Kleins mother got married when he was in his late teens. The marriage was characterized by fighting and yelling.

It just seemed normal everywhere we went, he explained. Even if we were at my moms brothers home or whatever, there always seemed to be that. Looking back, I can see the stress and I can understand it. But I think my stepfather was very clever in the sense that he would do (bad) stuff when nobody was around, and our mom just didnt tell us.

On the day of the murder, Klein was watching a hockey game when he heard a stranger shouting his name at the arena. He knew something was seriously wrong. He called his uncle, who bluntly said his mother was dead.

We knew that hed killed her that hed strangled her, he said. My brothers and I had to take on the responsibility of arranging the funeral. What did we know? We walked into the funeral home and tried to pick out a casket. My brothers just left. There were no resources that reached out to kids. When we lost our mom, we lost contact with everyone. It was just us and we learned how to survive.

Kleins relationship with his brothers improves year by year. The tragedy has strengthened his resolve to pursue justice for women.

Nothing was ever handed to me in this life, he said. And its funny because a lot of people think that where Ive gone in my career is because of privilege.

In terms of the powers of political correctness that have sometimes tried to stereotype him, Klein said, It makes me sad for them, quite frankly. We are so busy judging everybody. I honestly believe that a lot of politicians, and no disrespect to them, dont speak from experience. They dont really get it. They want to talk about what they think is right. Id like to sit them down and say, You have absolutely no clue what youre talking about.

jsnell@postmedia.com

Twitter @JamesWestgateSn

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Councillor marks anniversary of mother's murder with call for justice for women - Winnipeg Sun