Pat Pimm has never backed down from a fight and British Columbia鈥檚 agriculture minister says he doesn鈥檛 intend to shy away from what could be the biggest battle of his life after being diagnosed with colon cancer.
Pimm, 56, said Wednesday he is scheduled to undergo surgery Jan. 21 at the hospital in Grande Prairie, Alta., which is close to his home and family in northeast B.C.
The Peace River North MLA said he plans to continue with his regular duties as the minister and representative for the Fort St. John area until the end of this week, and hopes to get back to work as soon as possible after his surgery.
鈥淚鈥檓 continuing on,鈥� said Pimm.
鈥淚鈥檝e got appointments through the end of the day on Friday. I鈥檓 feeling great, so as far as the workload goes, I鈥檒l be down for a few days and once I get everything up and get through the period and get out of the hospital then we鈥檒l just work day-by-day from that point on.鈥�
Pimm said he told Premier Christy Clark and his cabinet colleagues about his diagnosis when cabinet met in 91原创 on Wednesday.
He said he plans to battle the cancer diagnosis and expects to make a full and speedy recovery.
鈥淪ometimes I鈥檝e been called a little bull-headed or stubborn, whatever word you want to use, but I鈥檓 taking this on as another one of those fights,鈥� he said.
鈥淚鈥檝e never shied away from a fight and this is just another one that I鈥檓 going to take on and we鈥檙e going to deal with it head on. We鈥檙e going to beat this thing.鈥�
Pimm said he was feeling uncomfortable late last year and a series of medical tests recently discovered the cancer.
Last November, Pimm鈥檚 political decision-making was under the glare of the Opposition New Democrats and the media for his involvement in a decision to target the removal of 70-hectares of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve in his riding. The land removal resulted in a constituent developing a rodeo grounds.
Documents were also leaked that indicated some of the powers of the Crown鈥檚 agricultural land commission could be handed to the Oil and Gas Commission.
The government said afterwards that the proposal was old and the idea to move the land commission was rejected.
The NDP said Pimm was attempting to interfere in a land commission decision, and then came up with a 鈥渟ecret plan鈥� to dismantle the land reserve.
Last December, Pimm wrote to B.C.鈥檚 Conflict Commissioner Paul Fraser and asked him to provide advice to all B.C. MLAs about situations where their duties collide with the independent commission that protects farmland.
Premier Christy Clark did not respond earlier to questions about whether Pimm should step down from cabinet while the conflict issue is reviewed.
Pimm, a long-term Fort St. John city councillor, was first elected to the legislature in 2009 and re-elected in 2013.
Last August, 91原创 Hastings New Democrat Shane Simpson underwent surgery to remove a colon tumour. He made a full recovery.
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