David Tsubouchi, Gambatte - Generations of Perseverance and Politics, a Memoir (ECW Press)
A revealing memoir from a former Ontario cabinet minister, “Gambatte” means do your best and never give up. That spirit is at the heart of David Tsubouchi’s life story, beginning as his family strives for acceptance amid the imprisonment of Japanese Canadians and the confiscation of their property, possessions, and businesses by the Mackenzie King Liberal government in 1941. Despite growing up on the outside looking in, Tsubouchi never felt disadvantaged because he had a good family and was taught to persevere. Gambatte outlines his unusual career path from actor to dedicated law school student/lumber yard worker to politician. Tsubouchi was the first person of Japanese descent elected in Canada as a municipal politician and, as an MPP, to serve as a cabinet minister. His story also reveals an insider’s perspective of Mike Harris’s “Common Sense Revolution.”