Michelle Mungall

The Honourable
Michelle Mungall
MLA
Mungall speaking at Rally April 2016
Minister of Energy, Mines, and Petroleum Resources of British Columbia
Assumed office
July 18, 2017
Premier John Horgan
Preceded by Rich Coleman
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Nelson-Creston
Assumed office
May 12, 2009
Preceded by Corky Evans
Personal details
Born 1978
St. Albert, Alberta
Political party New Democrat
Spouse(s) Zak Matieschyn
Residence Nelson, British Columbia

Michelle Mungall is a Canadian politician, who is currently the BC Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Nelson-Creston and a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. She served as a municipal councilor in the city of Nelson prior to being elected in the 2009 provincial election, and re-elected in 2013 in the Nelson-Creston riding. Mungall has introduced two private member bills, neither advancing beyond first reading: the Private Career Training Institutions Amendment Act in the 39th Parliament which would have English as a foreign or second language schools under the Private Career and Training Institutions Act; and the Poverty Reduction and Economic Inclusion Act in the 40th Parliament which would have mandated the preparation and implementation of a provincial poverty reduction strategy. For the BC NDP, Mungall served as the Opposition Spokesperson for Social Development, Advanced Education and Caucus Deputy House Leader.

Background

Michelle Mungall was born and raised in St. Albert, Alberta.[1] She graduated from Paul Kane High School in 1996 and then attended the University of Alberta in Edmonton. She majored in political science and graduated with honours in 2001.[1] At her university she organized a group named the Preservation of Education Accessibility for Society which sought public funding for post-secondary education.[2] She grew up in a household that debated politics, and in which her parents favoured the Progressive Conservative Party, but she became involved with the New Democratic Party during her first year of university.[3] During her final year, she became the NDP candidate in the St. Albert riding during the 2001 Alberta general election. Mungall was an underdog, the race was expected to be close between the incumbent Progressive Conservative Mary O'Neill and the Liberal challenger Len Bracko.[4][5] Also in 2001 she worked as a youth organizer for the Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations[6] and was profiled in the Edmonton Journal as one of Alberta's 30 most-promising people under 30 years old.[7]

In 2001 Mungall re-located to Nelson, British Columbia.[3] She quickly integrated into the community and ran for city council in the November 2002 election. She was identified as a wildcard in the race, not expected to win because of her inexperience and being new to Nelson, but expected to do well as she ran a very strong campaign.[8] She finished third, gaining her one of the six council seats.[9]

At the age of 24, she was the youngest councillor in Nelson's history and was the youngest female municipal council member in Canada at the time.[10] She was appointed to several committees, including the Youth Centre Committee, the Nelson Electric Tramway, and the Social Advocacy Committee, and task forces, including the Participatory Governance Task Force, Arts, Culture and Heritage Task Force, and the Solid Waste Management Task Force.[11][12][13] As part of that Solid Waste Management Task Force, she helped introduce a blue box recycling program and privatized commercial garbage pick-up.[14] She introduced an anti-war resolution, which the council adopted, matching similar resolutions adopted in several other BC municipalities.[15] On local issues, she supported moving city hall to the White Building in a vote that split the council but was adopted.[16] In another split vote which was ultimately adopted, Mungall supported directing $30,000 in 2005 towards arts and culture initiatives.[17] She was on council during the 2004 ten-week lock-out of municipal union workers as contract negotiations stalled over the issue of staffing levels.[18]

During most of the time she was on council, she also worked at the Nelson Food Coalition.[19] She opted not to stand for re-election in the 2005 municipal election, citing a desire to further her education.[20] After completing an eight-month contract as a community developer with the Nelson Committee On Homelessness,[21] she traveled to Africa to spend seven months as an intern in Lusaka, Zambia working as a National Programmes Assistant for the World Young Women's Christian Association.[22][23][24] Upon her return, she began studying her Master's in Royal Roads University's Human Security and Peacebuilding program.[25]

She returned to Nelson in February 2007 and worked first at the Nelson and District Youth Employment Resources Center,[26] then at a microfinace organization called the Circle of Habondia Lending Society.[27] At the same time, she was writing her Master's thesis regarding homelessness in rural British Columbia.[28] She submitted her dissertation in March 2009 and was awarded a Master of Arts degree by Royal Roads University.[29] Mungall married Zak Matieschyn on July 23, 2011 in Kokanee Creek Provincial Park.[30]

Provincial politics

Nomination and 2009 Provincial Election

In 2008, after Nelson-Creston Member of the Legislative Assembly Corky Evans announced he would not seek re-election, Mungall entered the race for the BC NDP nomination.[25] Three other women contested the nomination: fellow Nelson residents Kim Adamson and Bev LaPointe, as well as Creston small business owner Rhonda Barter.[31][32] The nomination vote was held in February 2009. In the preferential vote Lapointe and Barter were eliminated in the first two rounds and in the third round Mungall narrowly defeated Adamson.[33] Campaigning for the 2009 election began soon afterwards. She faced three other candidates, but only the BC Liberal candidate, long time rural director at the Regional District of Central Kootenay and former chair of the Columbia Basin Trust Josh Smienk was considered to be a serious challenger to Mungall.[34] The other candidates, Sean Kubara of Kaslo running for the Green Party[35] and David Duncan of the BC Conservative Party[36] ran limited or no campaigns.[37] Mungall campaign focused on issues surrounding the local economy, independent power producers, and health care.[3] She took 54% of the vote in winning the riding, but her New Democratic Party lost provincially to the BC Liberals who formed a majority government.

39th Parliament (2009-2013)

In the 39th Parliament, with the New Democrats as the Official Opposition, party leader Carole James assigned Mungall the role of deputy critic to Dawn Black on Advanced Education, where Moira Stilwell was the minister.[38] As deputy critic, she spoke out against the June–July 2009 cuts to student aid programs and supported the student union of Selkirk College during a Halloween 2009 public event to highlight student loan problems.[39][40]

In 2009, Mungall along with her BCNDP colleagues, community groups and city councillors, put the pressure on the Liberals to back down from planned cuts to funding for programs for survivors of domestic violence.[41][42] "Literally minutes before Mungall was to speak at a Tuesday news converence, Heed's office dropped a press release saying the government was backing away from the $440,00 cut to programs for family-violence victoms - mainly battered, abused and fearful women and children."[43]

On local issues, Mungall hosted a public meeting on the controversial Glacier-Howser hydroelectric project which was undergoing environmental assessment,[44] which she would later oppose,[45] she delivered a 3,000 signature petition to the legislature advocating for improvements to the Kootenay Lake Hospital[46] and hired an intern from the University of British Columbia to research food security in the Kootenays.[47] Mungall was a vocal opponent to the proposed Jumbo Glacier Ski Resort[48] and together with her BCNDP colleagues questioned the government on their creation of a town with no population.[49]

She was selected for the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in the first and second sessions which engaged in budget consultations across the province.[50][51] She also spent time as chair of the NDP's Women's Caucus which monitored women's issues[52] In December 2009-January 2010, she and her husband visited Cambodia and participated (at the request of Mu Sochua) in training of local women who were preparing for an upcoming election[53]

In the run up to the 2011 BC NDP leadership election Mungall supported Adrian Dix, who would eventually win the leadership post.[54] As the third session of the 39th Parliament began, Dix appointed her critic for advanced education and for youth and was assigned to the Select Standing Committee on Education.[55]

In November 2011, Mungall introduced her first piece of legislation, a private members bill entitled the Private Career Training Institutions Amendment Act. The bill would have required more rigorous reporting and complaint resolution requirements in private educational institutes and brought English as a foreign or second language schools under the Private Career and Training Institutions Act.

40th Parliament (2013-2017)

In the 2013 election Mungall was re-elected MLA for Nelson-Creston.[56] She received more votes than her opponents, the Liberal's Greg Garbula and Green's Sjeng Derkx combined.[57] Following the election, Mungall was named Social Development Spokesperson in the official opposition shadow cabinet.[58] She has also taken on the role of Opposition Deputy House Leader and from 2013 to 2014 was the Chair of the Opposition Social Policy Committee.[59]

Child Support, Maternity Leave and Bus Pass Clawbacks

In 2014 Mungall championed a highly publicized and ultimately successful campaign to end the BC Government practice of clawing back child support payments from single parents receiving social assistance or disability payments.[60] In response to the efforts of Mungall and anti-poverty advocates across the province, the BC government announced it was ending the child support clawback as a part of their February 2015 budget.[61][62]

In 2015, Mungall successfully took on another Liberal clawback, this time one that took away EI maternity benefits from families on income assistance.[63][64]

The 2016 Liberal budget included changes to the subsidized bus pass program for people with disabilities. It effectively increased the cost of a bus pass from $45 per year to $52 per month, a total of $624 per year.[65] Mungall fought alongside advocates for people with disabilities to raise the rates and keep the bus pass program[66][67] and the government responded. In June 2016 the government announced it would remove the $45 annual fee for a disability bus pass[68] and the 2017 budget included a $50 per month increase in disability rates. Mungall publicly noted that the increase was approximately the same as the previous years increase in cost for the disability bus pass.[69][70]

Opposition to Jumbo

Through the 40th Parliament, Mungall continued to speak out against the development of the Jumbo Glacier ski resort.[71][72][73] In a 2014 Vancouver Sun article she states "I think they just need to end this farce and acknowledge that it hasn’t been substantially started. It’s nothing but a concrete slab. It’s very close if not in an avalanche path. It’s not safe and nobody in the region wants it. End it."[74] Mungall presented a petition with 61,526 signatures to keep Jumbo wild in the BC Legislature in March 2017.[75]

Poverty Reduction Legislation

In May 2014 she introduced a private members bill, the Poverty Reduction and Economic Inclusion Act (Bill M-212). The bill aimed to target the root causes of poverty and mandate the development of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy.[76] Mungall and her colleagues have introduced this legislation six times,[77] and each time it died on the order paper and did not make it to second reading. BC continues to be the only province in Canada without a poverty reduction plan.[78]

41st Parliament

On July 18, 2017, Mungall was sworn in as BC Minister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources.[79]

Electoral history

British Columbia general election, 2017: Nelson-Creston
Party Candidate Votes%
New DemocraticMichelle Mungall7,68541.85
GreenKim Charlesworth5,13028.16
LiberalTanya Rae Wall5,08727.93
IndependentJesse O'Leary1640.90
IndependentTom Prior1490.82
Total valid votes 18,215100.00
Source: Elections BC[80]
B.C. General Election 2013: Nelson-Creston
Party Candidate Votes % ± Expenditures
New DemocraticMichelle Mungall8,20051%-4%$58,838
LiberalGreg Garbula4,57728%-3%$47,428
GreenSjeng Derkx3,38721%+14%$18,928
Total Valid Votes 16,164 100%
Total Rejected Ballots 122 0.75
Turnout 16,286 57.63
B.C. General Election 2009: Nelson-Creston
Party Candidate Votes % ± Expenditures
     NDP Michelle Mungall 9,060 55% n/a $52,366
LiberalJosh Smienk5,19131%n/a$77,586
GreenSean Kubara1,1897%n/a$3,800
ConservativeDavid Duncan1,0837%n/a$2,676
Total Valid Votes 16,523 100%
Total Rejected Ballots 98 0.6%
Turnout 16,621 60%
Alberta General Election 2001: St. Albert
Party Candidate Votes % ± Expenditures
     Progressive Conservative Mary O'Neill 9,537 53% n/a $79,601
     Alberta Liberal Len Bracko 7,479 41% n/a $19,522
     NDP Michelle Mungall 1,122 6% n/a $2,512
Total Valid Votes 18,138 100%
Total Rejected Ballots 63 0.3%
Turnout 18,201 64%

References

  1. 1 2 Lawrence, Brian (November 1, 2002). "Candidate profile: Michelle Mungall". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  2. ↑ Chambers, Allan (January 10, 2001). "U of A gets extra $5M from gov't". Edmonton Journal. p. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 Payne, Colin (April 27, 2009). "Passion and Fresh Ideas". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  4. ↑ Hagan, Susan (February 27, 2001). "Tight race almost guaranteed in St. Albert". Edmonton Journal. p. 3.
  5. ↑ Johnsrude, Larry (February 28, 2001). "Alberta Votes 2001 campaign". Edmonton Journal. p. 9.
  6. ↑ Khalema, Ernest (May 22, 2001). "Youth can shape policy on racism". Edmonton Journal. p. 11.
  7. ↑ "30 under 30". Edmonton Journal. April 18, 2001. p. 4.
  8. ↑ Hall, Bob (November 15, 2002). "The end of the road — now it's up to you". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 4.
  9. ↑ "Local Election Results 2002". The Province. Vancouver. November 18, 2002. p. 9.
  10. ↑ Davidson, Darren (June 23, 2003). "Girl power and the old guard". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  11. ↑ Davidson, Darren (January 20, 2003). "All a-board". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  12. ↑ Davidson, Darren (March 13, 2003). "Public government participation task force struck by council". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  13. ↑ Davidson, Darren (January 19, 2004). "Council to capitalize on arts study's 'shocking' findings". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  14. ↑ Davidson, Darren (July 8, 2005). "Blue box program gets green light". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  15. ↑ Davidson, Darren (February 12, 2003). "Is war not our worry?". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  16. ↑ McPhee, Erin (June 8, 2004). "Council passes on referendum". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  17. ↑ Davidson, Darren (May 19, 2005). "Council erupts over culture cash". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  18. ↑ McPhee, Erin (August 4, 2004). "Citizens gather to discuss lockout". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  19. ↑ "Co-op and the Cupboard". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. July 31, 2003. p. 2.
  20. ↑ "Mungall lays down the law". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. September 27, 2005. p. 1.
  21. ↑ Nash, Phyllis (February 24, 2006). "The Good News Story". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 2.
  22. ↑ Davidson, Darren (July 4, 2006). "EI rolls dropping, Mungall heads to Africa, Funktion and NDCU scoop award". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 6.
  23. ↑ Davidson, Darren (February 5, 2007). "Chamber moves afoot, local radio loses a voice, Mungall makes her return". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 5.
  24. ↑ West, Dale (February 7, 2007). "Back from Africa". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  25. 1 2 Dinshaw, Fram (June 10, 2008). "Mungall mulling over run for NDP". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  26. ↑ Davidson, Darren (July 23, 2007). "Student housing crunch, Mungall joins NDYC, the 300K home?". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 5.
  27. ↑ Lanaway, Shannon (February 19, 2008). "Stephen Lewis bolster support for local association". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 2.
  28. ↑ "Local student nabs big scholarship". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. September 8, 2008. p. 9.
  29. ↑ Payne, Colin (March 11, 2009). "Mungall releases treatise on those with out homes". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  30. ↑ "Mungall marries, Conroy acclaimed". Nelson Star. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  31. ↑ Dinshaw, Fram (July 25, 2008). "Mungall joins race for Evans' NDP seat". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  32. ↑ Payne, Colin (January 14, 2009). "NDP hopefuls square off Thursday". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  33. ↑ Payne, Colin (February 9, 2009). "Mungall to represent NDP in May". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  34. ↑ Mason, Ian (February 13, 2009). "Road to Victoria can be bumpy". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 6.
  35. ↑ Hall, Bob (April 22, 2009). "Bad timing for local Greens". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 6.
  36. ↑ Payne, Colin (April 2, 2009). "Conservatives Join the Race for Local Riding". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  37. ↑ Payne, Colin (April 29, 2009). "Duncan ducks out of campaign". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  38. ↑ Austin, Ian (June 12, 2009). "NDP shadow cabinet set, ready to rumble". The Province. Vancouver. p. 6.
  39. ↑ "Government hiding student aid cuts". The Tribune. Williams Lake, British Columbia. July 30, 2009. p. 6.
  40. ↑ Mungall, Michelle (October 30, 2009). "Tales from the student debt crypt". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 6.
  41. ↑ "Funding for Domestic Violence Programs". Michelle Mungall. 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  42. ↑ "Mungall Working for Constituents and BC'S Vulnerable". Michelle Mungall. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  43. ↑ Smyth, Michael (October 1, 2009). "Liberal Backdowns Just Keep Coming". The Province.
  44. ↑ Payne, Colin (July 9, 2009). "Mungall hosts meeting on IPP project". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  45. ↑ Payne, Colin (September 14, 2009). "Mungall says time to 'outright reject it'". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  46. ↑ Payne, Colin (April 13, 2010). "Petition falls on deaf ears". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 1.
  47. ↑ Payne, Colin (July 13, 2010). "UBC intern to help uncover secrets to local food security". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  48. ↑ "Exploring the wild frontier of Jumbo Valley, B.C." The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  49. ↑ Metcalfe, Bill (2013-03-21). "A Jumbo Summer Ahead? | The Tyee". The Tyee. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  50. ↑ Payne, Colin (October 19, 2009). "Budget consultation meeting comes to Nelson". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  51. ↑ Payne, Colin (November 17, 2009). "Liberals ignore budget input". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  52. ↑ Payne, Colin (September 22, 2009). "Mungall takes on major responsibilities". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  53. ↑ Payne, Colin (January 26, 2011). "Mungall's holiday in Cambodia". Nelson Daily News. Nelson, British Columbia. p. 3.
  54. ↑ Austin, Ian (March 18, 2011). "NDP hopefuls gather backers in shadow of front-page news". The Province. Vancouver. p. 19.
  55. ↑ Palmer, Vaughn (April 27, 2011). "Dix's appointments send a message". The Vancouver Sun. p. 3.
  56. ↑ Elections BC (20 February 2017). "2013 Voting Results by Voting Area- Nelson Creston" (PDF).
  57. ↑ Staff, Advance. "UPDATED: Michelle Mungall elected to second term in Nelson-Creston riding - News". Creston Valley Advance. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  58. ↑ Judd, Amy. "BC NDP announces shadow cabinet". Global News. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  59. ↑ "Michelle Mungall | BC NDP Caucus". BC NDP Caucus. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  60. ↑ "Michelle Mungall: B.C. Liberals' child support clawback hurts families". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 2014-04-25. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  61. ↑ Metcalfe, Bill. "Mungall delighted as BC ends child support clawback - Nelson News". Nelson Star. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  62. ↑ Kines, Lindsay. "B.C. budget: Clawbacks of child support payments to end". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  63. ↑ Shaw, ,Rob. "Maternity pay clawback leaves Maple Ridge family in a bind". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  64. ↑ "B.C. families on income assistance get to keep EI maternity benefits". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  65. ↑ Seucharan, Cherise (2016-08-22). "Food or Bus Pass? Clawback Creates Hard Choices for British Columbians with Disabilities | The Tyee". The Tyee. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  66. ↑ "Petition to raise PWD rates and end bus pass claw-back delivered to Minister Stilwell | Inclusion BC". www.inclusionbc.org. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  67. ↑ BCNDPCaucus (2016-04-13), Michelle Mungall tells minister bus pass clawback is hurting BC's most vulnerable and needs to end, retrieved 2017-03-23
  68. ↑ "B.C. government removes disability bus pass annual fee". Vancouver Sun. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  69. ↑ Harper, Tyler. "Disability rate increase criticized - Nelson News". Nelson Star. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  70. ↑ "Social Development Critic sees little right with disability assistance rate increases from BC Liberals". My Prince George Now. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  71. ↑ "Proposed B.C mountain resort in avalanche path, study finds". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  72. ↑ Michelle Mungall MLA (2014-11-04), Jumbo Glacier Resort: Horgan, MacDonald, Mungall, Nov 4, 2014, retrieved 2017-03-23
  73. ↑ Michelle Mungall MLA (2016-03-18), Estimates re: Jumbo MLA Michelle Mungall, March 17, 2016, retrieved 2017-03-23
  74. ↑ Shaw, ,Rob. "More delays for Jumbo Glacier ski resort". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  75. ↑ "Nelson-Creston MLA brings large Jumbo wild petition to BC Legislature | The Nelson Daily". thenelsondaily.com. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  76. ↑ "Time for bipartisan action to address root causes of poverty in B.C." Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  77. ↑ "MLA Mungall still working to reduce poverty in BC | The Nelson Daily". thenelsondaily.com. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  78. ↑ Garner, ,Trish. "Opinion: B.C. needs a poverty-reduction plan". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  79. ↑ https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-ndp-cabinet-2017-john-horgan-will-be-sworn-in-as-36th-premier
  80. ↑ "2017 Provincial General Election Voting Results". Retrieved 31 May 2017.
British Columbia Provincial Government of John Horgan
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Rich Coleman Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
July 18, 2017–		 Incumbent
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