'This place felt like a torture chamber': Melanie Mark stepping down from B.C. legislature
Melanie Mark, an Indigenous member of the British Columbia legislature and two-time cabinet minister, is stepping down as MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, she announced in the legislature Wednesday.
The former tourism minister, who resigned from cabinet and took a medical leave in September, cited personal and systemic reasons in her decision to leave provincial politics on Wednesday.
"This place felt like a torture chamber," she said while holding an eagle feather during a special address to the legislature. "I will not miss the character assassination."
Mark, whose legislature biography describes her as "the first First Nations woman Member of the Legislative Assembly in British Columbia's history," was first elected in a byelection in 2016.
Before assuming the tourism portfolio, Mark served as minister of advanced education, skills and training.
She also helped launch the world's first Indigenous Law Program at the University of Victoria in 2018.
"In many ways I have done what I came here to do, but it's also a fact that institutions fundamentally resist change," Mark told her legislature colleagues.
"They are allergic to doing things differently, particularly colonial institutions like this legislative assembly and government at large."
Mark's resignation sets the stage for a second byelection in 2023, after former premier John Horgan announced he would step down as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca in March.
"Every memory I have of working with Melanie is a treasured one and I'm so grateful to have been her colleague," Premier David Eby said following Mark's address in the legislature.
Mark disclosed that she was recently diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and she also spoke candidly about her family members' prior struggles with drugs and alcohol.
"Never say never, but for now my canoe is heading in a different direction," she said. "I am not quitting. If anything I am standing up for myself."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
122 active wildfires burning across Canada, 32 considered 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
B.C. parents sentenced to 15 years for death of 6-year-old boy
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Miller scores late as Canucks grind out 3-2 win over Oilers in Game 5
J.T. Miller scored in the final minute of the game and the Vancouver Canucks came back for a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series Thursday.
Police issue Canada-wide warrant for Regina homicide suspect
Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for a man wanted in a homicide which occurred in Regina on May 12.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
Kevin Spacey receives star support as he fights to get his career back
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.