Bill Routley Interview: From the Sawmill to the Legislature
Bill Routley was born in 1948 in Chatham, Ontario. He was the son of two ministers who raised him in Duncan, on Vancouver Island. The treatment of employees at a shoe repair business in Victoria kindled his interest in workers’ rights.
This interview was conducted by Phil Legg on January 22, 2024 in Lake Cowichan, BC. It is part of our Oral History Collection.
Bill Routley was born in 1948 in Chatham, Ontario. He was the son of two ministers who raised him in Duncan, on Vancouver Island. The treatment of employees at a shoe repair business in Victoria kindled his interest in workers’ rights. After leaving that job, he started working at the B.C. Forest Products Youbou sawmill, where he soon became concerned with safety hazards and the lack of training. Routley was elected chair of his local’s (IWA Canada, Local 1-80) safety committee and then as chair of its plant committee. Routley was also an elected school trustee for the Cowichan Valley school district from 1980 to 1985. In 1986, he was elected vice-president of his local, which was followed by his election as president of the local in 1990. He continued as president of his local until he won the NDP nomination to become the MLA for the Cowichan Valley electoral district in 2008. Routley won the election in 2009 and was re-elected as an MLA until the 2017 election when he decided not to run again.
This interview was conducted with help from the Kaatza Station Museum Archives.