Mr. Speaker, a few days ago we lost Dr. Myler Wilkinson, former instructor of literature and peace studies at Selkirk College in Castlegar. Myler was an accomplished scholar, an award-winning author and an educator whose students often said that he was the best teacher they ever had.
The West Kootenay has long had a strong vein of peace activism. There are the Doukhobors, whose motto is “toil and a peaceful life.” There were thousands of American opponents of the Vietnam War who found a haven in the Kootenays in the sixties and seventies.
Myler and his wife, Linda, had the brilliant vision to build on this core of peace activism to form the Mir Centre for Peace studies at Selkirk. It has flourished since 1999, providing courses on transformative justice and peace studies.
I am proud to represent a riding with such a brave and bold history of peace activism. We will all miss Myler, but we have the legacy of the Mir Centre to carry on his passion for peace on earth and goodwill to men.