Richard Lee
Vancouver 49° 15' 39.14" N, 123° 6' 50.23" W Politics Person
Richard T. Lee was first elected as the MLA for the riding of Burnaby North in 2001 and was re-elected in May 2005 and 2009. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Asia-Pacific on September 26, 2011.
Currently, Richard also serves as member of the Cabinet Committee on Open Government and Engagement, the Legislative Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth, LSSC on Health and LSSC on Legislative Initiatives.
Previously, Richard served as Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism (2011) and Parliamentary Secretary for the Asia-Pacific Initiative (2005-2011), Vice Chair of the Legislative Special Committee to Appoint a Merit Commissioner and Chair of Government Caucus Asian Economic Development Committee.
He was also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Climate Action and Clean Energy, the Legislative Select Standing Committee on Education, the LSSC on Public Accounts, the LSSC on Finance and Government Services, the Legislative Special Committee to Review the Police Complaint Process, the LSC to Appoint a Police Complaint Commissioner, the Government Caucus Committee on Economy and Government Operations and the GCC on Multiculturalism and Diversity.
Before being elected to the Legislature, Richard was a programmer analyst at TRIUMF, Canada’s national particle research facility. In 1976 he earned a Combined Honours Bachelor of Science degree from UBC in physics and mathematics, and in 1980 a Masters of Science from UBC in Applied Mathematics. While studying, Richard worked as a research assistant from 1975 to 1977 and then as a teaching assistant from 1977 to 1979 with the Department of Mathematics at UBC. From 1979 to 1982 he worked as a programmer at TRIUMF and in 1982 became a programmer analyst. Richard attended the United States Particle Accelerator School at Berkeley in 1989 and once again in 1990 at Harvard University.
Richard’s community service included: British Columbia Heritage Language Association director; Burnaby District Parents’ Advisory Council member, Burnaby Chinese Parents Association vice-president; Burnaby Multicultural Society director; Burnaby Voters Non-Partisan Association director and Civic Education Society director.
In 1971, Richard moved to British Columbia, where his grandfather settled in 1913. He and his wife Anne married in 1986 and have lived in Burnaby since then. They have three children.