Mark said, “This place felt like a place where people were tortured.” “I won’t miss the character assassination,” he said
Melanie Mark has quit. She was the first woman from a First Nations group to serve in the British Columbia Legislature and as a cabinet minister.
Mark, the MLA for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, cried as she spoke about her experiences in provincial politics. She was holding an eagle feather and wearing her grandfather’s beaded mooseskin coat. She said, “Institutions fundamentally resist change, especially colonial institutions like this Legislative Assembly and the government at large.”
She said, “This place felt like a place where people were tortured.” “I won’t miss the attack on your character.”
Mark, who is of Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Cree, and Ojibway descent, was first elected in 2016 and served as minister of advanced education, skills, and training and then tourism minister until September 2022, when she stepped down “to focus on pressing and urgent personal matters” while on medical leave.
Watch: Melanie Mark says she is leaving her job.
In her speech to the legislature, Mark called for less partisanship and stressed the importance of education. She also said that she was the first person in her family to go to college and graduate.
She talked about growing up in the Skeena projects in East Vancouver and about how both of her parents were addicted to alcohol and drugs. She said that Indian residential schools and the foster care system had left scars and trauma for many generations.
Mark said that she will keep using her “big mouth” to speak up for people who can’t.
Watch as Melanie Mark talks to reporters about her decision:
She said, “I’ve been a public advocate for 27 years, and I’ll keep advocating and fighting from outside this House to speak up for those who don’t vote or don’t have a voice.”
She thanked her many supporters and family members, including her two daughters and mother, who were in the audience for her speech.
Mark told reporters that she will officially quit at the end of the month. A representative for the NDP said that a date for a byelection has not been set yet.
Parties reac
Premier David Eby said that Mark brought her life experience to the legislature and made sure it was part of her work for the people of B.C.
He said, “She changed this place.” “She moved to a different country.”
Todd Stone, the leader of the opposition Liberal House of Representatives, said that Mark is a pioneer who has made it possible for more Indigenous people to serve in the legislature.
“She is someone who has always done her work with a lot of passion,” he said.
Indigenous Green Party House Leader Adam Olsen said that Mark made the legislature a better place for everyone.
“Today, I’m sad that our community has one less paddle,” he said.