The Marxist Quarterly Autumn 1965

ONE OF THE FIRST to bring the ideas of Marxian Socialism to workers' groups in Western Canada, participant in the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, founding member and later National Chairman of the Communist Party, Jacob Penner devoted more than sixty years of his life to the cause of the emancipation of Labor. As a member of the Winnipeg City Council for over twenty years he tirelessly defended the interests of the working people of his city: an unforgettable example of the Communist as public servant.

Unity of word and deed was the hallmark of his life: what he said, he did his best to carry out; what he stood for, he applied. Always, one sensed his complete, incorruptible honesty, his principledness. He did not flinch under attack: attacks were many, but his constituents, trusting him, responded by electing him again and again to represent them. No problem of theirs was too small for him to be concerned about; no challenge too stern for him to face.

In the words of Joseph Zuken, "Jake Penner knew and loved his ward, with a fierce, quiet pride that the working people had chosen him to represent them. To his responsibilities in the government of his city

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he brought his working-class point of view, his unlimited humanism, and a bold program of civic development and reconstruction. He combined the qualities of gentleness and modesty and sensitivity, with an iron will and matchless steadfastness. Never was a man in our city and Western Canada more honored and loved by the movement to which he dedicated his life—and never was a man more deserving of such honor and affection."

His death is a hard loss, for Winnipeg and for Canada. But his lifetime of service to the cause of labor and peace, socialism and freedom, is a thing to gladden the heart, and to inspire us.

 

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-- This OCR was prepared by Kathleen Moore in August 2014 for the legal research purposes of Habeas Corpus Canada. --