39th Parliament Members
at dissolution on April 16, 2013

MLA: John Rustad Nechako Lakes Elected: 2005, 2009 BRITISH COLUMBIA LIBERAL PARTY

John Rustad was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Forestry to the Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations on September 5, 2012.

He was re-elected to represent Nechako Lakes on May 12, 2009, and was previously elected as MLA for the riding of Prince George-Omineca in the 2005 provincial election.

John currently co-chairs the Farm Assessment Review Panel and has chaired the Special Committee on Timber Supply, the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations, the Special Committee to Appoint a Police Complaint Commissioner and the Government Caucus Committee on Social Development. He is a current member of the Select Standing Committee on Health, and has also been a member of the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth, the Select Standing Committee on Education, the Selection Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, and the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

Since 2005, John has chaired the Northern Caucus of B.C. and has toured extensively throughout the North to listen and bring forward issues that affect those communities. He is also a chair of B.C.’s Outdoor Caucus and government representative to PNWER (Pacific Northwest Economic Region).

Born and raised in Prince George, John has worked in the forest industry for more than 20 years. He formed Western Geographic Information Systems Inc. in 1995, offering a consulting service to the forest industry. Previously he was the Geographic Information Systems department manager for Timberline Forest Inventory Consultants in Prince George. John also owns a woodlot license and has been involved in land development projects.

Elected as a school trustee in 2002, John has worked on innovative projects throughout the district, including the South Fort George Family Resource Centre, a project designed to combine social services from a variety of agencies. John also championed the renovation and expansion of the College Heights Secondary School (CHSS) through a self-financed project, and advocated for the new Trade and Technical Program of Excellence for Grade 10-12 students and the Healthy Choices Committee designed to promote healthy choices in diet and exercise within schools.

John and his wife Kim were married in 1995. John is an avid soccer player and he and Kim enjoy theatre, golf, skiing, and the outdoors.