Mary Polak
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The Honourable Mary Polak MLA |
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| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Langley |
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Assumed office May 17, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Lynn Stephens |
| Minister of Environment of British Columbia | |
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Assumed office June 10, 2013 |
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| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Terry Lake |
| Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of British Columbia | |
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In office September 5, 2012 – June 10, 2013 |
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| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Blair Lekstrom |
| Succeeded by | Todd Stone |
| Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation of British Columbia | |
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In office March 14, 2011 – September 5, 2012 |
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| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Barry Penner |
| Succeeded by | Ida Chong |
| Minister of Children and Family Development and Minister Responsible for Child Care of British Columbia | |
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In office June 10, 2009 – March 14, 2011 |
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| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Preceded by | Tom Christensen |
| Succeeded by | Mary McNeil |
| Minister of Healthy Living and Sport of British Columbia | |
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In office June 23, 2008 – June 10, 2009 |
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| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Ida Chong |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health for the Conversation on Health of British Columbia | |
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In office December 19, 2006 – June 23, 2008 |
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| Premier | Gordon Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1967/1968 (age 48–49) |
| Political party | BC Liberal |
| Religion | Roman Catholic [1] |
Mary Polak (born 1967 or 1968) is a Canadian politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) for the riding of Langley. She was re-elected to the B.C. legislature in 2013, having represented the constituents of Langley since 2005 and was appointed Minister of Environment on June 10, 2013 by Premier Christy Clark. Prior to her new cabinet post, she served as the Minister Transportation and Infrastructure, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Minister of Children and Family Development and Minister Responsible for Child Care, Minister of Healthy Living and Sport, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health for the Conversation on Health.Before being elected to the legislative assembly, Polak served as a trustee and former chair of the Surrey School Board in Surrey, British Columbia. She currently resides in Langley, British Columbia.
Polak was recruited to run as a member of the Surrey Electors Team by school trustee Heather Stilwell. As a Trustee on the Surrey School Board, she voted down a request, along with the majority of the school board, to add three specific books dealing with same sex families as recommended learning resources for the kindergarten and grade one curriculum. These books were requested by a kindergarten teacher to reflect the realities of today's families and to teach his pupils about diversity and tolerance. The BC Government also declined to approve the same books.
A legal battle to overturn the decision to ban the three books went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, where the school board's decision was returned to the board. The judgment cited the need for families headed by same-sex couples to be respected. Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin dismissed the school board's argument that children would be confused or misled by classroom information about same-sex parents. The Surrey School Board then approved a different set of books depicting same sex families. In doing so, Surrey became the first school district in BC to approve books depicting same sex families as recommended learning resources for primary grades, including kindergarten.
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