Sindi Hawkins

Satinder Kaur "Sindi" Hawkins (née Ahluwalia) (September 15, 1958 – September 21, 2010)[1] was a Canadian politician, who was the British Columbia Liberal Party MLA for Okanagan West from 1996 to 2001 and Kelowna-Mission from 2001 to 2009.

Sindi Hawkins
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Kelowna-Mission
Okanagan West (1996-2001)
In office
May 28, 1996 – May 12, 2009
Preceded byCliff Serwa
Succeeded bySteve Thomson
Minister of Health Planning of British Columbia
In office
June 5, 2001 – January 26, 2004
PremierGordon Campbell
Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations of British Columbia
In office
January 26, 2004 – June 16, 2005
PremierGordon Campbell
Preceded byGreg Halsey-Brandt
Succeeded byJohn van Dongen
Personal details
Born(1958-09-15)September 15, 1958
New Delhi, India
DiedSeptember 21, 2010(2010-09-21) (aged 52)
Calgary, Alberta
Political partyBC Liberal
Residence(s)Kelowna, British Columbia
Occupationnurse

Career

Before being elected to provincial office, Hawkins was a registered nurse in general duty, intensive care, management, education and consulting. She held a post-graduate certificate in neuroscience nursing from the Montreal Neurological Hospital. She was recognized as one of the first nurses in Canada to be certified in neuroscience nursing by the Canadian Nurses Association. Hawkins then earned a law degree from the University of Calgary and set up her own company as a lawyer with an interest in medical-legal issues.

Hawkins was first elected in 1996 and was re-elected in 2001 and 2005. She served as Minister of Health Planning and as Minister of State for Intergovernmental Relations. As Minister of Health Planning, she was responsible for a long-term strategy to train more doctors and nurses in British Columbia. As a result of this planning, B.C. has added medical school campuses at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, the University of Victoria, and at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna. The B.C. Liberal government has also expanded the number of nurses being trained around the province.

Personal life

In 2004, Hawkins was diagnosed with leukemia and waged a high-profile battle with the illness. She was saved as a result of a bone marrow transplant from her sister. Hawkins campaigned for cancer research and bone marrow donation awareness.[2] On November 17, 2008, Hawkins announced that she would not run for re-election.[3]

She died from leukemia on September 21, 2010, a week after her 52nd birthday.[4]

In her honour, the cancer centre in Kelowna, BC was renamed the BC Cancer Agency Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre for the Southern Interior.[5]

References
  1. "Women MLAs in British Columbia" Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine. Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
  2. "Mother grateful for bone marrow gift" Archived 2009-08-17 at the Wayback Machine. Vancouver Sun, May 11, 2006.
  3. "Sindi Hawkins retires" Archived 2012-11-05 at the Wayback Machine. Vancouver Sun, November 18, 2008.
  4. "Former Liberal MLA Sindi Hawkins loses cancer battle". Vancouver Sun. September 21, 2010. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  5. "Kelowna Cancer Centre Gets new Name". French Tribune. October 15, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
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