Iain Hunter, who began his career in journalism as a police reporter on a bicycle with the old Victoria Times in 1961, is ending it as a columnist with the Times Colonist.

He was educated, formally, at Glenlyon, when it was just a boys' school on Beach Drive, Oak Bay High, Victoria College (as it was then), the University of B.C., Carleton University and King's College, London.

After three years on the Times, he moved to the Ottawa Journal, then back to the Vancouver Sun which he represented in the provincial legislature for nine years when it was dominated by W.A.C. Bennett, serving a term as president of the legislative Press Gallery, and correspondent for the Toronto Star.

He moved to Ottawa in 1972 as correspondent for the Vancouver sun and other papers in the FP group, including the Montreal Star, Ottawa Journal, Calgary Herald and the two Victoria papers, the Times and Colonist. In 1977 he joined the Ottawa Citizen, becoming national editor. He covered the Parliament of Canada for nearly 30 years.

He has won three National Newspaper Awards, one for spot news reporting with the Citizen, and two for editorial writing with the Times Colonist. He has been nominated for that award three years running.

As columnist he ranges from local issues to international ones, and tries to find a fresh viewpoint beyond the obvious. His only motivation is to try to make people think.