Peter Olfert is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

labour leader in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. Olfert was president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (formerly the Manitoba Government Employees' Association) from 1986 to 2010. He has also served as a vice-president of the

National Union of Public and General Employees The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is a Canadian trade union. Taken in total it is the second largest union in Canada. Most of its 425,000 members work in the provincial public service sector. Its mission is to monitor pro ...

. Olfert was raised in a

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

family in Steinbach, and later moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. He completed his Grade 12, was a maintenance worker and embalmer in the 1970s, and served as a postal clerk in the Department of Government Services before being chosen as MGEU president. He attended Labour College in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 1985. Olfert has represented his union in negotiations with three different provincial governments. He was often critical of the austerity measures pursued by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gary Filmon Gary Albert Filmon (born August 24, 1942) is a Canadian politician from Manitoba who served as the 19th premier of Manitoba. He was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba from 1983 to 2000, and served as the premier from ...

's administration in the 1990s, and at one stage accused Filmon of intimidating the union into silence. He was also a frequent opponent of

Labour Minister 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 ...

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, ...

, and led home-care workers and casino workers in protracted battles against the government in 1996. In 1997, Olfert endorsed a provincial deal to end the Filmon government's policy of wage freezes and unpaid days off. In the same period, he worked in a successful battle to extend employee benefits to same-sex couples. Filmon's government was defeated by 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 ...

under

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

in the 1999 provincial election (Doer, ironically, was Olfert's predecessor as MGEU president). Olfert's union accepted a deal to allow for optional unpaid leave days in 2002, though he has nonetheless engaged in several difficult negotiations with the Doer government. Olfert became acting chairman of the Crocus Investment Fund in late 2004, at a time when the fund announced that it was freezing sales and reviewing the value of its assets. He submitted his resignation in May 2005, after the fund experienced further difficulties. Shortly thereafter, he said that he was shocked by reports of lavish overspending by officers, and added that he had not always been given accurate information about the fund.Paul Egan, "'How could this happen?' Lavish expenses rung up while shares tumbled", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 May 2005, A1.

References

External links

"Peter Olfert elected to new term as MGEU president"
(2004 article) {{DEFAULTSORT:Olfert, Peter People from Steinbach, Manitoba Trade unionists from Manitoba Canadian Mennonites Living people Year of birth missing (living people)