Former New Brunswick youth advocate, politician, picked as B.C.’s new child rep
VICTORIA — A former New Brunswick politician and the province’s first child advocate is British Columbia’s acting representative for children and youth and is slated to assume to post full-time by early next year.
Bernard Richard, 65, was recommended Tuesday to take over the job by an all-party government committee searching to replace Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond who held the position for a decade.
Richard will serve as acting representative, effective Nov. 27, until his appointment can become official with a majority vote in the B.C. legislature. The legislature is not scheduled to resume sitting until early February.
Richard was elected to the New Brunswick legislature as a Liberal from 1991 to 2003, where he held several cabinet posts, including education and aboriginal affairs. He served as the provincial ombudsman and the child and youth advocate after retiring from elected office.