Cabinet minister Michael Gravelle is temporarily stepping aside from his northern development and mines post to fight depression.
The veteran MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North said Monday that he was diagnosed last year and has been “struggling with a feeling of uneasiness that I have not been able to shake.”
Premier Kathleen Wynne appointed Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro, also from Thunder Bay, to handle the portfolio while Gravelle, who battled cancer in 2012, takes time to heal.
“It takes great courage to speak publicly about mental health challenges. I want to wish Michael Gravelle a speedy and complete recovery,” the premier said in a statement.
“I know that everyone at Queen’s Park will have him in their thoughts and will be rooting for him.”
Gravelle, who began his career at the Legislature in the 1980s as a Liberal political staffer and is well regarded by members of all parties, said it is important to talk “openly” about mental health to reduce stigmas around it.
“I have been grappling with this disease privately,” he wrote in a statement, noting he is stepping aside on the advice of his doctors.
“It has become clear to me that it will take some time, effort, treatment and understanding to properly address this illness,” he added, thanking Wynne for being “fully supportive.”
Gravelle described the fight as “difficult” but expressed optimism “I will be able to treat this and be back to myself in the very near future, fighting for my constituents and all Northern Ontarians.”
Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton), who made her battle with depression public last year, said it was an important step for Gravelle to break the silence on his condition.
“He will feel he won’t have to bear the burden alone or in silence,” she told the Star from her Ottawa riding. “I hope to see him back in fighting form soon.”
“His being open about this will help a lot of people,” she added.
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