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VICTORIA — B.C. Finance Minister Carole James says she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and will not seek re-election next year.

James says she plans to remain in her posts as finance minister and deputy premier for as long as she is able to.

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James was first elected in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill in 2005 and went on to become the party’s leader from May 2005 to December 2010.

She was appointed finance minister after the NDP formed government 2 1/2 years ago.

Before entering politics, she was president of the B.C. School Trustees Association as she served on the Greater Victoria School Board.

Her legislature biography says she also worked as the director of Child and Family Services for Carrier Sekani Family Services in Prince George.

James is married to Albert Gerow, a First Nations artist and elected chief of the Burns Lake First Nation. The couple have two children and two grandchildren.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2020.