Paul Miller (Canadian politician)
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Paul David Miller (born February 7, 1951) is a politician in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. He was a member of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
from 2007 provincial election until his defeat in the
2022 Ontario general election The 2022 Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022, to elect Members of Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in th ...
. He represented the riding of
Hamilton East—Stoney Creek Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (french: Hamilton-Est—Stoney Creek) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The riding was formed in 2003 from parts of the fo ...
as an Ontario New Democratic Party MPP until March 17, 2022 when he was expelled from the party's
caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...
and barred from running again for the NDP. He sat the remainder of his term as an independent MPP and ran unsuccessfully as an independent in the June 2, 2022 election.


Background

Born in Hamilton, Miller's family moved to Stoney Creek when he was one year old. As a youth, he worked on the election campaigns of his uncle, former councillor and Hamilton Mayor, Bill Powell. Miller worked for Hamilton Steel Hilton Works (formerly
Stelco Stelco Holdings Inc. (known as U.S. Steel Canada from 2007 to 2016) is a Canadian steel company based in Hamilton, Ontario. Stelco was founded in 1910 from the amalgamation of several smaller firms. It continued on for almost 100 years, until it ...
, now U.S. Steel Canada) as a mechanic-welder-fitter. While at Stelco he was a member of the
United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...
(USW), Local 1005. On behalf of the union, Miller served as a lobbyist on Parliament Hill and at Queen's Park, participating in 9 different campaigns. Miller is the husband of Hamilton school trustee Carole Paikin Miller. Miller is related to broadcaster
Steve Paikin Steven Hillel Paikin (born June 9, 1960) is a Canadian journalist, author, and documentary producer. Paikin has primarily worked for TVOntario (TVO), Ontario's public broadcaster, and is anchor of TVO's flagship current affairs program '' The ...
, a cousin to his wife.


Politics


Early political career

Miller served as a city councillor for two terms in
Stoney Creek, Ontario Stoney Creek is a community in the city of Hamilton in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was officially a city from 1984 to 2001, when it was amalgamated with the rest of the cities of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth. The co ...
from 1994 to 2000. During his time on council he chaired the Parks and Recreation committee and served as a member on several other committees.About Paul
, Paul Miller, MPP for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek.
Miller contested the newly-created Ward 9 councillor's seat after the amalgamation of the City of Hamilton in 2000, but lost to the last mayor of Stoney Creek, Anne Bain. Following his loss, he remained active in politics, working for
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
federal candidate Tony DePaulo, and for
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NDP federal candidate and former
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
Wayne Marston Wayne L. Marston (born February 27, 1947, in Sisson Ridge, New Brunswick) was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Hamilton, Ontario riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek from 2006 to 2015. Electoral histor ...
.


First terms at Queen's Park

On July 12, 2007, he was nominated to run in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the 2007 Ontario general election. Miller campaigned on a platform of job retention and a promise to push for an increase in the minimum wage. He defeated Hamilton city councillor Sam Merulla for the NDP nomination. Miller defeated
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
candidate Nerene Virgin. In April 2008, Miller introduced a
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
that proposed to create a severance fund for workers who were owed money when their companies closed. The fund would be used to cover severances, vacation pay and other items owed to workers. Miller said, "It would allow people ... to have a little bit of a nest egg to hold them over until they get retrained or find another job." The proposed fund which would have been financed by existing companies was criticized by Labour Minister
Brad Duguid Brad Duguid (born July 9, 1962) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the riding of Scarborough Centre in Toronto. He served as a cabinet min ...
, who said the fund was "nothing short of a payroll tax" and that it was "irresponsible in this economy to jack up taxes on businesses, in particular in the manufacturing sector." The proposed bill was shelved by a government committee. In 2010, Miller introduced another private member's bill called the ''Eramosa Karst Feeder Lands Protection Act, 2010'' that would protect land near the
Eramosa Karst The Eramosa Karst is a provincially significant Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in Ontario, Canada, located in Stoney Creek, a constituent community of the City of Hamilton, and immediately south of the Niagara Escarpment. ...
formation. Though he was a member of the NDP, Miller introduced the bill jointly with Niagara West-Glanbrook MPP (and
Ontario PC Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...
leader) Tim Hudak. The bill proposed to permanently protect land occupied by streams that feed into the karst formation. The land owned by the Ontario Realty Corporation was designated for possible residential development. Miller called the lands a "geological wonder". He said, "These lands are the lifeline for the Eramosa Karst... we must move now to preserve the Eramosa Karst feeder lands." The bill was passed into law in the spring of 2011. In 2013, Miller was at the centre of a controversy within Queen's Park when Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath sent Paul Miller to the back bench after a dispute between the two politicians. Miller was re-elected in the
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, and
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provincial elections. Miller served as the party's critic for Tourism, Culture and Sport and for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. In 2016, Miller advanced a bill that would look at the costs of living in various economic regions in Ontario, provide education around social assistance rates, and examine unsafe working conditions in the province. While the bill's progress was terminated upon the prorogation of the Ontario legislature in September 2016, Miller immediately re-introduced the bill upon the legislature's return.


Growing controversies

In 2018, questions were raised about Miller's future in Ontario provincial politics after a series of allegations of bullying, racist remarks, and abuse of office resources. The same year, a voice recording was released that showed Miller criticizing unions for doing more harm than good after it was reported that he had criticized the loyalty of an employee who took parental leave. A Human Rights complaint was filed against Miller in April 2018. A statement to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario claimed Miller regularly displayed sexist, racist and homophobic behaviour. In Ontario's 2018 election, Miller was able to claim his 4th victory in his Hamilton East-Stoney Creek Riding with more that 51 percent of the overall vote.


Expulsion from the NDP

On March 17, 2022 the party announced he would be disallowed from running in the
2022 Ontario general election The 2022 Ontario general election will be held on or before June 2, 2022, to elect Members of Provincial Parliament to serve in the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. As of December 2016, Ontario elections are held on the first Thursday in June in th ...
and was removed from the party's caucus because he was member of an Islamophobic Facebook group. Miller rejected the claims against him and filed a legal suit against the Ontario NDP. The $1.3-million breach of contract claim against the NDP, Leader Andrea Horwath and two party officials, filed in a Hamilton court, alleges the Ontario NDP, Horwath and officials Lucy Watson and Michael Balagus, conspired to remove Miller from the caucus by knowingly using a false allegation. Miller subsequently announced his intention to run as an Independent in the province's 2022 election. He placed fourth, earning 6.7% of the vote and losing to Progressive Conservative challenger Neil Lumsden.


Bills Sponsored in Ontario Legislature


Receiving Royal Assent


Critic Roles


Electoral record

, - !rowspan="2" colspan="2" , Candidate !colspan="3" , Popular vote , - ! Votes ! % ! ±% , - , style="background-color:#FF0800;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Anne Bain , style="text-align:right;" , 2,703 , style="text-align:right;" , 35.87% , style="text-align:right;" , , - , style="background-color:#FF7E00;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Paul Miller , style="text-align:right;" , 2,631 , style="text-align:right;" , 35.78% , style="text-align:right;" , - , - , style="background-color:#0047AB;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Bob Charters , style="text-align:right;" , 2,201 , style="text-align:right;" , 29.21% , style="text-align:right;" , - , - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" , Total votes , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 7,535 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 100% , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , , - , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" , Registered voters , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 17,306 , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , 43.54% , style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" , , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="6" , Note: All Hamilton Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan.
Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.)
and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates.
, - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="13" , Sources:


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Paul 1951 births Trade unionists from Ontario Living people Ontario municipal councillors Ontario New Democratic Party MPPs Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario United Steelworkers people 21st-century Canadian politicians