Al Mackling | |
|---|---|
| Member of theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba forSt. James | |
| In office November 17, 1981 – April 26, 1988 | |
| Preceded by | George Minaker |
| Succeeded by | Paul Edwards |
| In office June 25, 1969 – June 28, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Douglas Stanes |
| Succeeded by | George Minaker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1927-12-31)December 31, 1927 (age 97) St. James, Manitoba, Canada |
| Political party | New Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Patricia Mackling |
| Alma mater | United College |
| Occupation | Politician |
Alvin "Al" Mackling (born December 31, 1927) is a longtime CanadianDemocratic Socialist and a retired lawyer. He was analderman in the former city ofSt. James from 1961 to 1969[1] and was a member of theLegislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1969 to 1973 and from 1981 to 1988.[2] He was acabinet minister in theNew Democratic Party governments ofEdward Schreyer andHoward Pawley.[3]
The son of John Mackling, he was born in 1927[3] and educated in St. James.[1] In 1944 he lefthigh school and was employed with Saskatchewan Pool Elevators for five years. In the early 1940s he was smitten by thesocial gospel ofJ. S. Woodsworth andStanley Knowles. He became an active member of theCo-operative Commonwealth Young People's Movement, becoming its President. In 1949 he went back to school graduating fromUnited College (now theUniversity of Winnipeg) in 1953. He worked for theCanadian Pacific Railway as a yardman for a year, then entered theManitoba Law School in 1954, graduating in 1958. During his university years he was actively involved in UniversityMock Parliament as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF).
His first campaign as a candidate forpolitical office was as a CCF candidate in the 1953 provincial election. He ran in theconstituency of Assiniboia and was only narrowly defeated by the incumbentMLA, Reg Wightman.
He ran unsuccessfully in several subsequent Provincial elections and once as a Federal CCF candidate in 1957.
In the 1950s Mackling and Howard Pawley were regarded as rebels against the CCF establishment in Manitoba. Both opposed the party's decision to dissolve itself into the New Democratic Party. They opposed the new party structure that gavelabour unions a separate voting status within the new party.
Mackling was finally elected to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly in the 1969 election. He was namedAttorney General of Manitoba on July 16, 1969, and held the position for the Schreyer government's first term in office. He also served asMinister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs from December 18, 1969, to August 1970.[3]
As Attorney General, Mackling sought to develop better police-public cooperation introducing a system ofcautions for highwaytraffic first offences and established a Manitoba Police Commission. He established the firstHuman Rights Commission, the first Ombudsman's Office, the firstLaw Reform Commission, the first publicly fundedLegal Aid system, and the firstCriminal Injuries Compensation Program. Under his guidance, numerous old regulatory systems were revised, including theExpropriation Act and theLandlord and Tenant Act. In revising theLandlord and Tenant Act, the old "right of restraint"—whereby landlords could seize a tenant'sfurniture—was abolished and replaced bysecurity deposits and a Rentalsman's Office was created to adjudicate tenancy disputes.
There was one issue in Mackling's tenure as Attorney General that was quite controversial. He was regarded as unnecessarily dogmatic by some members of the NDP Caucus and by somecivil libertarians for shutting down a theatre which was screening the filmLast Tango in Paris without consulting othergovernment ministers. His position was that as Attorney General he could not and would not allow possible political repercussions to influencelaw enforcement. TheCriminal Code defined a combination ofviolence with a sexual act as obscene and since a violent sexual act was depicted in the movie, it was obscene.
He was defeated in the 1973 provincial election.[3] His St. James constituents were angry that he had supportedlegislation passed by his government that eliminated the City of St. James and merged it with the City of Winnipeg. St. James had been a very prosperous and successful city and his constituents vented their displeasure on him.
After his defeat in 1973 he returned tolegal practice but was persuaded in 1974 to take on chairmanship of the Manitoba Transport Board and the Manitoba Highways Board. During his highly successful tenure as Chairman of the Transport Board he became Chairman of a Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) committee where he worked to harmonizemotor transport regulations.
In 1981 his friend and former colleague, Howard Pawley, persuaded him to run in the upcomingelection.[4] He won and defeatedGeorge Minaker, aProgressive Conservative government minister who had defeated him in 1973.[3]
In 1982 he was appointedMinister of Natural Resources.[3] During his tenure he successfully led the establishment ofprovincial park planning including the designation of part of theWhiteshell Provincial Park as awilderness area, the establishment ofAtikaki as a wilderness park, the establishment of the firstforestry practices guidelines, the restoration offreshwater fishmigration throughfish ladders and the removal of unnecessarydams andculverts.
In 1985 following the death of then Labour MinisterMary Beth Dolin, Mackling was appointedMinister of Labour with responsibility for the Manitoba Telephone System Act, theCivil Service Act, theCivil Service Superannuation Act, theCivil Service Supplementary Severance Benefit Act, and thePublic Servants' Insurance Act. He was reelected in the 1986 election[3] against a challenge from a popularProgressive Conservative, Eldon Ross.
On April 17, 1986, he continued as Minister of Labour and as Minister Responsible for the Manitoba Telephone System and also took on the Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs.[3]
The NDP government was unexpectedly defeated in the Legislature in early 1988 as a result of thedefection ofJim Walding, a disgruntledcaucus member.[5] Mackling decided not to contest the 1988 election and has not returned to provincial political life since that time.[3]
Mackling was the NDP candidate in the federal riding ofProvencher during the2011 federal election.[4] He came second behindConservative candidateVic Toews, capturing about 18% of the popular vote.[6]
He and his wife Patricia Taeko Ono were married in 1956.[1] Patricia's mother, Lucille Ono, was a devoted supporter of the CCF and NDP. In her honour the Manitoba New Democratic Party presents an annual award to a member of the Party in recognition of his or her dedicated support.