Grand chief appointed minister

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Premier Ujjal Dosanjh unveiled a renewed cabinet on Nov. 1, with 16 changes, including six new members from the government caucus and Edward John, grand chief of the Tl'azt'en Nation and executive member of the First Nations Summit.

"My team will lay the groundwork for a new mandate focused on the changing needs of today's families in health care, in child care, in education, in environment and forestry, and in the challenges of the new economy," Dosanjh said.

"It is particularly appropriate that I give special recognition to Ed John, grand chief of the Tl'Azt'en Nation. Chief John is joining my hovernment at a crossroad in our province's history," said the Premier.

Edward John was appointed Minister for Children and Families. He is a lawyer, a gereditary chief, served as an elected councillor of the Tl'azt'en Nation from 1974 to 1992 and as an elected chief from 1990 to 1992. He is now the grand chief of the Tl'azt'en Nation.

John negotiated the first child services agreement between the Ministry for Children and Families and the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council. He served as a member of the tripartite British Columbia Claims Task Force, which recommended the independent B.C. Treaty Commission be established to facilitate treaty negotiations. He was also appointed by the province to help implement the recommendations of the Sullivan Royal Commission on Education in 1988.

John attended Notre Dame University and the University of Victoria, where he graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He received his law degree from the University of British Columbia and practiced law in his own firm in Prince George from 1981 to 1993. He was an associate professor at the University of Victoria from 1990 to 1997.

John has four children, as well as four stepchildren through his marriage to Wendy Grant John.