 He had served in the 31st and 32nd Canadian Parliaments.One of Canada's earliest proponents of the move to a hydrogen economy, Gilchrist established a blue-ribbon panel of scientists, academics and industrialists to study the possible applications of hydrogen in 1985.The result of their studies was a report to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney entitled "Hydrogen - A National Mission for Canada", a report which is still considered the definitive analysis of the various ways in which hydrogen can be used in place of carbon-based fuels.