Barry Penner

Early life and career

Born in Kitimat in 1966, Penner has lived most of his life in the eastern Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. He has fought forest fires, spent summers on patrol as a park ranger and worked at a local saw mill.

Penner completed two years at what is now University of the Fraser Valley (formerly Fraser Valley College) and has been named one of their "Top 40" alumni. Penner received a number of academic awards while studying at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby before completing a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Economics. He was then selected for the 1989 British Columbia Legislative Internship Program. While completing a law degree at the University of Victoria, Penner was one of the early participants in the UVic Law Co-operative Education program and worked for a law firm in Bangkok, Thailand in 1991.

Politics

Penner was first elected as a MLA in 1996 (representing the riding of Chilliwack) and was re-elected in 2001 and 2005 (the riding of Chilliwack-Kent) with some of the highest margins of victory in the province. He was re-elected in the 2009 British Columbia general election to represent the reconfigured Chilliwack-Hope constituency (which includes Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs and the Fraser Canyon) with more than 53% of votes cast.

As an elected representative, Penner was an early advocate for expanding the use of Canada's DNA database to help identify, catch and convict violent criminals, and solve cases involving missing persons. He also introduced a motion in the Legislature calling on the BC Government to establish an 'AMBER Alert' system in BC to assist police in safely returning abducted children to their parents. The motion passed in 2003, and the 'AMBER Alert' system became operational in 2004.

Penner became known as an advocate for small-hydro, wind power and other alternative energy sources after helping lead unprecedented community opposition in the Fraser Valley to the proposed Sumas Energy 2 power project.

He has also served as Vice-President and President of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) beginning in June 2001, and for five years was British Columbia's lead representative to the organization which consists of three Provinces, five States and two Territories.

In June 2007, Penner announced he would continue working as a Minister while receiving treatment for leiomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer. During his time in provincial politics, Penner was recognized by Vancouver Magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in British Columbia.

In August 2011, Barry Penner stepped down as Attorney-General but remained as the MLA for Chilliwack-Hope. On November 24, 2011 he told the Legislature that he would resign in early 2012 as he had accepted a position with the national law firm of Davis LLP, where he worked on environmental, energy and First Nations issues. He officially resigned his seat on January 9, 2012. Penner was appointed by the Liberal provincial government as chairman of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia as of March 31, 2016. He served in that position until July 19, 2017, when the BC Liberals lost power.

Personal life

In 2008, Penner married Daris LaPointe, on top of a mountain in Manning Park where they both previously worked as Park Rangers years earlier. They have two daughters, Fintry, named after a Provincial Park on Okanagan Lake and Atlin, named after Atlin Provincial Park in northern British Columbia and that includes Atlin Lake, the largest natural lake in the province.

In May 2014, Penner moved to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) with his family to work for a law firm assisting with inbound investment, particularly in telecommunications and energy. However, he returned with his family to British Columbia when his second child was born. Penner has since established a legal and public affairs advisory practice. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the BC College of Physicians & Surgeons (the oldest self-regulating professional organization in British Columbia) and is on the roster of arbiters for the New West Partnership Trade Agreement between British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.