W.C. Miller Collegiate in Altona

Tuesday afternoon, this week, I had the pleasure of talking to students at the W.C. Miller Collegiate in Altona.

The W.C. Miller Collegiate is named after Wallace C. Miller who was the Liberal-Progressive Minister of Education under Douglas Campbell from August 16, 1950 to June 30, 1958. It was during Miller's tenure that an important bill, the Public Schools Act, was brought forward and passed in 1956. This Act governed a variety of aspects of the administration of the public school system including the approach to bargaining between the Manitoba teachers and the School Boards. The Act was remarkably balanced. It stood for 40 years until 1996 when the provincial Conservatives brought in changes which shifted the balance towards the School Boards. Shortly after the election 1999, the NDP government changed the act again to shift the balance toward teachers. The Public Schools Act of 1956 was an example of Miller's ability to find the right balance - a balance in competing interests which allowed both sides to feel they were being fairly treated. It was an example of good governance, and an example of the sort of balance Liberals have brought to provincial politics.

It is of interest that Wallace Miller was initially elected as a Conservative in 1936. Over time, he rejected the Conservatives and became a Liberal-Progressive.

Thank you to Ted Klassen and the students at W.C. Miller Collegiate.