Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Ray Williston
Ray G. Williston
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Ray Williston (1914-2006) was principal of the Prince George Junior-Secondary School and a school inspector for the Prince George/Peace River area from 1945 to 1953. In 1953 he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Prince George and served as Minister of Education from 1954 – 1956 and Minister of Lands and Forests from 1956 – 1972 in the B.C. Social Credit government under Premier W.A.C. Bennett. In the latter role he encouraged the development of a pulp economy from unused forest resources in the interior of B.C. in conjunction with government hydro-electric projects. After leaving government he became Chair and President of the British Columbia Cellulose Company and held a number of directorships in B.C. and New Brunswick. In addition he did consulting for the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Williston Lake in Northern British Columbia is named in his honour.