Jean-Baptiste Roger Joseph Camille Teillet, (August 21, 1912 – May 1, 2002) was a
Canadian politician, becoming the first self-identifying
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
member of the
Canadian Cabinet in 1963.
He served in the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a
Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...
from 1953 to 1959, and in the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
as a
Liberal from 1962 to 1968. Teillet was a
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the government of
Lester B. Pearson, and retained that post after Pearson stepped down and
Pierre Elliott Trudeau became the new Liberal leader.
Personal life
Early life
Jean-Baptiste Roger Joseph Camille Teillet was born on River Road in
St. Vital
St. Vital (french: Saint-Vital) is a ward and neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Located in the south-central part of the city, it is bounded on the north by Carrière Avenue; on the south by the northern limit of the Rural Municipal ...
,
Manitoba,
to
Sara Riel
Sara Riel (October 11, 1848 – December 27, 1883) was the first Métis Grey Nun from Red River. She is best known as the sister of Métis leader Louis Riel. Born in 1848 in the Red River settlement to parents Jean-Louis Riel and Julie Lagimodià ...
and Camille Teillet.
Born into one of Manitoba's most well-known
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
families, Roger Teillet was a direct descendant of
Marie-Anne Gaboury and
Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière
Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière (25 December 1778 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec – 7 September 1855 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba) was a French-Canadian trapper employed in the fur trade by the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land.
Lagimodière ...
,
who were the first white settlers in Canada's west and were also the grandparents of
Louis Riel. Roger was the grandson of
Joseph Riel, Louis Riel's younger brother.
Roger was educated in St. Vital and
St. Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
schools, and at
St. Boniface College.
World War II
During the
Second World War, Roger was a
flight lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
in the
Royal Canadian Air Force and a navigator on a Halifax
bomber.
He took part in 24 successful bombing missions over
Germany before being shot down over
France in 1943. After evading German soldiers for 15 days, he was captured at the Rivière Cher, and spent almost three years as a
prisoner of war in
Stalag Luft III
, partof = ''Luftwaffe''
, location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland)
, image =
, caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag ...
, located at Sagan (now
Żagań,
Poland), southeast of
Berlin in the then-province of
Silesia. Conditions in this camp were not as brutal as in many others because it was specifically made for officers, who were not subject to
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
.
As a prisoner-of-war, he continued his studies through an educational program that was set up using the expertise of prisoners there.
(Stalag Luft III was made famous after the war because of
Paul Brickhill
Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (20 December 191623 April 1991) was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote ''The Great Escape (book), The Great Escape'', ''The Dam Busters (book), The Dam Busters'', and ''Reach for the ...
's book,
''The Great Escape'', a book which was also made into a film.)
In January 1945, prisoners from camps all over Germany were herded from the camps and forced to walk the length and breadth of Germany, in an effort to evade the encroaching Allied armies. On 5 May 1945, Teillet and the others were turned over to the
British Army not far from
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. Their guards surrendered and the prisoners were airlifted to
Brussels.
Upon his return to Canada, Teillet went into the insurance business in
Winnipeg.
He was a member of the
Knights of Columbus and active in his Catholic parish of Précieux-sang. When his two sons, Philippe and Richard, were in school, he became a
trustee in the separate school system.
Later life
Teillet had always been involved in politics: he was involved with the
L'Union Nationale Métisse; was a party organizer before ever going overseas; and was an original members of the St. Vital Young Liberals when still a teenager. Now, in the post-war years, he became very active in the
Manitoba Liberal Association, acting as the vice-president. He also served in many capacities on the
federal liberal party's executive in
Winnipeg South Centre.
Teillet was married to Jeanne Boux
of
St. Boniface, Manitoba
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
, with whom he had two sons, who in turn had two grandchildren. Their eldest son, Philippe Teillet, is a
professor emeritus at the
University of Lethbridge.
He died in Ottawa in 2002.
Jeanne predeceased him by two years, and their younger son, Richard, died of cancer in 2003. All three are buried in Green Acres Cemetery in St. Boniface.
Political career
Teillet was first elected to the
Manitoba Legislature in the
1953 provincial election, finishing atop the polls in the constituency of
St. Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
, which in those days elected two members via a
single transferable ballot
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...
. For the next five years, Roger sat as a
backbencher
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
in Premier
Douglas Lloyd Campbell
Douglas Lloyd Campbell (May 27, 1895 – April 23, 1995) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as the 13th premier of Manitoba from 1948 to 1958. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for 47 years, longer than a ...
's government.
Manitoba abandoned its multi-member constituencies in 1956, and Teillet was re-elected for the now single-member seat of St. Boniface in the
1958 provincial election. The
Liberal-Progressive
Liberal-Progressive was a label used by a number of candidates in Canadian elections between 1925 and 1953. In federal and Ontario politics, there was no Liberal-Progressive party: it was an alliance between two parties. In Manitoba, a party existe ...
s were defeated in this election, and Roger did not seek re-election in 1959.
Teillet ran for a seat in the House of Commons in the
federal election of 1962, defeating incumbent Progressive Conservative
Laurier Regnier by 2,601 votes in the federal riding of
St. Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
. He defeated Regnier again in the
1963 election, when the Liberals won a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
under
Lester B. Pearson.
On 22 April 1963, Teillet was appointed
Minister of Veterans Affairs by Prime Minister Pearson.
At this point, Teillet became the first self-identifying
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
member of
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
.
As Minister of Veterans Affairs, Teillet was involved in some controversial projects. The
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...
was vehemently opposed to any
new flag for Canada and Teillet was required to be a mediary. He sat on the New Flag Committee as an
''ex officio'' member. He was also involved in the revamping of Canada's veterans' hospitals. In both 1964 and 1966, he represented Canada at war commemorative ceremonies at
war cemeteries
A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations.
Definition
The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be ...
in Europe. At this time, he toured Canada's war graves. He was dismayed at the condition of the monument at
Vimy Ridge. He brought his concern forward but work did not begin on the monument until 1984. Still, it was through Roger's effort that the monument was eventually restored.
Teillet saw to it that Vimy Ridge was properly recognized at Vimy Park in
Winnipeg, and established a memorial in
Halifax dedicated to
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve members who died in the
World War II. As a Métis, Teillet brought forward the concerns of the Métis in parliament, particularly as they involved the cause that
Louis Riel had died for.
Teillet was re-elected over Progressive Conservative candidate Harry DeLeeuw in 1965 but, in 1968, he unexpectedly lost the Liberal nomination for St. Boniface to
Joseph-Philippe Guay
Joseph-Philippe Guay, (October 4, 1915 – July 30, 2001) was a Canadian parliamentarian, serving as a member of the Liberal Party.
Born in St. Vital, Manitoba, Guay was an alderman and mayor of Saint-Boniface, Manitoba before turning to ...
. Choosing not to run in another riding, Teillet formally resigned from Cabinet on July 5, 1968.
Teillet was then appointed to head the
Canada Pension Commission by Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada
The prime mini ...
. While still in Cabinet, Teillet had been working with this Commission with a view to reforming veterans' pensions. He served on this Commission until his retirement in 1980.
Electoral history
References
External links
* There is a Roger Joseph Teillet
fonds at
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teillet, Roger
1912 births
2002 deaths
Canadian Roman Catholics
Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba
Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada
Franco-Manitoban people
Métis politicians
Canadian Métis people
Indigenous Members of the House of Commons of Canada
People from St. Vital, Winnipeg
Riel family (Canada)
Canadian prisoners of war in World War II
Stalag Luft III prisoners of World War II
Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II
Royal Canadian Air Force officers
Shot-down aviators