Alvin Ratz Kaufman | |
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| Born | February 11, 1885 Berlin, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | February 1, 1979 (aged 93) Kitchener, Ontario, Canada |
| Burial place | Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Emma Kaufman (sister) |
Alvin Ratz "A. R." Kaufman (February 11, 1885 – February 1, 1979) was a Canadian industrialist, philanthropist, birth control advocate and eugenicist from Kitchener, Ontario. In 1920 he became president of the Kaufman Rubber Company following the death of his father, Jacob Kaufman, with whom he founded the company in 1908. He held the position until 1964 with his time in the role marked by a strong and persistent opposition to organized labour. An active member of the municipal activities in Kitchener, he chaired the city's planning commission and was a significant supporter the local YMCA and YWCA. Kaufman was also a member of the University of Waterloo's first Board of Governors.
Beyond his civic engagements, Kaufman was a member of the Eugenics Society of Canada and a vocal advocate of birth control to address social and economic hardship. He founded the Parents' Information Bureau in the early 1930s to distribute information about birth control and provide access to sterilization services. In 1936, one of the Bureau's employees, Dorothea Palmer, was arrested and charged under section 207 of the Criminal Code, which outlawed the selling or advertising of contraceptives. Her legal fees covered by Kaufman, and Palmer was acquitted on the basis that her actions had passed the criminal code's pro bono publico (for the public good) clause.