The new government was sworn in November 5, 1991. The Harcourt Cabinet included a then-record seven women in roles that Premier said “will be in charge of 80 per cent of the budget of B.C.” A separate ministry of women’s equality under newly elected Surrey MLA Penny Priddy was also established, following a promise that the NDP had made in 1988. With that, for the first time ever, gender-equity analysis became a requirement for all new government policies. Additionally, Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Elizabeth Cull was named BC’s first female health minister (and two years later was appointed BC’s first female finance minister). In all, Denise Helm of the Victoria Times Colonist summed things up nicely by writing that “B.C. women gained unprecedented political clout” in the Harcourt government. Finally, Harcourt appointed the first Indo-Canadian cabinet minister in Canada, Moe Sihota.
A diverse Cabinet
