Christine "Chris" Melnick (born 1950) is a former

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. She was a cabinet minister in the governments led by

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

(NDP)

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gary Doer Gary Albert Doer (born 31 March 1948) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician and diplomat from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He served as Canada's List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States, ambassador to the United States from 19 Octo ...

and

Greg Selinger Gregory Francis Selinger (born February 16, 1951) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Manitoba from 2009 until 2016, leading an NDP government. From 1999 to 2009 he was the Minister of Finance in the government o ...

. Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, Melnick received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and subsequently received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

library and information science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with inf ...

from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. She has worked for a variety of businesses in the private and public sectors, with experience such fields as in education, advertising and offshore oil. Prior to entering provincial politics, she was employed as a librarian and researcher at the Canada/Manitoba Business Service Centre and was a trustee for the

Louis Riel School Division The Louis Riel School Division (LRSD; , DSL-R) is a school division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, offering English language, English-language and French immersion, French-immersion education to its students. It was broadly formed in 1998 with the volun ...

of southeastern Winnipeg. She was also active in

women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...

, human rights, literacy and environmental issues, and sat on the province's Council on Post-Secondary Education. Melnick was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

in 2003, succeeding retiring NDP

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) Linda Asper in the south Winnipeg riding of Riel. She received 4,393 votes, against 3,171 for her Progressive Conservative opponent,

Shirley Render Shirley Render (born April 1, 1943) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1990 to 1999, and was briefly a cabinet minister in the government of Gary Filmon. Early life Born Shirle ...

, who had previously represented the neighbouring riding of St. Vital from 1990 to 1999. The NDP, then led by Doer, won a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the winning Candidate#Candidates in elections, candidate or political party, party achieves a decisive victory by an overwhelming margin, securing a very large majority of votes or seats far beyo ...

. Following the election, she was appointed Minister of Family Services and Housing, with responsibility for Persons with Disabilities. She was re-elected in the provincial elections of

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. In September 2007, Doer appointed her as Minister of Water Stewardship, succeeding Steve Ashton. In January 2012, Melnick was appointed Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism. In October 2013, Selinger, who had been party leader and premier since 2009, shuffled Melnick out of cabinet, along with fellow veteran ministers Nancy Allan and

Jim Rondeau Jim Rondeau (born April 6, 1959) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1999 to 2016, and served as cabinet minister in the provincial governments of Gary Doer and Greg Sel ...

. On February 4, 2014, Selinger removed Melnick from the NDP

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

after she claimed she was told to act as a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

for the premier relating to a controversy surrounding invitations issued to a legislative debate. On November 13, 2014, Melnick was readmitted to NDP caucus, but the leadership refused to let her attend caucus meetings. In 2018, Melnick was honoured with the Peter Gzowski Award for her contributions to literacy in Canada.Former MLA shares the magic of reading

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

. February 11, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melnick, Christine 1950 births Living people New Democratic Party of Manitoba MLAs Dalhousie University alumni Women MLAs in Manitoba Members of the Executive Council of Manitoba Politicians from Winnipeg Women government ministers of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba