

There is a Bill Domm [fonds](/source/Fonds) at [Library and Archives Canada](/source/Library_and_Archives_Canada).[3] Archival Reference number is R3302 (Former Archival Reference number MG32-C93).

## References

1. ["Abolition of death penalty upheld"](https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/abolition-upheld). June 30, 1987. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161212034300/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/abolition-upheld) 2016-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 4, 2020.

1. ["MPs protest mandatory metric system"](https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/mps-protest-mandatory-metric-system). October 1, 1983. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161202000121/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/mps-protest-mandatory-metric-system) 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 4, 2020.

1. ["Finding Aid to Bill Domm fonds, Library and Archives Canada"](https://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000000537.pdf). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200604193136/https://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000000537.pdf) 2020-06-04 at the Wayback Machine.

## Sources

- [Canadian Archival Information Network](http://www.cain-rcia.ca/cain-bin/cainMain/ItemDisplay?sessionKey=1029861052016_142_13_29_85&l=0&lvl=2&v=0&coll=1&itm=186247&rt=1&bill=1) biography of Domm

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Domm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Domm) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Domm?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.