He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1987, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Bill Davis and Frank Miller.
He became a social worker and assisted in the reconstruction of Germany and Hungary after World War II.
When Frank Miller replaced Davis a premier of Ontario on February 8, 1985, he named Baetz as Provincial Secretary for Justice.
Baetz was appointed as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs on May 17, 1985, but accomplished little in this portfolio before the Conservatives were defeated in the house in June 1985.
[9] In opposition, he served as his party's critic for Intergovernmental Affairs, Child Care and Social Policy.