LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Madam Speaker: Good afternoon, everybody. Please be seated.
Madam Speaker: The House will consider further condolence motions this afternoon.
Hon. Heather Stefanson (Premier): I move, seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, that this House convey to the family of the late Bonnie Korzeniowski, who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, its sincere sympathy in their bereavement, and its appreciation of her devotion to duty and a useful life of active community and public service, and that Madam Speaker be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the family.
Motion presented.
Mrs. Stefanson: Madam Speaker, I stand today to pay tribute to our departed colleague and friend Bonnie Korzeniowski, who passed away on October 15, 2019. On behalf of the Manitoba government and the entire Progressive Conservative caucus, I wish to extend my condolences to Bonnie's four children, Karen, Kathryn, Bryan and Alexis, as well as her eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Bonnie faithfully served as the NDP MLA for St. James for over a decade, from 1999 to 2011. During that time, I had the pleasure of serving in this House with her, and so did several members of our Progressive Conservative caucus who are here with us today, including yourself, Madam Speaker.
I think I speak for all of us in expressing our admiration for her dedication to the St. James community, and her strong advocacy for the Canadian Forces and the military families during her time as the MLA for St. James.
Madam Speaker, Bonnie was born and raised in Winnipeg in a proud military family. She earned a diploma of social service work from Algonquin College in Ottawa. Bonnie eventually moved back to Manitoba, where she worked at the Manitoba Youth Centre. Bonnie then graduated with a bachelor of social work from the University of Manitoba in 1980, and earned a master of science in administration from the University of Michigan in 1995. Throughout this time, she worked as a social worker at Brandon General Hospital, St. Boniface Hospital and the Deer Lodge Centre.
As with all of us who care about our great province, Bonnie soon brought her passion for her community into political activity, becoming a board member with the St. James NDP constituency association, and in 1999 she ran successfully under the NDP banner to become the MLA for St. James–an office she held, as I mentioned earlier, until her retirement in 2011.
During her time as MLA, Bonnie served successfully as Deputy Speaker of the House, and in 2008 she was named Manitoba's special envoy of military affairs. Bonnie particularly excelled in her role as special envoy, acting as a tireless advocate for military families, and a strong supporter of the Military Family Resource Centre at 17 Wing.
But perhaps Bonnie's proudest achievement was advocating for the renovation of the Women's Tribute Memorial Lodge heritage building at Deer Lodge Centre, which eventually became the Movement Disorder Clinic. The clinic has become an important place for the treatment of a broad spectrum of movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease.
Madam Speaker, Bonnie Korzeniowski led a full life of service to our province. Her unwavering dedication to the people of St. James and the military families she cared so much about is a shining example to all of us.
Before I conclude, I just wanted to share a little story about Bonnie Korzeniowski. One day in this very Chamber, I was in the opposition at the time and Bonnie came around–I think she was military envoy at the time–and she came around and she was looking at me, and I said, okay, and she said, so, I think you have two young children, don't you? I said yes, I do. And she said, you know, we're looking for a home for one of our pets, a bunny. And so she said would your kids be willing to come and have a look at the bunny, just to see if maybe you want to keep the bunny.
Well, we all know what happens when you take kids to meet pets for the first time. Of course what happens is you end up coming home with that pet. So Bunbun then became a member of our families, was a Korzeniowski, then became a Stefanson, so Bunbun Stefanson was with our family and my kids for five years and brought incredible joy to our kids.
So I just wanted to share that with the family and again, you know, thank them for being here with us today. And, obviously, I want to express my condolences to all of your family and to those who had the pleasure of knowing her and serving alongside her. For members of all sides of the House, it's always sad to lose someone that you have had the opportunity to serve with in the Chamber as an MLA, and our deepest condolences go to the family.
Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr. Adrien Sala (St. James): Madam Speaker, it's an honour to have an opportunity to rise today to pay tribute to the memory of an individual who spent their life working in service of her community, her province, and her country, the ex-MLA for St. James, Bonnie Korzeniowski.
Bonnie was born in Winnipeg on October 5th, 1941, one of two daughters born to Myrtle May Chatterson and Cleveland Sidney Grant. She attended Daniel McIntyre Collegiate in Winnipeg and married her high school sweetheart, Gavin Grant Bryan Hunt and moved with him through a series of military postings, mostly in Ontario. And they would eventually have four children, Karen, Kathryn, Bryan and Alexis. And, of course, Bryan joins us today with his partner Veronica.
Bonnie returned to Winnipeg after the dissolution of her first marriage, where she went on to work at the Manitoba Youth Centre where she met Gerry Korzeniowski. Together they took the big step of going back to university where she would go on to earn a bachelor of social work in 1980. She and Gerald were married for a total of 38 years before their journey would come to an end.
In total, Bonnie actually completed three degrees: a diploma in social work in 1974 from Algonquin College in Ontario, a bachelor of social work in 1980 from the University of Manitoba and a master of science in administration in 1995 from the University of Michigan.
Before entering political life, she worked as a social worker for 20 years, first working in Brandon and later working in psychogeriatrics for 12 years at Deer Lodge Centre, including as chair of health-care professionals for the Deer Lodge Centre.
While Bonnie had many accomplishments as a social worker, she went on to become increasingly interested in politics, serving as a board member on the executive of the St. James NDP after her retirement from Deer Lodge Centre.
In 1999, at the age of 57, Bonnie decided to run to become the NDP candidate for the newly created riding of St. James and she, of course, ended up winning the seat and holding it until she decided to leave the role in 2011 so she could spend more time with her family.
Bonnie was very successful in the role and she was very well-liked in our community and known as a true constituency politician, who had a talent for developing great working relationships with people of all backgrounds.
In preparing to offer some words today, I was, in fact, told that she'd worked, on multiple occasions, with the current MLA for Kirkfield Park, who was, at the time, the city councillor for St. James-Brooklands, who helped and worked together to organize community clean-ups in our beautiful Bruce Park. I actually reached out to the MLA for Kirkfield Park to confirm this and he graciously followed up with a number of other stories, really great stories, about Bonnie and her accomplishments in support of our community and I'm grateful to him for sharing that.
In addition to being great at building relationships, Bonnie knew how to get stuff done. She was instrumental in helping to get funding for the beautiful Sturgeon Heights Community Centre, which is an absolute gem in our community and is a place I know where my family and many other families currently go to for programs and hockey and it is just an incredible asset in our neighbourhood
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She also helped to calm major traffic issues around the Polo Park area through her work in helping to bring the City and the Province together to invest in major roadwork in St. James, along St. James Street.
And maybe the greatest example of Bonnie's ability gets things done was her success in saving the beautiful Women's Tribute Memorial Lodge building, which had been built in 1932 on the property of the Deer Lodge Centre and which was at risk of demolition.
Mr. Andrew Micklefield, Deputy Speaker, in the Chair
Bonnie worked tirelessly to save the building, and she was ultimately instrumental in organizing the political will and resources required to save the building from being demolished. And as our Premier (Mrs. Stefanson) shared, thanks to her incredible efforts the building was preserved and converted into a cutting-edge movement disorder clinic that now serves thousands of seniors every single year.
As MLA, Bonnie would later serve as the deputy to the Speaker of the House, and she was also named as our very first special envoy of military affairs for Manitoba in 2008. In speaking with people who knew her well, some of whom are on our constituency association in St. James to this day, I've come to learn that Bonnie was particularly passionate about this aspect of her work, a passion that likely stemmed from her own background as a child of a military family herself.
She did everything she could to extend military family rights. She helped to establish a medical clinic for military families and she played an instrumental role in helping to create a daycare centre to help make life better for those living on the 17 Wing base.
These are truly incredible accomplishments that no doubt had a major impact on improving quality of life for military families who were stationed here in Manitoba, and her family can be incredibly proud of that work that she did in support of our military community here in Manitoba.
In addition to her work as a special envoy for military affairs, she was also involved in a number of other military-related volunteer roles. She was the first female board member of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada regiment; official godmother to the Liga dos Combatentes, the Portuguese war veterans; a proud member of The Royal Military Institute of Manitoba.
She was also a member of the royal commonwealth association and The Intrepid Society, to name a few. And last but not least, she was also a proud member of St. James Legion No. 4, never missing a single Remembrance Day service at our beautiful Bruce Park.
After her retirement from politics at age 69, Bonnie was still unable to slow down and was known to be adventurous right until the end of her life, and I've read stories about parasailing trips in her late 70s while in Mexico to put us all to shame.
Bonnie died in Winnipeg on October 11th, 2019, at the age of 78. She is survived by her husband Gerry, four children, eight grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and her sister.
Madam Speaker, I didn't have–or, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Bonnie personally, but from what I've learned about her, it's clear to me that she was an exceptional MLA who set a very high bar for those who came to follow her in St. James.
I'm grateful that I had this opportunity to learn about Bonnie and her work in St. James, as it's been truly inspiring to learn about what she was able to accomplish in her relatively short time as an MLA and as a champion for our community.
So to her family and friends and to Bryan, who's here with us today, my deepest condolences for your loss, her memory lives on here and we will remember her.
Thank you.
Hon. Scott Johnston (Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care): I'm–I would recognize Bonnie Korzeniowski's family who is joining us today, as other members have. Thank you for joining us.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, I thank you for the opportunity to speak in the memory of Mrs. Bonnie Korzeniowski, the former MLA for St. James.
Bonnie was born on October 5th, 1941, and passed on October 15th, 2019, as has been indicated. Bonnie lived a full life. She made an impact on those around her through the many projects that she took on passionately. Bonnie was born in Winnipeg and she was raised in a military family. The community of St. James that Bonnie represented housed 17 Wing as well as 1 Canadian Air Division, and Bonnie was right at home living in that military environment.
She was a valued member of the St. James community that her and I both called home. As a matter of fact, Bonnie resided on Overdale Street, the street that I grew up on, and she actually lived in one of the homes that my father was raised in. As–if you know the community of St. James, you'll understand how fundamental Overdale Street is to the area, and Bonnie always spoke very fondly of living on Overdale Street, right in the heart of the community that she loved so much.
Bonnie had a strong connection to her community. This inspired her to earn her diploma of social service work and she was always dedicated to serving her community. That's one thing that always impressed me. After some time in work–in the working world, Bonnie continued her education and went on to gain a bachelor of social work, helping people. And that, of course, was her passion.
Bonnie eventually made her way to Deer Lodge where she was the cornerstone of the Getaway Club, a program for those caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's. This was very typical of Bonnie. She always had an understanding of the needs of, in this particular case, seniors in her community.
Bonnie also served as chair of Health Care Professionals for the Deer Lodge Centre, which, again, is a foundation in St. James. Following her involvement in community advocacy, Bonnie went on to serve as the board member for the St. James NDP party, which began her political life.
Bonnie and I agreed on a lot of things, but not everything. I first really got to know Bonnie during her legislative duty as a member of the Legislative Assembly for St. James. I represented the same area as a St. James-Assiniboia school trustee.
As chair of the board, we spoke many times about how we could work together on various initiatives. Even though Bonnie and I were on opposing sides politically, there were many occasions when I would receive a call to advise me of some of the challenges she really believed that we had to address. And you know what? They were always productive calls and they were always passionate calls.
Bonnie was capable of putting policies aside to work towards a common goal. And, Madam Speaker, Bonnie wasn't shy. She had no trouble with expressing her opinions to me and she expected the same in return. And that's one of the things that, I think, bonded us on many occasions when we were serving our community.
Bonnie always had a genuine dedication of serving. We spoke during my political experience as we had similar paths. We had so much in common. Bonnie represented the proud constituency of St. James and I also represented the proud constituency of St. James. Bonnie was Manitoba's first military envoy for her government and I also, too, was Manitoba's military envoy for my government. We had a lot of discussions in regards to similarities in some of the different issues that we had dealt with.
During some of our discussions, she spoke so fondly of her experiences supporting Manitoba's military as well as the peacekeepers that serve us so well. She was so proud and honoured to serve in that role. As we all know, bell–Bonnie held her community involvement as a high priority. She was extremely involved and made an effort to attend every event she was able to attend, and as the current member of St. James had indicated, we saw her at many different events; certainly Remembrance Day was a big, big part of her honour of representing in government and also, too, being the military envoy.
Bonnie was at the forefront of an important initiative with her community, as indicated, to save the historic women's tribute lodge, which she was so passionate about.
Madam Speaker, I liked Bonnie Korzeniowski. I admired the hard work and dedication that she put in to working to serve her community. On behalf of our constituents and myself, I express our deepest condolences to her husband Gerald and their children Karen, Kathryn, Bryan and Alexis.
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I thank you, Bonnie, and rest in peace.
Mr. Wab Kinew (Leader of the Official Opposition): Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker and thank you to my colleagues across the aisle, who shared a few words, as well as to Bonnie's successor in the St. James MLA position.
I want to begin by offering my sincere condolences to Bonnie's family and specifically to Bryan and his partner Veronica who are here with us today. We certainly extend our heartfelt sympathies to you at this time. I know it's been a few years now, but I think it's important that you joined us here today to help honour your mom and to help honour such a great servant to the community. And, of course, by extension in saying that, I also acknowledge and send condolences to all of her family members, including those who were not able to join us today.
You know, Bonnie's contributions to Manitoba were many–in the health-care sector, in the political arena– but on the community level, and so, as the St. James MLA, we know that she did important work here on behalf of the people in west Winnipeg, to bring forward community-level issues on education and on health care. And also, she shared a title with you; she was a Deputy Speaker for a time during her legislative career, and certainly that's a very high honour and an important role.
We know that as a member of a military family, that respect for the veterans and admiration for the service of, you know, military people in our country was a cornerstone of Bonnie's political orientation and her views on public life. And she was allowed to serve as a military envoy to fulfill that capacity officially, but we know that unofficially, she wore her heart on her sleeve in much the same fashion: long-time member of the St. James Legion, supporter of many veterans' organizations and military service organizations, including the Portuguese war veterans, the royal commonwealth association and the Intrepid Society.
And I think it's a lot of those involvements with the legions and some of those other veterans groups that led her to get the Queen Elizabeth golden jubilee medal, which is one of the highest honours in the Commonwealth–certainly a recognition of her service.
And I had the honour to meet her after I was elected in 2016. She used to come here and visit us. She'd come here, sit in the loge, which the retired members are allowed to do, and she'd come to the caucus room and talk to us and visit with us and, you know, just kind of, I guess, look for trouble in the halls of the Legislature, if you will. And in those conversations that I had with her there in the caucus room or out in community events when we'd bump into each other from time to time, you know, I really soaked up the commitment that she had for this work that she did here at the Legislature and how much of an impact that had on her life.
We've heard important and good words about the impact she had on the lives of others and the improvements to the communities in St. James and around the city and across the province but I know that this must have had a tremendous place in her heart because even for years after leaving politics, she continued to come back and tried to maintain that connection. So I wanted to acknowledge that and just say what a testament that is to her work as an MLA.
And, of course, I guess late last year there's a story in the media that many of us may have noticed. There was a young fellow by the name of Grayson–I think he was just 11 years old at the time–who saved his family from a house fire in south Winnipeg. And I was really moved by this, to just hear how this young guy took it upon himself to, you know, respond to the obvious signs of fire, to wake up the family, to ensure that they all made it out to safety. And I was moved by that, so that we had decided to present this young man with a certificate of, you know, appreciation just as a way to highlight his bravery and to recognize the important work that he did, not only for the family but the act of valour that it represented, on behalf of the people of Manitoba, to save his household and family members.
And so we made all the preparations, we went to the school, they had a little assembly, we did it outside, COVID-safe protocols, et cetera, and we presented the certificate there to Grayson. And it was there that I met Bryan and Veronica on that day as well. Because as it turns out, young Grayson, hero of the headlines from October 2021, is actually the grandson of Bonnie Korzeniowski and he is one grandson among many.
So all of a sudden as we're talking to Bryan and talking to Veronica that it had started to make a little bit of sense where Grayson was coming from and his idea of service, and his idea of being brave in the heart of our truly scary situation. So I think he came by his bravery honestly and inherited it from grandma as well as from many other members of the family.
And so with that, I just want to close by thanking the family of Bonnie Korzeniowski for sharing her with us these many years and to tell you that in her work here, her contributions to the Legislature but also very importantly, in the way that her influence will carry out over the years with Grayson and her other children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we know that Bonnie's legacy will live on.
Hon. Scott Fielding (Minister of Natural Resources and Northern Development): It gives me great, great privilege to stand up and recognize condoling Bonnie Korzeniowski.
I actually worked quite closely with Bonnie; as the member for Assiniboia (Mr. Johnston) had mentioned, Bonnie was really great to work with. It was actually a time when I first started on city council, I guess, it was in 2006, I worked with her on a variety of different project roles and it was a delight working with her. We had a great working relationship and we were able to accomplish a lot in the community.
As members before had talked about her role before politics, she of course was born to a military family and that's been a love of Bonnie for many, many years. You would always see her at the Military Family Resource Centre, they usually had–have a breakfast or kind of a coffee on a monthly basis, you'd see her all the time. She of course has a background in caring and giving in terms of social work at the University of Manitoba, and a masters in science administration from the University of Michigan.
She was a member of the St. James Legion No. 4 and anyone–I know the member from St. James and other members here know that they have a great tribute on Remembrance Day that happens in Bruce Park. And Bonnie, because of her role before, would always walk back–there's an opportunity there to go to the legion beforehand and then after essentially and give some speeches prior to the COVID.
But Bonnie would march with all the Legionnaires to Bruce Park, which is a great tribute, a great opportunity for anyone that wants to recognize Remembrance Day, the tribute that they have in Bruce Park. And she would always march. I remember that time of year either it's raining or it's snowing and I remember once where it was, you know, I'm sure it must have been about -20 where they all walked, Bonnie leading the charge of course, from the legion to Bruce Park.
Bonnie is, you know, has a lot of experience, as previous members have mentioned in terms of her association whether it be through the Deer Lodge United Church, Manitoba human rights committee and the Manitoba Alzheimer society, which led her sense of commitment when she decided to go into politics.
Of course, as others have mentioned, she was the NDP member for the Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2011. She ran, beat Gerry McAlpine who had been in that seat, I think, for two sessions and won in 1999, a 'hod'-fought election. She served as special 'envay' for the military affairs from February 2008 to '13, and that really was a passion for her because she's got that background, would go to numerous events throughout the year and did the dedicated types of service.
She served, of course, as the Deputy Speaker and was aboard of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canadian regiment as well as the military institute of–royal commonwealth association.
She's credited with saving–restoring the Women's Tribute Memorial Lodge, as the Premier (Mrs. Stefanson) and others have mentioned and just did a great job in the community.
On a personal note, as I mentioned, I guess the first really six years of my political career as a councillor, you kind of come into these types of roles when you're first elected, you know, you want to make sure you're working with everyone in a non–I think probably from the city council level it's a little bit easier to work in a non-partisan fashion and some days I wish I probably could work in that non-fashioned way again, and sometimes we get into our roles here, but I can tell you that Bonnie was truly great to work with and she welcomed me as a new elected official into the St. James community.
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The St. James community, for anyone that has been elected in these types of areas knows that it is–it really is a truly community where people tend to stay in St. James and I think, to a certain extent, people don't feel they need to leave in so many different ways. So it's just a great community.
Bonnie is, you know, was always great at being able to get community grants, and a lot of times through city councils and also through the provincial and federal governments. We were asked to work on the same projects, whether that's a flooring project for the Deer Lodge community centre, whether that's upgrades to things like a Zamboni at the Bord-Aire or Bourkevale Community Centre, you can do that.
She was also very good at–in terms of amalgamation. We had amalgamation of two community centres, the Silver Heights community club, at that point the Sturgeon Creek Community Club. Sometimes those are–you know, it takes hard process to amalgamate two community clubs. It went smoothly.
There was a kind of a City process but also the provincial government was there, and she advocated very effectively when there was ability that existed in 2008 when there was some stimulus dollars available because of the downturn of the economy, and there was monies that were available at the federal level and the provincial level and the city level, and she was able to kind of set the table for the first advocacy of it to get the community club built, and that's really a staple of the St. James community, where you have a lot of great events. There's been some other great initiatives done since then, but it really is a staple of the community, so I really want to congratulate her for that.
She also, as mentioned by the member for St. James (Mr. Sala), was a big part of the drive essentially to get infrastructure built in St. James region. Anyone that would drive around the Polo Park area around 2008 or '9 would know the long, long delays that you'd have when you were shopping, and so the levels of government, the City as well as the Province, were able to work together to get the money to expropriate some land; you get the whole St. Matthews extension which really has helped out St. James in so many different ways. So she had a lot of vision in respect to that and was able to work at partnerships.
I mentioned her role in military affairs. She really enjoyed all aspects of this, as well as items like ensuring that there was housing monies that were available for places like Sinawak [phonetic] Bay, and before I left council we, you know, we had, the Yellow Ribbon Greenway Trail was also something. It's kind of a great trail system that goes all the–through the heart of St. James. Bonnie advocated for this, and so from a city council point of view we were able to name a whole bunch of benches, essentially, that went up and down there, and so, you know, my role as a city councillor, I consulted with, I think, Grant Nordman who's the city councillor on the other side at that point.
So we wanted to identify about 18 people from St. James that really made a difference in the community, and usually they weren't the politician types that we did, but we included Bonnie because of her role, what she had done, not just on that initiative, but a whole bunch of different initiatives–this is probably around 2010 or 2011–just as a recognition of the work that she did.
So, I want to recognize her family for all her dedication and her hard work, and so I want to thank her and just recognize her on behalf of 'yuone' to say that she was a very valuable elected official in St. James and we'll miss her greatly.
Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Deputy Speaker, Bonnie Korzeniowski will be known for her attention to the needs of people in St. James community and for her dedication to and support of the military in Manitoba as the special envoy for military affairs for five years from early in 2008 to June of 2013.
A social worker by training, she was instrumental in the establishment of the Movement Disorder Clinic at Deer Lodge Centre and made many other contributions to her community of St. James.
She will also be known for bringing forward The Good Samaritan Protection Act, a bill which was passed into law and became effective December the 7th. It's an important and significant law which provides liability protection for a person who comes forward to help others, and it could even include, for example, off-duty military person; it could include a health professional who comes forward to help somebody who has a health issue.
There's an interesting history behind this act. Both Bonnie and I independently got the idea for a bill to protect good Samaritans who come forward to help and protect others. It had become clear that sometimes people were reluctant to come forward and help others in need if there was a concern about liability; that is, being sued if something went wrong, in spite of their good intentions in coming forward to help others.
To end this concern of people being sued and found liable when they came forward to help someone–you know, including, for example, trying to save someone's life–we had both independently brought forward legislation, conceived the idea independently to protect citizens with a good Samaritan act as, in fact, has been done in other jurisdictions.
My bill was actually first, and first on the Order Paper, in the fall of 2005 and it was debated extensively November 6th, 15th, 17th, 24th, 29th, December the 6th. I tried six times to get this bill past second reading and it never worked. The NDP caucus effectively blocked the passage because they wanted Bonnie's bill, but there were rules of precedence and although Bonnie introduced her bill on November 24th and it was debated on December the 8th, because of those 'prestance' rule, her bill was unable to proceed further.
So the next year, in the fall of 2006, once again I introduced my bill, this time on November 17th, but when it was apparent that there was never going to be support from the NDP, I decided it was more important to get a good Samaritan act passed than what was happening then, was it was being blocked.
Madam Speaker in the Chair
So I approached Bonnie to indicate I would support her bill and so she moved it for first reading on December 5th, 2006, with me seconding it. It passed second reading later that morning and passed third reading, receiving royal assent on December 7th and became law on that day.
It was an important bill because without this, some people are reluctant to step forward and help others. Well, it's interesting that surveys in the United States have shown that between one third and one half of all physicians would refuse to stop or render aid to a victim without the–a good Samaritan act in place. It seems extraordinary. I suspect the proportion would be less in Canada but, nevertheless, whatever their proportion is here in Manitoba, this is no longer a concern because of Bonnie's bill.
And in Manitoba, with our history of volunteering, it is really important to protect well-meaning volunteers, including people like Grayson, who come forward and do amazing acts and occasionally something goes wrong and people need to be protected from liability.
We can ask how much less kind might this world be if people didn't come forward when someone else was in need. We, as humans, would be worse off. Thanks to Bonnie's bill, that won't happen here in Manitoba.
When her bill was able to move forward, Bonnie was gracious, she complimented me on my efforts and we worked together to get the bill passed. She showed she was ready to work with other members of the Legislature in other parties to get things done for Manitobans and, for that, we can all remember and thank Bonnie Korzeniowski.
So on behalf of myself and our caucus, I extend condolences to Bonnie's family and friends, Bryan and Veronica, and all the rest of the extended family and to the members of the NDP caucus.
Merci, miigwech, thank you.
Mr. Shannon Martin (McPhillips): My condolences to the family of Bonnie Korzeniowski today as we honour and recognize her service as a member of this Legislature.
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Madam Speaker, I had a different relationship with Mrs. Korzeniowski as I was a staff person and a lobbyist during her tenure from 1999 to 2011. And oftentimes, when you're interacting with MLAs, you're trying to find some sort of a commonality with them, whether it's a pet rabbit, whether it's children, whether it's sports. But in the case of Bonnie Korzeniowski, it was our joint legacy of being actually military families.
I was born into a military family overseas, Madam Speaker, and that allowed us, myself and Bonnie, to have a basis of a conversation because we could share the struggles that can be military life, and we see the importance of military throughout the history of Manitoba.
And a number of colleagues have talked about the special envoy, the military, the special envoy for the military here in the province of Manitoba. And what's particularly interesting about this position, and I think it's important that this be part of the record for the family, is the role of the military envoy wasn't actually created for Bonnie Korzeniowski; it was actually created because of her. And that's a big difference. It was her passion behind the scenes, and I know in talking to some of the MLAs at the time, they talked about Bonnie's passion for the creation of a role to represent the military who have such a significant presence in our community, whether it's in Winnipeg or Westman.
But Bonnie, through her life in the military, recognized that the needs of military members can be very different than that of regular citizens, Madam Speaker, and so, oftentimes, they require their own advocacy. And so she took that passion, that history of being a military–member of a military family and she brought it with her to government, and it was through that passion that led to the creation of a special envoy.
And, obviously, not only did Bonnie create that role, but her success in that role was so great that it even went beyond her retirement for two years. That's how respected she was within the community for her role as special envoy, that the military members who were interacting with her in leadership over the years and the government of the day wanted Bonnie to continue that role even though she was leaving her role as the MLA for St. James.
And I know in talking to her successors, they have often commented that they have heard from military leadership who speak very fondly of Bonnie Korzeniowski's development of the special envoy role, the work that she has done in advocating–successfully advocating on behalf of military families and everything she has done in that community.
So, myself, I would like to extend my personal condolences to the family. You definitely–you have a great deal to be proud of with your mother and there is no doubt that her legacy here in the province of Manitoba will last a very long time.
Mr. Matt Wiebe (Concordia): It's my pleasure and honour to be able to rise here today to put some words of condolence on the record for Bonnie Korzeniowski. And I'm very glad to see that her family is here; I know just a very small part of a large family, but it is important, I think, that they join us here today. So thank you for joining us, and our condolences to you and to the extended family.
I'm especially pleased, Madam Speaker, because I had an opportunity to serve with Bonnie Korzeniowski. I'm not the only one in the Chamber but, you know, I have been here now for a couple of minutes and so I had the honour to have actually served with Bonnie, and so I wanted to be able to put just a few of my recollections on the record.
As has been mentioned here a few times, Bonnie was a model of a constituency politician and somebody who always looked out for her constituency and her neighborhood first.
She was a passionate advocate for her community, whether it be the, you know, the aerospace industry and the manufacturing jobs that were in her own community, always fighting for good jobs and how that built her neighborhood. She, of course, as we've heard, was an advocate for active transportation for community centres, you know, all that kind of very granular type of work that we can do as MLAs that I think really bring up those people who put in their time at the local level. Often she would invite members of the caucus come out to the trail clean-up, come out and help out at this community centre, and that really spoke to what she valued in her own neighbourhood.
But I think her biggest passion was health care and making sure that health care in her community and all the support structures that existed were front and centre; that was her No. 1 passion in terms of advocating for her neighbourhood, and so we appreciated that.
Of course, she also was a–as we've heard, our special envoy for military affairs. And so her advocacy for the Canadian Forces, and as we've heard, you know, her own legion, No. 4, but for legions in general and the community that they generated, was always something that I took very close note of and I always appreciated her perspective on.
But it was also her special recognition of our–the role that our Armed Forces play in disaster assistance. And when we talk about the floods and the other disasters that we've encountered in our province in the past, she was always sure to make sure that we recognized the role that our forces played in supporting our communities and looking after us. That was, I think, an angle of her representation that we may have–we otherwise may have missed out on. So I appreciate that she did that.
Finally, the other thing that really stuck out to me about Bonnie was that she was an advocate for women in leadership roles and in the Legislature, and she served as–on the committee of the commonwealth of women parliamentarians, and so, in her role as a representative, always wanted to push, you know, women to the forefront in leadership roles and always worked hard to do that.
And what struck me about that work, was she was always advocating for others. She, of course, was a strong leader and a strong woman leader in her community, but it wasn't herself that she was advocating for. She was always looking to others, to push them forward and to push them to the top. And I can tell you, in our–whether it be in the Legislature and in the debate that she had here or whether it be around the caucus table, she was always seeking out the women, to push them to the forefront and to advocate for them to be leaders.
She was also, of course, a mother and a grandmother and a great grandmother, and her, you know, her love of her family, I think, also shone through. She also experienced some loss and some tragedy in losing a child, but she spoke very openly and clearly about that, and she was somebody who was somebody who used that experience and used her full knowledge and experience within her own community and her family life to advocate for those people in her community that needed her support.
So just another word of condolences to the family. Thank you for this opportunity to put a few words on the record on behalf of Bonnie, and it really was an honour to know her, to serve with her, to learn from her, and I know that her legacy carries on in our caucus in the words of the members here today, and I know that her legacy will continue on this place.
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion? [Agreed]
Would honourable members please rise and remain standing to indicate their support for the motion.
A moment of silence was observed.
Madam Speaker: We will now move to the final motion of condolence this afternoon.
Hon. Heather Stefanson (Premier): I move, seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, that this House convey to the family of the late Kenneth George Dillen, who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, its sincere sympathy in their bereavement and its appreciation of his devotion to duty and a useful life of active community and public service, and that, Madam Speaker, be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the family.
* (14:20)
Motion presented.
Mrs. Stefanson: Madam Speaker, I stand today to pay tribute to the extraordinary life of Mr. Ken Dillen, who served as the MLA for Thompson from 1973 to 1977. On behalf of the Manitoba Government and the entire Progressive Conservative caucus, I wish to extend our condolences to Mr. Dillen's children, Kenneth Jr., Deborah and Kevin, as well as his 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
While I did not have the opportunity to serve with Mr. Dillen personally, I know that he leaves behind a lasting legacy and he is missed by all those who knew him. Mr. Dillen was born on April 29th, 1938, on the Serpent River First Nation in Cutler, Ontario. As a teenager, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces and was stationed at the Royal Canadian Air Force base near Rivers, Manitoba.
Mr. Dillen eventually moved his family up to Thompson, where he gained employment in the nickel mine and took up the various causes of people in his community. During his time in Thompson, he became president of union Local 6166 of the United Steelworkers of America, and held that position for three years while raising a family and contributing to other causes in his community.
As with so many Manitobans drawn to public service, Mr. Dillen's community activism prompted him to seek the nomination for the New Democrats in Thompson in 1973. He faithfully served as MLA for Thompson for four years and as a legislative assistant for Premier Ed Schreyer. He also continued his passionate advocacy for working people in the Legislative Assembly, serving as a member of the manpower and employment committee and the resources and economic development committee.
Mr. Dillen went on to spend his post-political life involved in various endeavours to improve economic opportunity for Indigenous people in Manitoba and throughout the country, including serving as manager of Mathias Colomb First Nation and managing director of the economic development program for the Saskatchewan Métis society.
Later in life, Mr. Dillen became an advocate for fiscal responsibility and low taxes–lower taxes, including as secretary for the Prairie Centre Policy Institute in Saskatchewan.
Like many of us, Mr. Dillen loved to work and continued to serve as a consultant for Voltage Power in Ontario until his death on April 20th, 2020. But while he may have enjoyed work, I note that Mr. Dillen's greatest memories were from his time camping with his family and fishing for pickerel on Mystery Lake in northern Manitoba.
Mr. Dillen's life of service and his love of family are truly–are true reminders to us–all of us–sorry. Mr. Dillen's life of service and his love of family are truly reminders to all of us about what really matters in life.
I would like to once again extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Dillen's family and all those who had the pleasure of knowing him throughout the years, and especially those years here in the Manitoba Legislature, where we pay tribute to him today.
Mr. Tom Lindsey (Flin Flon): It's my pleasure to rise today and pay tribute to Kenneth George Dillen, who was the MLA for the Thompson constituency from 1973 to 1977.
Mr. Dillen was born April 20th, 2020, by–sorry. He was born April 29th, 1938 at the Serpent River First Nation in Cutler, Ontario, and died April 20th, 2020, again at the Serpent River First Nation.
Mr. Dillen was elected as the NDP MLA in Thompson, and in fact was possibly one of the first Indigenous MLAs to serve in this legislative Chamber, and was, in fact, only the second MLA to represent that constituency.
Mr. Dillen spent his formative years living with his parents and his siblings, and from that he learned from his father how to hunt, trap and gather food for the family. In his teen years, Mr. Dillen joined the Canadian Armed Forces at Canadian Army apprentice training school at Camp Borden in Ontario. He trained as a parachutist and tested parachute equipment, and also trained as an air supply dispatch instructor and developed his enduring friendships from his army experience.
Mr. Dillen met his future wife, Esther Mabel Biccum, in Manitoba while training at the Royal Canadian Air Force Base near Rivers, Manitoba. They were married June 21st, 1958, in Blind River, Ontario. They have three children: Kenneth Norman, Deborah Ann and Kevin Andrew Matt. After marriage they settled in southern Manitoba where Ken was employed as a painter for several years.
In the late 1960s, he decided to improve his family's economic standing and went to work at Inco in Thompson. Ken was a veracious reader, a skilled writer, an orator and a champion of the underserved, particularly Indigenous people.
He was passionate about ensuring fairness and economic opportunity for all, and as such he was elected president of local Union 6166, of what was then called the United Steelworkers of America. He served as president for three years. Later he worked as an industrial liaison officer for Northern Manpower in The Pas.
In 1973, Mr. Dillen sought the nomination for the New Democratic Party and was elected to the Manitoba Legislature. He served as legislative assistant to the Premier of Manitoba, Ed Schreyer, and his government positions. Ken was responsible for things like labour issues and served as manpower and employment committee member and resources and economic development committee member. Ken served the Manitoba Legislature and served the citizens of Thompson as their MLA until 1977.
Later Ken went on to become the manager of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation of Pukatawagan, Manitoba, then moving to Saskatchewan where he was the field co-ordinator for the Key Lake Board of Inquiry. Later he served as the managing director of economic development program for the Saskatchewan Métis society. He was president, chief executive officer of Yellow Thunder Holdings and founded JLM Foods, Ltd., where he produced his own bannock mix: Just Like Mom's.
Ken consulted extensively throughout the remainder of his career. And while his political views may have changed, the one thing that was consistent was his passion for standing up for Indigenous people and generally the underserved portions of society, and he maintained that commitment until his death. In fact, at the time of his death Mr. Dillen was working as a consultant for Voltage Power.
Now I'm told that his most memorable and enjoyable times were spent with his wife and children camping on what they called Dillen island and fishing for pickerel on Mystery Lake up north. He loved spending time in his later years with his children and grandchildren in Michigan and was so very proud of them and all their accomplishments. Unfortunately, Mr. Dillen was predeceased by his former wife Esther, his parents and siblings.
* (14:30)
One of the things that stood out when I was researching for this condolence motion was what his daughter, Deborah Collingridge, said: he looked back on his time as Thompson MLA very positively, and I think he felt that he had done a lot of good. It was disappointing to him that he didn't win the election, that he was only able to serve four years. I think he was hoping to be re-elected to do more for his community.
A fellow by the name of Les Johnson, who was a senior provincial bureaucrat when Mr. Dillen was elected as MLA, said that he was one of those people who had learned how to work in the Indigenous and Euro-Canadian culture effectively.
One of the things that also his daughter was amazed at was that a man with a grade 8 education could rise to do all the things that Ken Dillen did in his life, from being an MLA, to being a CEO, to being a consultant on so many different things. And it certainly speaks to his desire to work, and, in fact, he continued working up until the time of this death at 81 years old.
So, with those few words–I never had the opportunity to know Mr. Dillen, but I spoke to some political folks that were around back in the days when he was first elected and when he served the folks of Thompson, and certainly, their comments, without question, were that he was such a strong and a passionate, vocal person to support Indigenous people in this province, and certainly it was a voice that was needed and is still needed today.
So I wish to thank Kenneth Dillen for his service to the people of Thompson, for his service to the people of Manitoba and share our condolences from this Chamber and from the constituency of Thompson with Mr. Dillen's family.
Thank you.
Ms. Janice Morley-Lecomte (Seine River): Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to express my condolences to Ken Dillen's family. The Manitoba Legislative Assembly honours the memory of Ken George Dillen in light of his passing on April 20th, 2020.
As a proud member of this Assembly, Ken represented the best qualities of a legislator: dignity, integrity, respect for others and belief in the goodness of public service. He was born on April 29th, 1938, in Serpent River First Nation in Cutler Ontario. As a young man, Ken's father taught him to live off the land. He was a skilled hunter and trapper.
Ken's leadership career began in his community and then extended to serving his country when, in his teens, he enlisted with the military. In 1954, he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces as a paratrooper and equipment specialist. This career required a literal and figurative leap of faith as Ken became a parachutist.
After completing his training at the Canadian Army apprentice training school at Camp Borden in Ontario, Ken became an equipment specialist and an air supply dispatch instructor. While training at the Royal Canadian Air Force base near Rivers, Manitoba, Ken met his future wife Esther. Ken and Esther married on June 21st, 1958, in Blind River, Ontario, and together raised three children: Kenneth, Deborah and Kevin.
Shortly after leaving the air force, Ken began a career as an iron worker. He accepted a job at one of the mines in Thompson, Manitoba. He excelled and quickly became the president of his union. It is this experience that made Ken devote his legislative career and profession to improving equitable economic opportunities for all in northern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Ken's record of serving others and leadership led him to run for the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. In 1973, Ken was elected as the member for Thompson. He was the second person elected to the electoral district. As a member of the Legislative Assembly, he was the legislative assistant to Edward Schreyer, the 16th premier of Manitoba.
Ken also devoted his career to improving economic and food security for Manitoba's northern communities and ensured responsible management for hydro construction. In 1977, Ken received the Queen Elizabeth silver jubilee medal for his commitment to community leadership. His service reflects his respect for the democratic process and commitment to serving all Manitobans. His community and legislative service have been recognized as one of esteem.
After serving as an MLA, Ken continued his leadership in the community. In 1977, Ken became the manager at Mathias Colomb First Nations in Pukatawagan. As the manager, he led an esteemed career in consultation work in the uranium industry and served as managing director of the economic development program for the Saskatchewan Métis society.
Given his diverse career history, Ken also served as the president and chief executive officer for Yellow Thunder Holdings, Ltd., founding JLM Foods, Ltd.
To say that Ken was an accomplished individual is an understatement. In addition to being a leader for his community, Ken was an avid reader and his love of reading came through in his expertise and knowledge of many fields of his interest.
He understood the responsibility of each profession he held and prided himself on his work as a multi-provincial and international leader. Ken's expertise in consulting, more specifically the implementation and managing of hydro dams took him to Africa, where he worked with local businesses and professionals.
Ken excelled in every path of his life. Ken passed away in Cutler, Ontario, on April 20th, 2020. He was nine days shy of celebrating his 82nd birthday.
Ken has honoured this Chamber with his dedicated public service and we are honoured again to reflect on a true leader of Manitoba.
Again, I would like to express my condolences to Ken's family.
Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Madam Speaker, I rise pay tribute to Ken Dillen. Along the north shore of Lake Huron, the community of Cutler and not far from Spanish on the Serpent River First Nation, Ken Dillen was born and raised.
After his education in Sault Ste. Marie and then at the Canadian Army apprentice training school in Camp Borden, he moved to southern Manitoba. He married Edith [phonetic]. They were here for a number of years and then to improve the circumstances financially of his family, he moved and they moved to Thompson.
He was trained as an iron worker and he worked at Inco, at the nickel mine in Thompson and rose fairly quickly to become the president of the United Steelworkers Local 6166.
From 1973 to 1977, he served as the MLA for Thompson. He was, at that time, the only Indigenous MLA who was elected and he was the first Indigenous MLA for some time. He was the legislative assistant to Ed Schreyer, he spoke particularly on labour and northern and resource issues. And then after a number of years in Saskatchewan, working in part with the Saskatchewan Métis, you know, on economic development, he returned to Manitoba.
And this time, a little older and I would say a little wiser, he ran for election for the Manitoba Liberal party in Thompson. That was in 2011. I was in Thompson helping him with his campaign; sadly, it was not successful.
He was a kind, gentle, talented man who spent much time helping others and working on behalf of others. He loved fishing, being with his family. He helped Indigenous people in many ways, including the Mathias Colomb First Nation and Saskatchewan Métis. He was a remarkable individual for his time and remarkable in what he achieved with his level of education.
So, on behalf of our caucus and myself, we extend condolences to the family and friends of Ken Dillen and honour for a life well lived and contributing to Manitoba and Canada and to the wellbeing of Indigenous people, in particular in our province.
Thank you. Merci. Miigwech.
* (14:40)
Mr. Shannon Martin (McPhillips): I'd like to join my colleagues in offering the family of Kenneth Dillen our condolences on his passing.
Madam Speaker, obviously I didn't have the opportunity to know Mr. Dillen personally, but as I listened to the stories, as I read the information about Mr. Dillen, I was struck by the life that he led as a role model for his community and for his family.
But what struck me most as I listened to the condolence motions of the whole today, Madam Speaker, and as we reflect on the tenure of Mr. Dillen back in 1973 and 1977, was this was a time before cellphones; this was the time before, you know, FaceTime with our families. So when we think about a lot of the sacrifices that we make as MLAs to serve the people of Manitoba, and that our families make, I think it's important that we collectively recognize the efforts of our predecessors, including Kenneth Dillen. Without Kenneth Dillen and people like him putting their name forward and being part of that democratic process, we, here in this Legislature, just simply wouldn't exist.
And so, you know, Madam Speaker, at some point we will all be referenced in this manner, and to that end I just want to say, on behalf of the Manitoba Legislature and on behalf of myself, I want to thank Mr. Dillen for his democratic service, especially, you know, as we reflect on a world in which our freedom seems to be a rally and which is threatened at every corner, it is worthwhile to note that there are individuals like Mr. Dillen, who saw the value in democracy, who put their name forward, who did their best to be part of a democratic world.
Thank you.
Madam Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? [Agreed]
Would honourable members please rise and remain standing to indicate their support for the motion.
A moment of silence was observed.
Now that the three condolence motions are completed, as agreed by leave this House will now adjourn and stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
CONTENTS