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Tributes from across the political spectrum poured in following the death of veteran politician Jack Weisgerber, a former Social Credit cabinet minister and northern BC MLA.
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Weisgerber died at the age of 81 on Friday, his family by his side in North Vancouver. Weisgerber represented Peace River South in the BC legislature from 1986 to 2001.
“Jack Weisgerber dedicated much of his life to serving British Columbians,” Premier John Horgan wrote on Twitter Saturday.
Weisgerber was first elected in 1986 under the Social Credit party. He has served in several cabinet positions including minister of energy, mines and petroleum resources and BC’s first minister of native affairs.
“This position was very important to him as he fostered relationships between the First Nations community and the government,” his family wrote in an obituary.
In the 1991 provincial election, during which the Social Credit party collapsed, Weisgerber was one of only seven SoCreds to keep his seat. He served as the party’s interim leader after Rita Johnston — who replaced Bill Vander Zalm following his conflict of interest scandal — lost her seat in the election.
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He left the party to lead the BC Reform party and won election under that banner in 1996. Weisgerber left politics in 2001 and was tapped by former premier Gordon Campbell to serve on the BC Hydro board and as a commissioner to the British Columbia Treaty Commission.
Former premier Christy Clark wrote on Twitter that she remembers Weisgerber’s “Great smile, a laugh that rumbled up from deep inside, kind, sparkling eyes, a genuine interest in everyone he met.” She said he was an unselfish and deeply principled man “who loved every inch of our province.”
BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon said on Twitter Weisgerber “leaves behind a legacy of service and commitment to our province.”
Born in Barrhead, Alberta, in 1940, John Sylvester Weisgerber married Judith in 1962 and the couple had two daughters, Joanne and Pamela. The family moved from Alberta to Dawson Creek in the early 1970s where Weisgerber ran a small business and was active in the community.
His family said in his obituary that after retirement, Weisgerber and Judy became snowbirds, filling their time with playing pool, shuffleboard, lawn bowling, poker and going for hikes.