Former B.C. New Democrat member of the legislature Dan Coulter dead at 49

Dan Coulter, a former member of British Columbia's legislature and a New Democrat cabinet minister, has died at age 49.

The BC New Democratic Party says in a statement that Coulter was a "devoted advocate" for the people of B.C.

The party says Coulter "always championed the underdog," citing his work in the legislature after his election in Chilliwack in 2020, his former role of chair of the Chilliwack school board and as the Parliamentary secretary for accessibility and minister of state for infrastructure and transit.

The party's provincial director Heather Stoutenburg said last week in a statement that Coulter had "experienced a serious medical emergency" and was being treated in hospital.

The party says a private service will be held for Coulter on Saturday and a local public service will be held in Chilliwack on Jan. 11.

The party says that Coulter, who lost his bid for re-election in the October provincial election, was "the very best of us," and it extends its "deepest condolences to his family, friends and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him."

It says that instead of flowers, his family has asked that donations go to the Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Advocacy Association, Chilliwack Bowls of Hope Society, and the BC SPCA.

"To those of us who knew him, Dan was so much more than a colleague — he was a friend and a mentor," the statement says. "He was smart, funny, thoughtful and honest. But above all things, he was kind."