Rosemary Lynn Vodrey (born October 20, 1949) is a former Canadian politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1990 to 1999 and was a senior cabinet minister of the government of Gary Filmon.
Early life and career
Vodrey was born Rosemary Webster on October 20, 1949, the daughter of senior Toronto police officer Jack Webster.Radha Krishnan, "Orchard out of hot seat", Winnipeg Free Press, 11 September 1993; Gwyn "Jocko" Thomas, "Copper Jack leaves a legacy", Toronto Star, 12 September 2000, 1; Ellis Quinn, "Police veteran 'Copper Jack' Webster", Toronto Star, 29 June 2002, B3. She studied Psychology at the University of Toronto before moving to Winnipeg with her partner. Vodrey later became a school psychologist and lectured in home economics at the University of Manitoba.Bruce Owen, "Rosie Rosi", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 1996, B1; Frances Russell, "Row with judges shows Vodrey's flaw", Winnipeg Free Press, 9 July 1994.
She became politically active after befriending Gary and Janice FilmonShane Minkin, "Vodrey at odds with news media", Winnipeg Free Press, 2 June 1996, B4. and sought election to the Manitoba legislature in the 1988 provincial election in the central Winnipeg division of Osborne. She finished third, behind Liberal candidate Reg Alcock and incumbent New Democrat Muriel Smith.
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Vodrey ran for the legislature a second time in the 1990 provincial election and defeated incumbent Liberal Laurie Evans in the Fort Garry division in south-central Winnipeg.She had completed her first year of law studies by this time. See David Roberts, "Manitoba Justice Minister proud of get-tough tactics", Globe and Mail, 18 February 1995, A4. The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government, and Vodrey entered the legislature as a government backbencher. She faced a credible challenge from Liberal Jim Woodman in the 1995 provincial election but was re-elected as the Filmon government won a second majority across the province.Frances Russell and Gerald Flood, "Ridings hold hope for Grits", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 April 1995. Vodrey served as co-chair of the party's campaign management committee in 1995. See Frances Russell, "Truth lost in the shuffle", Winnipeg Free Press, 12 February 1999, A10.
Cabinet minister
Minister of Education and Training
Vodrey was appointed to Filmon's cabinet on January 14, 1992, replacing Len Derkach as Minister of Education and Training."Filmon replaces education minister", Toronto Star, 15 January 1992, A120. Derkach had previously been accused of interfering in the civil service hiring process. Some criticized Filmon's choice, arguing that Vodrey's decision to send her children to private school made her an inappropriate choice to oversee the public system.Winnipeg Free Press columnist Jim Carr would later write that Vodrey never fully recovered from this early criticism. See Jim Carr, "Dog days offer a chance to reflect on cabinet" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 August 1993.
Court decisions
There were two important court decisions relating to education during Vodrey's tenure as Education Minister. In August 1992, a provincial judge determined that a section of the Manitoba Public Schools Act requiring mandatory Christian prayer in the classroom was unconstitutional.David Roberts, "Canada's last bastion of school prayer falls", Globe and Mail, 14 August 1992, A1. Manitoba was the last Canadian province to require prayer in public schools, and Vodrey did not challenge the decision.
In March 1993, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a unanimous decision requiring Manitoba to give exclusive control over French-language education to the province's francophone community. Vodrey welcomed this decision, saying that her government was already proceeding with legislation and promising that a new francophone school division would be in place by September.Sean Fine, "Let francophones control schooling, Manitoba ordered", Globe and Mail, 5 March 1993, A4. Manitoba's francophones generally supported the framework plan that was introduced two months later.Don Campbell, "French division proposal on table", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 May 1993; Arlene Billinkoff, "French school battle avoided", Winnipeg Free Press, 23 May 1993.
Budget cuts
The Filmon government introduced austerity measures on education in 1993, including a $16 million cut to public education funding and a 2% cap on school tax increases. Many parents opposed the cuts, while trustees criticized the cap as an encroachment on the autonomy of their boards.Brad Oswald, "Vodrey won't legislate teacher salary rollbacks", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 March 1993; Brad Oswold, "Santos gives MAST ultimatum", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 March 1993. Vodrey later rejected a request from the Manitoba Association of School Trustees (MAST) to introduce wage freezes that would absorb some of the resulting financial burden, though she did agree to a separate proposal that allowed boards not to pay their staff for as many as eight professional development days.Brad Oswald, "Vodrey won't legislate teacher salary rollbacks", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 March 1993; Aldo Santin, "Trustees ask Vodrey for freeze Minister says she'll refuse, but would help cut in-services", Winnipeg Free Press, 20 March 1993; Aldo Santin, "School staff face layoffs, loss of pay", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 March 1993. For an editorial sympathetic to the trustees' position, see Terry Moore, "Handcuffed trustees", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 March 1993. Manitoba's universities were also affected by the austerity drive, with officials at the University of Manitoba predicting layoffs and restricted access to some courses. Vodrey's decision to cap tuition increases at 5% was nevertheless described as relatively favourable to student interests.Brian Cole, "Arts enrolment to be curbed by budget, U of M dean says", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 March 1993.
Vodrey also announced cuts to rural and northern clinician services, as well as the elimination of Manitoba's post-secondary bursary program, a 35% cut to her department's New Careers program, and a 75% surcharge on tuition fees for international students.Aldo Santin, "Teachers target cuts in media blitz", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 March 1993; Donald Campbell, "Bursary program scrapped", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 May 1993; Don Campbell, "Job-training program cut disclosed", Winnipeg Free Press, 15 May 1993; Jim Carr, "Wisdom needed" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 25 October 1993. See also "Students inherit debt" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 May 1993; Terry Moore, "Improving student aid" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 May 1993. She argued that the cuts were necessary as part of her government's response to a debt crisis. Some in the media speculated that Finance Minister Clayton Manness, rather than Vodrey, was the primary instigator of this policy.Aldo Santin, "Principals blame politicians", 12 April 1993; Jim Carr, "Some fresh old faces" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 September 1993.
Other initiatives
Vodrey unveiled a task force report on Manitoba education in April 1993, highlighted by recommendations that the province assume all costs for special-needs children and that parents be given a greater role in education. John Plohman, education critic for the opposition New Democratic Party, welcomed the report but expressed concern that many of its recommendations would never be implemented by the Filmon government.Paul Samyn, "Province unveils education report", Winnipeg Free Press, 28 April 1993.
In July 1993, Vodrey established a provincial commission to review Manitoba's school division boundaries. The five-person commission was headed by former Winnipeg Mayor Bill Norrie and was given 16 months to conduct its research. Some critics expressed concern that the commission's work would lead to fewer and larger divisions.Stevens Wild, "School mergers expected", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 July 1993. See also Stevens Wild, "U of M prof condemns school review", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 July 1993.
Vodrey favoured greater cooperation with the federal government to establish national goals and standards for education.Paul Samyn, "Federal learning plan gets passing grade", Winnipeg Free Press, 14 April 1993. In Canada, education is traditionally the domain of the provinces.
Assessments
In a June 1993 editorial, Winnipeg Free Press columnist Jim Carr described Vodrey as "perhaps the biggest disappointment" in the Filmon cabinet. He characterized her treatment of school boards as "cavalier", and wrote that she had demonstrated little interest in improving the public school system.Jim Carr, "Time for a Shuffle" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 27 June 1993. Frances Russell also described Vodrey's performance as "inept". See Frances Russell, "'Teflon premier' feels heat", Winnipeg Free Press, 23 September 1993. For a different perspective, see Campbell Alexander, "In defence of Mrs. Vodrey" [letter], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 July 1993. He later described her as "little more than a messenger of bad news" to school divisions and universities, while also writing that her skills might be better suited to a "less sensitive portfolio".Jim Carr, "Dog days offer a chance to reflect on cabinet" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 7 August 1993.
In 1995, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Filmon government had quietly shifted funds away from public and post-secondary education and into private training programs and private schools between 1988 and 1993.Aldo Santin, "Revolving door at top has educators in tizzy", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 April 1995.
Minister of Justice
Vodrey was promoted to Minister of Justice and Attorney General on September 10, 1993, with additional ministerial responsibility for Constitutional Affairs and the Status of Women. She was retained in these positions after the 1995 provincial election.
Criminal justice
Vodrey's first major decision as Justice Minister was to call an emergency summit of police, educators and community groups, following the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old boy in Winnipeg.Dan Lett, "Boy's death spurs drive for action", Winnipeg Free Press, 19 September 1993. See also Bud Robertson, "Street kids scorn summit", Winnipeg Free Press, 23 October 1993; Paul Samyn, "Summit seeks strategy to curb youth violence", Winnipeg Free Press, 4 December 1993. The summit took place in December and featured diverse opinions on the effectiveness of Canada's Young Offenders Act.Randy Turner, "Youth jails bulging at seams", Winnipeg Free Press, 5 December 1993. Two months after the summit, Vodrey brought forward a crime reform package that included wilderness boot camps for young offenders, increased police surveillance of gangs, violence prevention workshops, a school violence coordinator, and a youth gang and violence phone line that would both receive confidential information and provide counselling services.Paul Samyn, "Vodrey tough enough?", Winnipeg Free Press, 18 February 1994. The telephone line was introduced in June of the same year. See Glen MacKenzie, "'Fink line' aims to cut youth crime", Winnipeg Free Press, 29 June 1994.