Background
Miller was born in Hamilton but has lived in Stoney Creek since he was one year old.
Miller was born in Hamilton but has lived in Stoney Creek since he was one year old.
He represents the riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. Miller worked for Hamilton Steel Hilton Works (formerly Stelco, now United States Steel Canada) as a mechanic-welder-fitter. On behalf of the union, Miller served as a lobbyist on Parliament Hill and at Queen"s Park, participating in 9 different campaigns.
Miller served as a city councillor for two terms in Stoney Creek, Ontario from 1994 to 2000.
During his time on council he chaired the Parks and Recreation committee and served as a member on several other committees. On July 12, 2007, he was nominated to run in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek in the 2007 Ontario general election.
Miller campaigned on a platform of job retention and a promise to push for an increase in the minimum wage. He also wanted the province to screen companies before they set up in the area.
He defeated Hamilton city councillor Sam Merulla for the NDP nomination.
On election night, October 10, 2007, Miller defeated Liberal candidate Nerene Virgin. In April 2008, Miller introduced a private member"s bill that proposed to create a severance fund for workers who were owed money when their companies closed. The fund would be used to cover severances, vacation pay and other items owed to workers.
Miller said, "lieutenant would allow people.. to have a little bit of a nest egg to hold them over until they get retrained or find another job." The proposed fund which would have been financed by existing companies was criticized by Labour Minister Brad Duguid, who said the fund was "nothing short of a payroll tax" and that it was "irresponsible in this economy to jack up taxes on businesses, in particular in the manufacturing sector." The proposed bill was shelved by a government committee.
In 2010, Miller introduced another private member"s bill called the Eramosa Karst Feeder Lands Protection Acting, 2010 that would protect land near the Eramosa Karst formation. The bill proposed to permanently protect land occupied by streams that feed into the karst formation.
The land owned by the Ontario Realty Corporation was designated for possible residential development. Miller called the lands a "geological wonder".
He said, "These lands are the lifeline for the Eramosa Karst.. we must move now to preserve the Eramosa Karst feeder lands." The bill was passed into law in the spring of 2011.
Miller was re-elected in the 2011, and 2014 provincial elections. He is the party"s critic for Tourism, Culture and Sport and for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. On July 16, 2014, Paul Miller introduced Bill 17, The Protecting Child Performers Acting, to create the first legislated protections for child performers in Ontario"s live and recorded entertainment industry.
Child performers are the only form of child workers that the Government of Ontario recognizes.
"This historic legislation contains provisions to protect a portion of minors’ income, ensure their education is not compromised, guarantees parental supervision, age-appropriate hours of work and breaks, and health and safety measures." Bill 17 received Royal Assent on May 5, 2015, and became Protecting Child Performers Acting, 2015.
Though he was a member of the NDP, Miller introduced the bill jointly with Niagara West-Glanbrook Master in Public Policy (and Ontario Personal Computer Party leader) Tim Hudak.
He is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in the 2007 provincial election. While at Stelco he was a member of the United Steelworkers (USW), Local 1005. More recently, he worked for 2004 New Democratic Party federal candidate Tony DePaulo, and for 2006 NDP federal candidate and now Member of Parliament Wayne Marston.