Thursday, May 19, 2011

MLA: Hon. Bill Barisoff - Speaker of the House - Penticton

Father, thank you for MLA Hon. Bill Barisoff. We are thankful for his faithful service as Speaker of the House for British Columbia. We thank you for the servant’s heart that you have given to him. We ask that you would lead him and guide him in the decisions that he makes and that he has clarity in all the situations and needs that come across his desk. We speak blessings over him and his family. Amen


Bill Barisoff was first elected Speaker on September 12, 2005, and re-elected to this position on August 25, 2009. He also served as Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection and Minister of Provincial Revenue.

Mr. Barisoff previously held a variety of critic roles for the Official Opposition, including agriculture, transportation and highways and aboriginal affairs. He served on the province's Motor Carrier Commission and was a member of the Select Standing Committees on Aboriginal Affairs and on Agriculture.

He was first elected in 1996 to represent the riding of Okanagan-Boundary and was re-elected in 2001 and in 2005 as the Member for Penticton-Okanagan Valley. In 2009 he was re-elected as the Member for Penticton.

Bill, who was born and raised in Oliver, owned a trucking firm before his election to the Legislative Assembly.

He served as a school trustee for 18 years, including eight as chair of the Southern Okanagan school board; was a volunteer firefighter in Oliver for over 25 years; and sat on the Okanagan Labour Relations Council. He was also chair of the Oliver Recreation Commission for one year.

Bill and Edna Barisoff live in Oliver. Their family includes sons Glen, his wife Hilary, and grand-son Benjamin Charles; Michael; Darren, his wife Eliza, and grand-daughter Kayla Ramos Barisoff.

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