This is John Crosbie. He was being sworn in as the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland/Labrador when he cracked that joke, and held that office until 2013.
Several of his more infamous quotes can be found on Wikipedia, and trust me, they are funny as hell. He always spoke his mind, though, never pulled any punches. But then, neither did Sheila Copps :-) some of the exchanges between those two were pretty heated and pretty hilarious.