Alvin "Al" Mackling (born December 31, 1927) is a longtime Canadian

Democratic Socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

and a retired lawyer. He was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in the former city of St. James from 1961 to 1969 and was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 1969 to 1973 and from 1981 to 1988. He was a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

governments of

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 22nd governor general of Canada from 1979 to 1984. He previously served as the 16th premier of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977. Schr ...

and

Howard Pawley Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his ...

Biography

Early life

The son of John Mackling, he was born in 1927 and educated in St. James. In 1944 he left

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and was employed with Saskatchewan Pool Elevators for five years. In the early 1940s he was smitten by the

social gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean en ...

of J. S. Woodsworth and Stanley Knowles. He became an active member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Young People's Movement, becoming its President. In 1949 he went back to school graduating from United College (now the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

) in 1953. He worked for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

as a yardman for a year, then entered the Manitoba Law School in 1954, graduating in 1958. During his university years he was actively involved in University Mock Parliament as a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). His first campaign as a candidate for

political office The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

was as a CCF candidate in the 1953 provincial election. He ran in the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Assiniboia and was only narrowly defeated by the incumbent MLA, 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 gave

labour union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s a separate voting status within the new party.

Political career

Mackling was finally elected to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly in the 1969 election. He was named Attorney General of Manitoba on July 16, 1969, and held the position for the Schreyer government's first term in office. He also served as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs from December 18, 1969, to August 1970. As Attorney General, Mackling sought to develop better police-public cooperation introducing a system of cautions for highway

traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

first offences and established a Manitoba Police Commission. He established the first

Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

, the first Ombudsman's Office, the first Law Reform Commission, the first publicly funded

Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

system, and the first Criminal Injuries Compensation Program. Under his guidance, numerous old regulatory systems were revised, including the ''Expropriation Act'' and the ''Landlord and Tenant Act''. In revising the ''Landlord and Tenant Act'', the old "right of restraint"—whereby landlords could seize a tenant's

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

—was abolished and replaced by

security deposit A security deposit is a sum of money held in trust. In leasing, security deposits, also known as "rent deposits", are required most often by lessors of automobiles, residential property, and commercial real estate. Security deposits in the Un ...

s 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 some civil libertarians for shutting down a theatre which was screening the film

Last Tango in Paris ''Last Tango in Paris'' (; ) is a 1972 Erotic film, erotic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider (actor), Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and portrays a rec ...

without consulting other

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

s. His position was that as Attorney General he could not and would not allow possible political repercussions to influence

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

. The ''

Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

'' defined a combination of

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

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. His St. James constituents were angry that he had supported

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

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 to

legal practice Legal practice is sometimes used to distinguish the body of judicial or administrative precedents, rules, policies, customs, and doctrines from legislative enactments such as statutes and constitutions which might be called "laws" in the strict ...

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 harmonize motor transport regulations. In 1981 his friend and former colleague, Howard Pawley, persuaded him to run in the upcoming

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

. He won and defeated George Minaker, a Progressive Conservative government minister who had defeated him in 1973. In 1982 he was appointed Minister of Natural Resources. During his tenure he successfully led the establishment of

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

planning including the designation of part of the

Whiteshell Provincial Park Whiteshell Provincial Park is a provincial park in southeast Manitoba, approximately east of the city of Winnipeg. The park is considered to be a IUCN protected area categories#Category II — National Park, Class II protected area under the IU ...

as a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

, the establishment of Atikaki as a wilderness park, the establishment of the first

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

practices guidelines, the restoration of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

through

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mov ...

s and the removal of unnecessary

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s and

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

s. In 1985 following the death of then Labour Minister Mary Beth Dolin, Mackling was appointed

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

with responsibility for the Manitoba Telephone System Act, the '' Civil Service Act'', the ''Civil Service Superannuation Act'', the ''Civil Service Supplementary Severance Benefit Act'', and the ''Public Servants' Insurance Act''. He was reelected in the 1986 election against a challenge from a popular Progressive 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. The NDP government was unexpectedly defeated in the Legislature in early 1988 as a result of the

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

Jim Walding Derek James Walding (May 9, 1937 – April 23, 2007) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1971 to 1988 and served as speaker of the assembly from 1982 to 1986. Walding was a member o ...

, a disgruntled

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

member. Mackling decided not to contest the 1988 election and has not returned to provincial political life since that time. Mackling was the NDP candidate in the federal riding of Provencher during the 2011 federal election. He came second behind

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate

Vic Toews Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on July 9, ...

, capturing about 18% of the popular vote.

Personal

He and his wife Patricia Taeko Ono were married in 1956. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackling, Al Canadian lawyers Living people New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Manitoba municipal councillors Politicians from Winnipeg Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 1927 births 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba