Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Iain Black is stepping down from his post to take a private sector job.
The former B.C. labour minister will be joining the Vancouver Board of Trade as president and CEO in early October.
“It took some convincing to tear me away from a job and a passion of mine since I was very young boy,” Black said.
Black is the second high-profile Liberal MLA to leave Premier Christy Clark’s government in a week.
On Friday, Chilliwack-Hope MLA Barry Penner stepped down as attorney general saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife and baby daughter.
Clark said she’s not expecting any other MLAs to quit. She also stressed Black’s decision to grab a rare opportunity had nothing to do with the pressures of an upcoming election.
“It would be a mistake to take away from this any notion this is about me turning my back on my colleagues, my premier or my government,” Black said.
A byelection in Port Moody-Coquitlam will be called within six months of the seat becoming vacant unless a general election is called first.
Clark was coy when asked about any plans for a possible provincial election.
“Every time I meet with you folks, I think that you (the media) spend more time thinking about an election than I do,” Clark said.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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