- Joy MacPhail
Joy MacPhail is a former Canadian politician in
British Columbia . A longtime member of theNew Democratic Party of British Columbia , she served as aMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 1991 to 2005 and as a Minister of the Crown from 1993-1999, and 2000-2001.MacPhail was born in Hamilton,
Ontario , but lived inVancouver for almost two decades. She studied economics at theUniversity of Western Ontario , and later earned a degree in labour studies at theLondon School of Economics . She has one son.MacPhail was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1991 as the MLA for
Vancouver-Hastings , and served in the cabinets of three NDP premiers. Under PremierMike Harcourt , she served as Minister of Social Services from 1993 to 1996. Under PremierGlen Clark she served a short stint as Minister of Social Services, then as Minister of Health from 1996 to 1998. MacPhail's final cabinet position in the Clark government was as Minister of Finance from 1998 to 1999, when she quit the Clark government at a time that it was suffering from increasing dissent and scandal.When Clark eventually quit the NDP leadership, MacPhail ran for NDP leader, but did not attract significant legislative caucus support. She withdrew when it became obvious that
Ujjal Dosanjh had an insurmountable lead. Under Dosanjh, she was the Deputy Premier and served as Minister of Labour and later, Minister of Education.The NDP suffered a massive electoral blow in the
May 16 , 2001 provincial election, winning only two seats, one of which was MacPhail's. Exactly one month later MacPhail was appointed as the party'sinterim leader . She was a harsh critic of the new BC Liberal PremierGordon Campbell , often fueled by the Premier's refusal to grant MacPhail the status of Leader of the Official Opposition on the basis of her party's tiny representation, despite the fact that she led the only other party in the legislature. MacPhail stepped down as leader in 2003 and was succeeded byCarole James .Following her departure from politics, MacPhail married film and television producer
James Shavick , and is currently a partner in his production firmShavick Entertainment .As of August 2006, MacPhail has been mentioned as a possible
Vision Vancouver candidate for Mayor of Vancouver. [http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/001701.html]The
Canadian Press incorrectly reported in 2005 that she is the great-granddaughter ofAgnes MacPhail , the first woman ever elected to theCanadian Parliament . In fact, Agnes MacPhail never married nor had children.External links
* [http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/37thparl/macphail.htm Profile on BC Legislature]
* [http://www.vancouvertelevision.com/topnews.jsp?id=/news/stories/2005/01/news-20050130-03.htm MacPhail says Goodbye to Riding]
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