Social Work
In February 1964, I, Wallace
G. du Temple became a 'whistle-blower'' within the then
Department of Social Welfare. His service territory and case load
had been the largest in the province. He had been responsible for all
aspects of 'social welfare and social assistance' over 1100 miles of
gravel road in the north east and north west parts of the province of
B.C. which included Fort St John, Fort Nelson, Wonowon, Muncho Lake,
Dease Lake, Telegraph Creek, Lower Post, Casiar, and Atlin. The whole
of the Canadian portion of the Alaska Highway plus side roads and
trails were my work place. On occasion I needed to ride by horse back
to visit parts of my territory.
I recognized that the service which I was providing was inadequate,
that in fact the expectations of the Department of Social Welfare that
one person could serve such a huge area was not realistic. Requests and
reports for an office in Fort Nelson staffed by two professionally
trained workers went unanswered and ignored. Eventually he decided to
make his complaints a matter of public record in order to put pressure
on the Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett. Wally du Temple was
immediately fired. Five social workers in Prince George wrote a public
letter of support for 'whistle-blower du Temple'. Bridget Moran was
fired and Nick Proznick, Mrs Shelagh Vickery, Mrs Helen Gilmour and Mrs
Judy Kennedy were immediately suspended. Wally du Temple was called to
the provincial legislature by the opposition welfare critic, Mr Dave
Barrett, to testify before the 'house committee' on Social Welfare. The
province descended into a 'social welfare crisis the like of which has
never been repeated. Those who supported me were courageous and paid
the price. I lost a chance of a promising career because I was put on a
government no hire list in the province of B.C.. For that reason I
headed to the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of
Education ( OCE ) to commence a career in Education. I recommend that
you read the book written by Bridgit Moran which describes the 'social
services revolt which I started at that time. The title is "A Little Rebellion." Here is a brief excerpt.
Wally
studied at UBC and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.
Wally obtained certification from the Ontario College of Education to
teach English, History and Theatre Arts at the secondary level.
Wally taught grades eleven and twelve in the
following schools:
Port Arthur Collegiate Institute, Lake Head, Ontario (This school was
my first and my favourite. A photo of it appears on this page.)
Bell’s Corner Secondary High School, Ottawa, Ontario
Chateauguay Valley Regional High School, Ormstown, Quebec
Maple Ridge Secondary School, Maple Ridge, British Columbia
The Native Education Centre, Chehalis Outreach, Chehalis, British
Columbia
For two years Wally worked as the mentor of an apprentice who studied for the management position of Recreation Director for Chesterfield Inlet, Keewatin, N.W.T.
For one year Wally worked as the Principal of the Victor Sammurtuk School in Chesterfield Inlet, N.W.T. now Nunavut
Wally du Temple has been a volunteer and active board member for many organizations. He is still active in many. In others he has shown support through membership and donations: The Land Conservancy; Western Canada Wilderness Committee, The Sierra Club; The Sierra Legal Defense Fund; The David Suzuki Foundation.
The following list is not complete.
* Adult education / Musqeum
* Boys scouts of Canada
* Mustard Seed Food Bank
* UBC Commonwealth Club / President
* Junior Golf
* Citizens To Save The Environment Society / Treasurer
* Animals For Life Society
* Universal Esperanto Assoc. Board Member
* Canadian Esperanto Assoc. President / Treasurer / Editor
* Esperantic Studies Foundation / Treasurer
* Victoria International Development Education Association / Board
* Saanichton Fair / Board Member
* Founding Member of The Sanscha Community Cultural Centre Foundation
* Memorial Park Society / Board Member
* Community Cultural Project / Chehalis
* Arctic Winter Games Organizing Committee / Rankin Inlet
* Elected Council / Municipality of North Saanich
* Chair / Governing Council / Green Party of Canada
* Chair / Governing Council / Green Party of B.C.
* Candidate for the Green Party of Canada / B.C. and Canada
* Chair / Fund Raising / Campaign to elect Elizabeth May