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, 2013, and served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, most recently as Minister of Public Safety. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1995 to 1999, and was a senior cabinet minister in the government of Gary Filmon. Prior to his appointment to the judiciary, Toews was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Personal life Toews was born September 10, 1952, in Filadelfia, Boquerón Department, Paraguay, to Mennonite Canadian parents. His father, Victor David Toews, was a Reverend who was teaching in the Fernheim Mennonite Colony with Toews mother, Anna Peters. In 1920, his paternal great-grandparents were killed in a bomb blast during the Russian Civil War after the Russian Revolution.Toews, Victor David 1918-1993, Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online . Retrieved May 5, 2012 Vic Toews has five siblings: Bernhard, Clara, Marlene, Edward, and Esther.Vic Toews, Parliament of Canada . Retrieved April 24, 2012. His family left Paraguay in 1956 for Canada and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Toews speaks Mennonite Low German (his mother tongue), Spanish and English. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Winnipeg (1973), and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Manitoba (1976).Mary Nersessian, "Key players who may form a Conservative cabinet", CTV News report, 2006. Toews was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1977.Members of the Advisory Committee on Supreme Court of Canada Appointments. Department of Justice, Canada, October 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2012. He joined the provincial Ministry of Justice in 1976 and became a Crown attorney the following year.
Divorce Toews divorced from his wife of 30 years, Lorraine Kathleen Fehr, after it was discovered that he had fathered a child with a young Conservative Party staffer. In divorce documents, Fehr claimed Toews had a much earlier relationship with the family's child care provider. This incident later became publicized in February 2012, when an anonymous Twitter account (later discovered to be a Liberal Party staffer) began posting information from Toews' divorce affidavit (that were on the public record, filed with the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba) as reaction to the introduction of Bill-30.
Conviction In 2005, Toews was charged with violating Manitoba's Election Finances Act in the 1999 provincial election. During the election cycle, it was discovered that his election campaign had spent $7,500 more than the allowed limit. Toews pleaded guilty, and was later convicted and fined $500.
Provincial politics
Toews joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in 1989, winning a seat in the 1995 election, by narrowly defeating NDP incumbent Harry Schellenberg in the north Winnipeg riding of Rossmere. In 1999, the Progressive Conservatives were defeated in the 1999 provincial election and Toews himself lost to Schellenberg in a rematch.
Minister of Labour
Toews was appointed to the cabinet of Premier Gary Filmon after the election, becoming Minister of Labour on May 9, 1995.He was also given responsibility for the Civil Service Act, the Civil Service Superannuation Act, the Civil Service Special Supplementary Severance Benefit Act, the Public Servants Insurance Act and the Workers Compensation Act. In his debut speech to the legislature, he said that his political philosophy was partly influenced by leaders of Canada's social democratic movement, as well as his own Mennonite upbringing.Manitoba Hansard, "Orders of the Day", 36th parliament, Second day of Throne Speech Debate. Toews was quoted as saying, "Having been influenced by the social concerns articulated by leaders in the social democratic movement and by my late father, Reverend Victor Toews, a minister of the Mennonite Brethren Church in Rossmere, my political philosophies may not square in all respects with what political scientists consider to be within the mainstream of Progressive Conservatism."
Toews's tenure as Labour Minister was marked by a difficult relationship with organized labour.Paul McKie, "Labour leaders withhold judgment", Winnipeg Free Press, January 28, 1997, B9. His first major legislative initiative was Bill 26 (1996), which required unions to disclose the salaries of their officials and indicate how membership dues were spent, mandated union certification votes to take place within seven days of an application, and granted employees the right to prevent their dues from being donated to political parties.Paul McKie, "Strike funds secret", Winnipeg Free Press, May 27, 1996, A4; Alice Krueger, "PCs plan to raise pay veil", Winnipeg Free Press, December 6, 1995, A1. Several labour leaders described the bill as anti-union. NDP leader Gary Doer argued that the provision regarding donations unfairly targeted his party, and suggested that corporate shareholders should be given the same right to shield their investments from party donations.Alice Krueger, "Union workers can say no", Winnipeg Free Press, April 13, 1996, A4. Toews rejected these criticisms, and argued that Bill 26 provided greater autonomy to individual workers.
Toews's department proposed the privatization of home-care delivery services in 1996, drawing opposition from many in the field and triggering an extended strike.Alice Krueger, "Home care plan deserts workers", Winnipeg Free Press, April 18, 1996, A1. He was also forced to deal with strikes at Boeing, Inco, and the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation, leading one journalist to describe 1996 as "the busiest year for picketing since the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike". Toews blamed unions for provoking the strikes, saying they were conducted "for political, not economic, reasons.""Tories agenda for '96", Winnipeg Free Press, December 31, 1996, A8.
Toews cancelled the provincial Payment of Wages Fund in July 1996, argued that it was not achieving its purpose. The stated intention of the fund was to allow workers to collect revenues from employers who entered bankruptcy or receivership.Paul Samyn, "Tories kill wage life raft", Winnipeg Free Press, July 3, 1996, A1.
Minister of Justice
On January 6, 1997, Toews was promoted to Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Keeper of the Great Seal, with further responsibility for Constitutional Affairs.
Approach to crime and the judiciary
As Justice Minister, Toews earned a reputation for focusing on "law and order" issues. One of his first ministerial decisions was to grant jail superintendents the right to institute complete smoking bans, impose random drug tests, and monitor prisoners' calls.Alice Krueger, "Corrections crackdown called minor tinkering", Winnipeg Free Press, January 29, 1997, A4. In August 1998, Toews announced that his ministry would hire more Crown attorneys and construct more than seventy new beds for the Headingley Correctional Institution, in an attempt to incarcerate more dangerous offenders.David Kuxhaus, "Tories to keep more offenders behind bars", Winnipeg Free Press, August 15, 1998, A3.
Toews also introduced legislation to make parents legally responsible for the crimes of their children. Members of the opposition New Democratic Party argued that the plan would be ineffective, citing past experiments in the United States as evidence."Law holds Manitoba parents responsible for kids' crimes", Toronto Star, September 23, 1997, A2.In early 1998, the Filmon government proclaimed a Victims' Rights Act. See "Victims' rights better protected with proclamation of new Act", Manitoba government publication, January 11, 1998. Both the Justice Ministry and the opposition New Democrats subsequently endorsed the principle of a Victims' Bill of Rights, which was passed into law later in the year. See David Kuxhaus, "NDP pushing for victims' bill of rights", Winnipeg Free Press, March 3, 1998, A7. See also "Victim Impact Statement Program introduced", Manitoba government document, September 22, 1998.
Toews criticized some criminal justice initiatives brought forward by the federal government of Jean Chrétien. In 1997, he announced that Manitoba would not enforce or administer the Canadian gun registry.Alice Krueger, "Manitoba blanks gun-control law", April 25, 1997, A3. Two years later, he described changes to the federal Young Offenders Act as both ineffective and too expensive.David Kuxhaus, "New YOA ineffective, too costly, Toews says", Winnipeg Free Press, June 9, 1999. Toews nonetheless cooperated with the federal government on several issues. In March 1998, he stood with federal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy to announce a plan discouraging court sentences for non-violent aboriginal offenders. Toews said that the proposal was "sensitive to the needs of the aboriginal community", and that it would reduce the number of repeat offenders.Kevin Rollason, "Natives get new justice", Winnipeg Free Press, March 10, 1998, A1. He later supported a proposal for the integration of an aboriginal healing lodge into the provincial prison system. See John Lyons, "Justice minister likes idea of aboriginal healing lodge", Winnipeg Free Press, October 16, 1998, A6.
Toews's relationship with the judiciary was sometimes difficult. In May 1998, he asked a judicial appointment committee to add two names to a list of proposed judges. Some argued that this was improper interference, while Toews stated that he acted to ensure the appointment of more bilingual judges.David Roberts, "Manitoba bar raps justice minister", Winnipeg Free Press, May 8, 1998, A17. The appointment ultimately went to a bilingual judge with connections to the Progressive Conservative Party. See Paul Samyn, "War with judges no-brainer for Toews", Winnipeg Free Press, November 12, 2006, A9. In 1999, he delivered a speech to the Alberta Summit on Justice that criticized judges for intervening in political matters. He was quoted as saying that judges, unlike parliamentarians, "are not well-placed to understand and represent the social, economic and political values of the public". Some attendees criticized his speech, and a representative of the Legal Aid Society of Alberta described it as "inflammatory and sensational".Carol Harrington, "Manitoba minister riles justice conference", Globe and Mail, January 30, 1999, A16. Toews stated on another occasion that judges have a relatively light workload. Chief Provincial Justice Judith Webster described this as "misleading and inaccurate".Paul McKie, "Top judge takes shot at justice boss", June 10, 1999, City Page.
In May 1999, Toews announced that Manitoba would accept a Supreme Court of Canada decision granting spousal benefits to same-sex couples.Paul Samyn, "Manitoba to follow same-sex", Winnipeg Free Press, May 21, 1999, A1.
Opposition criticism
The New Democrats argued that Crown offices were underfunded under Toews' watch, and suggested that the Justice Department's prosecutorial duties were compromised.Doug Nairne and David Kuxhaus, "Manitoba crushing Crowns", Winnipeg Free Press, June 7, 1998, A1.
During a legislative debate in June 1999, Toews accused NDP Justice Critic Gord Mackintosh of mischief for repeatedly calling the province's Street Peace gang hotline only to hang up before leaving a message. Calls to the hotline were meant to be confidential and anonymous, but Toews later acknowledged that calls from government buildings had been tracked and that he received Mackintosh's name from an employee in his department. Premier Filmon described Toews's conduct in the matter as inappropriate. During the fallout from this controversy, Toews was forced to admit that the hotline had gone unanswered for several months.Douglas Nairne, "Filmon calls Toews' actions 'inappropriate'", June 22, 1999, City Page.
Federal politics