Longtime NDP MLA Nancy Allan announces retirement
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/05/2015 (4163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A former education minister who shepherded the province’s controversial school anti-bullying bill through the Manitoba legislature has decided against running for re-election next year.
Nancy Allan has been the MLA for St. Vital since 1999. Before that she served as a school trustee in Winnipeg.
Allan was removed from cabinet by Premier Greg Selinger in an October 2013 shuffle. The decision was amicable, since Allan had already alerted the premier to the fact that she was ready to lighten her workload.
“There needed to be renewal in our cabinet, and I was perfectly prepared to come out of cabinet. The premier and I had that discussion,” Allan said Thursday.
She said passage of Bill 18 – The Public Schools Amendment Act (safe and inclusive schools) – in 2013 was a highlight of her career.
The legislation was criticized by religious groups and members of the Opposition who felt that it infringed on freedom of religion by requiring schools, including faith-based institutions, to support the creation of gay-straight alliances if initiated by students.
“It was such a wonderful triumph and such an important piece of legislation to me,” Allan said. After that it was easy for her to give up her cabinet post, she added. “I wanted to go out on a high.”
Allan, 62, served in cabinet for 10 years, first as labour and immigration minister (2003-2009) and then as minister of education (2009-2013).
She supported Theresa Oswald in the recent NDP leadership race, but said her departure from politics next year has nothing to do with leadership politics.
Rather, it’s driven by personal and family considerations. “Married to a leukemia survivor, every day is precious,” she said.
Allan said she will do more travelling once she’s retired and plans to compile a book of quotations – gathered from both inside and outside of political life
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
History
Updated on Thursday, May 28, 2015 7:03 PM CDT: Updated with background