Saul Cherniack

Saul Mark Cherniack, (January 10, 1917 – March 30, 2018) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1962 to 1981, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Edward Schreyer. He was also a member of the Privy Council, the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba. His parents, Joseph Alter Cherniack Alter Cherniack was a watchmaker by training but eventually earned his BA and law degree in Canada and became law partners with Malick Spivak whose son, Sidney Spivak, would go on to be Leader of the Opposition as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in the 1970s while Cherniack was in government.

After World War II, Cherniack resumed his law practice and was one of three lawyers in Canada who worked on behalf of Japanese Canadians who had been interned during the war years in an attempt to have them paid compensation for property seized from them by the government.

In 1968-69, Cherniack was a key figure in the provincial NDP calling for Edward Schreyer to replace Russell Paulley as party leader. He initially considered challenging Paulley himself, but declined, reportedly on the advice of NDP research adviser Doug Rowland. Those who supported Sidney Green contended that Cherniack did not run because of concerns that a Jewish party leader would not have been acceptable to the general public in the late 1960s; they later attributed his lack of support for Green to the same reason. (Russell Doern once quoted Cherniack as saying "I do not believe that Manitoba is ready for a Jewish Premier" in announcing his decision to others in the party.) Cherniack denied that, saying that his decision not to run himself was based on his lack of ambition for power, and his support of Schreyer was based on Schreyer's leadership qualities.

When Sidney Green challenged Paulley for the party leadership in late 1968, Cherniack and seven other MLAs supported Paulley on condition that he stand down the following year in favour of Schreyer. Paulley was confirmed as leader and resigned the following year, at which time Schreyer defeated Green for the party leadership. The NDP under Schreyer formed a minority government following the 1969 election.

Cabinet minister On July 17, 1969, Cherniack was appointed provincial Minister of Finance. He remained a member of the legislature until the 1981 election.

Post-political career After his retirement from politics, Cherniack became chair of Manitoba Hydro, and served as a member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee overseeing the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from 1984 to 1992. Accordingly, he was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on November 30, 1984, to enable him access to information restricted under the Official Secrets Act.

He turned 100 in January 2017