Honourable
John van Dongen
Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations
John van
Dongen was appointed Minister of State for Intergovernmental
Relations on June 16, 2005.
He previously
served as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.
Mr. van Dongen
also previously served as agriculture and fisheries critic for
the Official Opposition. He sat on the Select Standing Committees
on Agriculture and Fisheries and on Crown Corporations, as well
as the Official Opposition Caucus Committee on Children.
He was first
elected in 1995 in a by-election to represent the riding of Abbotsford
and was re-elected in 1996. He was elected to the Abbotsford-Clayburn
riding in 2001.
Before his
election to the Legislative Assembly, Mr. van Dongen operated
a dairy farm in Abbotsford. He studied agricultural economics
at the University of British Columbia.
Mr. van Dongen
was involved in farm organizations and businesses for almost two
decades. He was on the board of directors of the B.C. Dairy Foundation,
Agrifoods International Co-operative (Dairyland) and the B.C.
Federation of Dairymen's Association and was a member of the Federal
Farm Debt Review Board.
He was also
chair of the building and finance committee of St. Joseph's Church
in Mission.
John van Dongen
is married, lives in Abbotsford and has two children.