Of the people, for the people

It’s not every politician who is held in as high regard by their political opponents as they are by their colleagues, but Maureen Hemphill was one of those people.

She is also being remembered as a groundbreaker and a visionary.

When she died on Feb. 22 at age 89, she had spent five decades working to make Manitoba a better place, holding four portfolios in the Manitoba government, getting elected as an MLA and a school board trustee, and serving on the boards of United Way, Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Manitoba Opera.

Whether she was carrying on a conversation with a dignitary, engaging in caucus debate, discussing topics of the day with friends or seeking insight from her constituents, Hemphill took the same approach: she focused on building relationships and tenaciously fought for equality for all.

“She had an interest in people,” recalls Wilson Pasasiuk, a former NDP MLA for Transcona. “There are certain people who have that ability to connect. She had a natural knack for that. She had an amazing ability to remember people she met. She could easily interact with ministers and school trustees, as she could with the kings and queens that would come through. Most importantly, she could easily interact and relate with the people on Main Street in her constituency.”

Hemphill was born Maureen Miller in 1937 in British Columbia, and grew up in the small gold mining town of Bralorne. At 18, she moved to Vancouver by herself to become a registered nurse. During her nursing career, she married and had four children, Carol, Jim, Ross and Susan. In 1970, she and her family moved to Manitoba.

While raising her children in Charleswood, Hemphill and three other activist moms — Lil, Toni and Verna — bonded over the fierce belief that “the grassroots have the power to make change.” With the encouragement of those friends, Hemphill was elected as a school trustee for the Assiniboine South School Board.

She had no idea that this first foray into public service would a springboard to a political career.

By 1975, she had been elected the first woman president of the Manitoba Association of School Trustees (now Manitoba School Boards Association).

In 1977, she was recruited by Ed Schreyer to run for the NDP in Charleswood against Sterling Lyon, who was premier of Manitoba at the time. Lyon won.

In 1979, Hemphill moved to Point Douglas and volunteered with the community, but she had not lost her interest in politics. In 1981 she won the provincial seat of Logan and was named minister of education by then-premier Howard Pawley — the first woman ever to hold that portfolio.

“A trailblazer,” acknowledged Steve Ashton, who was a longtime NDP MLA. “She was always there in terms of gender equality. But it was also a time when there wasn’t a lot of diversity in Manitoba politics. She was an absolute champion of diversity and of multiculturalism. In fact, she was legendary in terms of that. She was strongly committed to equality and diversity in the fullest sense of the word … She left a mark politically, but she left a mark personally with everyone that she met. She was a terrific human being.”

Former Manitoba premier Gary Doer, who ran against Hemphill and three other candidates to win the NDP leadership race in 1988, remembers her as someone who knew how to build strong relationships.

“The first thing that comes to mind with Maureen is that she’s articulate, confident and sure-footed,” said Doer. “She knew what she wanted to achieve. She was very comfortable in her own skin and very comfortable in her own values. She understood that dealing with the various issues that arise when you’re a minister, that often the best way to get to an agreement on something that she felt was important is to relate first, and then negotiate second; to build a relationship where there is trust, and she was very good at doing that. She used her personality to achieve that, and I thought she was very, very effective.”

Former Flin Flon MLA Jerry Storie eventually became minister of education himself and quickly got a sense of the relationships Hemphill had forged.

“Her legacy was obvious to me,” said Storie. “Cabinet shuffles are frequent and connections with people are tenuous, but she made connections that stuck. So, that was special. The other thing was that she had a wonderful sense of humour. She had a wonderful laugh. She could laugh at herself, laugh at circumstances, and make other people laugh.”

Fellow cabinet minister Muriel Smith recalls Hemphill’s strong political views but also her style and panache at a time when there weren’t many women in the political arena.

“Maureen was never confrontational, but she was always direct,” she says. “She was a great speaker. She was delightful as a colleague, always perky and a vision to behold. We shared a little bond in that we had each come from small mining towns in B.C. I really admired her for her resilience.”

Perla Javate, a former president of the Philippine Heritage Council of Manitoba, remembers that same charisma.

“I can still see her with that glowing smile when she would approach people,” she said. “I’ve been to many events when she was there, and I know how the Filipino community really admired her. She was gentle and classy. She carried herself in that kind of manner. The warmth and sincerity she showed people was what really resonates with me. People were drawn to her.”

In addition to her family, including her husband Myron, and her many friends and colleagues, Hemphill leaves behind a legacy of legislation, programming and supports. She was a critical voice for the Meech Lake Accord and Indigenous self-government, French language education and language rights generally, literacy programming, pay equity, and updated language in the Human Rights Act which protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Those who knew her say she was not afraid to roll up her sleeves and do the hard work, and had the fortitude not to be intimidated by any roadblocks she encountered.

“She really put people first,” said Maria Pacella, who was once Hemphill’s executive assistant but is now executive director of Skills Manitoba.

“I would define her as a true servant of the people, in every sense. It was so real. She loved people and the people that she worked with loved her. When negotiating for improved conditions and resources for others, she knew what buttons to press and exactly what to say — what people needed to hear. Not because it sounded good, but because she really spoke to their heart. She never took no for an answer; she always had to find a way to make it work and to improve people’s lives, that was first and foremost. She was an excellent listener.

“You read about people like that, but you didn’t really see those kinds of people and get to watch them in action. It was truly inspirational.”

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