Roland Penner
Encyclopedia
Roland Penner was Dean
of Law at the University of Manitoba
and a is a former politician and Manitoba
Cabinet
minister.
Penner was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of Winnipeg alderman
Jacob Penner
(d. 1965). He served in Europe
during World War II
in the Canadian artillery
, and was educated at the University of Manitoba
(receiving a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1949 and an LL.B. in 1961) and in London
, England
. He has worked at the University of Manitoba since 1967, and has been a Professor since 1972. From 1972 to 1978, he was the President of Legal Aid Manitoba.
Both of Penner's parents were active in the communist Labour-Progressive Party, and Penner himself was actively involved with this organization in his youth. In the Canadian federal election of 1953
, he ran as a candidate of the party in the predominantly middle-class riding of Winnipeg South Centre
. He received only 504 votes, finishing a poor fourth. He also ran as an LPP candidate for Winnipeg School Trustee in the 1953 Winnipeg municipal election
.
Penner left the Labour-Progressive Party, and explored a career in academia. In 1980, he announced that he would seek the New Democratic Party of Manitoba
nomination for St. Johns in the next provincial election. There was some speculation that Penner's communist past would damage his political ambitions, especially as well-known Winnipeg communist alderman Joe Zuken had lost a mayoral election the previous year during a contest marred by red-baiting. Penner rejected this suggestion, however, saying, "There's a fundamental difference between Joe and myself in that I'm not a member of the Communist Party. I'm a member of the NDP. [...] I was a member of the Communist Party at one time, but that's ancient history. That was twenty years ago. It may be raised but it's not relevant. It would ignore what I've been doing to the last two decades."
He later chose not to run in St. Johns, and sought another riding. The party wanted him to run against Progressive Party leader Sid Green in the riding
of Inkster in the 1981 election
. He declined and was elected in Fort Rouge, defeating incumbent Liberal
June Westbury
.
On November 30, 1981, Penner was appointed Government House Leader
, Chair of the Treasury Board and Attorney General. He was also given ministerial responsibility for the Liquor Control Act on March 4, 1982, and stood down as Treasury Board Chair on July 28 of the same year. On November 4, 1983, he stood down as House Leader and received the additional portfolio of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
Penner was easily re-elected in the 1986 election
. He was retained as Attorney General, and given responsibility for Constitutional Affairs and the Liquor Control Act. Following a cabinet shuffle on September 21, 1987, Penner was named Minister of Education, while retaining responsibility for constitutional matters.
The New Democratic Party experienced a significant decline in its popularity between 1986 and 1988, and Penner was defeated in the 1988 provincial election
.
As Attorney-General, Penner brought in the province's first human rights
legislation. He also introduced freedom of information
legislation and was responsible for implementing legislation requiring French language
services after the Supreme Court of Canada
ruled that the province was violating its constitutional obligations. (The latter action resulted in a backlash in some parts of the province, leading to the rise of anti-bilingualism groups such as the Confederation of Regions Party). As minister responsible for constitutional affairs, Penner also participated in negotiations for what became the Meech Lake Accord
.
Although a supporter of abortion
rights, Penner was required to uphold a decision from the Manitoba courts which prevented Henry Morgentaler
from opening a private clinic in the province. Penner was also an early champion of including sexual orientation
in Canada's human rights code.
Because of his background in communist politics, Penner was for many years forbidden from entering the United States of America under the McCarran-Walter Act. Special provisions had to be made allowing him to enter America as a cabinet minister
.
Following his loss, Penner returned to his teaching profession at the University of Manitoba. He has taught courses in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Labour Law, Evidence and Canada's Charter of Rights. He served as a University Dean between 1989 and 1994. Penner has also authored several works, including a number on the privacy rights of Canadians. In 1993, he openly questioned the attempts of Bob Rae
's New Democratic Party government in Ontario
to restrict tenure to professors deemed to hold socially unacceptable views.
In 2007, Penner published "A Glowing Dream: A Memoir" (Winnipeg: J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing, 2007).
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Law at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
and a is a former politician and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
minister.
Penner was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the son of Winnipeg alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
Jacob Penner
Jacob Penner
Jacob Penner was a popular socialist politician in Canada. Penner was born and raised in a Mennonite family in Russia and emigrated to Winnipeg in 1904. In 1908, he met his wife Rose Shapack, a Jewish Russian immigrant, during an address by Emma Goldman at the Winnipeg Radical Club...
(d. 1965). He served in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Canadian artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, and was educated at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
(receiving a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1949 and an LL.B. in 1961) and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He has worked at the University of Manitoba since 1967, and has been a Professor since 1972. From 1972 to 1978, he was the President of Legal Aid Manitoba.
Both of Penner's parents were active in the communist Labour-Progressive Party, and Penner himself was actively involved with this organization in his youth. In the Canadian federal election of 1953
Canadian federal election, 1953
The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...
, he ran as a candidate of the party in the predominantly middle-class riding of Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre
Winnipeg South Centre is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1925 to 1979 and since 1988.-Geography:...
. He received only 504 votes, finishing a poor fourth. He also ran as an LPP candidate for Winnipeg School Trustee in the 1953 Winnipeg municipal election
Winnipeg municipal election, 1953
The 1953 Winnipeg municipal election was held on October 28, 1953 to elect councillors and school trustees in the Manitoba city of Winnipeg. There was no mayoral election; mayors were elected for two-year terms in this period, and 1953 was an off year....
.
Penner left the Labour-Progressive Party, and explored a career in academia. In 1980, he announced that he would seek the New Democratic Party of Manitoba
New Democratic Party of Manitoba
The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...
nomination for St. Johns in the next provincial election. There was some speculation that Penner's communist past would damage his political ambitions, especially as well-known Winnipeg communist alderman Joe Zuken had lost a mayoral election the previous year during a contest marred by red-baiting. Penner rejected this suggestion, however, saying, "There's a fundamental difference between Joe and myself in that I'm not a member of the Communist Party. I'm a member of the NDP. [...] I was a member of the Communist Party at one time, but that's ancient history. That was twenty years ago. It may be raised but it's not relevant. It would ignore what I've been doing to the last two decades."
He later chose not to run in St. Johns, and sought another riding. The party wanted him to run against Progressive Party leader Sid Green in the riding
Electoral district (Canada)
An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
of Inkster in the 1981 election
Manitoba general election, 1981
The Manitoba general election of November 17, 1981 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the opposition New Democratic Party, which took 34 of 57 seats. The governing Progressive Conservative Party took the remaining 23, while the...
. He declined and was elected in Fort Rouge, defeating incumbent Liberal
Manitoba Liberal Party
The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...
June Westbury
June Westbury
June Westbury was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1979 to 1981, sitting as a Liberal....
.
On November 30, 1981, Penner was appointed Government House Leader
House Leader
In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament and an expert in parliamentary procedure...
, Chair of the Treasury Board and Attorney General. He was also given ministerial responsibility for the Liquor Control Act on March 4, 1982, and stood down as Treasury Board Chair on July 28 of the same year. On November 4, 1983, he stood down as House Leader and received the additional portfolio of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.
Penner was easily re-elected in the 1986 election
Manitoba general election, 1986
The Manitoba general election of March 18, 1986 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which took 30 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party won 26 seats and formed the official opposition...
. He was retained as Attorney General, and given responsibility for Constitutional Affairs and the Liquor Control Act. Following a cabinet shuffle on September 21, 1987, Penner was named Minister of Education, while retaining responsibility for constitutional matters.
The New Democratic Party experienced a significant decline in its popularity between 1986 and 1988, and Penner was defeated in the 1988 provincial election
Manitoba general election, 1988
The Manitoba general election of April 26, 1988 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a minority government...
.
As Attorney-General, Penner brought in the province's first human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
legislation. He also introduced freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
legislation and was responsible for implementing legislation requiring French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
services after the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
ruled that the province was violating its constitutional obligations. (The latter action resulted in a backlash in some parts of the province, leading to the rise of anti-bilingualism groups such as the Confederation of Regions Party). As minister responsible for constitutional affairs, Penner also participated in negotiations for what became the Meech Lake Accord
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and ten provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of the Province of Quebec to endorse the 1982 Canadian Constitution and increase...
.
Although a supporter of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
rights, Penner was required to uphold a decision from the Manitoba courts which prevented Henry Morgentaler
Henry Morgentaler
Henry Morgentaler, CM is a Canadian physician and prominent pro-choice advocate who has fought numerous legal battles for that cause.-Early life:...
from opening a private clinic in the province. Penner was also an early champion of including sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
in Canada's human rights code.
Because of his background in communist politics, Penner was for many years forbidden from entering the United States of America under the McCarran-Walter Act. Special provisions had to be made allowing him to enter America as a cabinet minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
.
Following his loss, Penner returned to his teaching profession at the University of Manitoba. He has taught courses in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Labour Law, Evidence and Canada's Charter of Rights. He served as a University Dean between 1989 and 1994. Penner has also authored several works, including a number on the privacy rights of Canadians. In 1993, he openly questioned the attempts of Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
's New Democratic Party government in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
to restrict tenure to professors deemed to hold socially unacceptable views.
In 2007, Penner published "A Glowing Dream: A Memoir" (Winnipeg: J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing, 2007).