Written by By Elisa Oberti, CNN
British-born Canadian Prime Minister Theresa May has just scored her most famous public victory yet: she’s managed to fix Britain’s embattled Brexit deal so that Parliament can vote on it for the first time on October 18.
Perhaps she should avoid making headlines now: her former boss, backbench British Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, has failed to persuade the UK Parliament to accept May’s Brexit deal, throwing the process into chaos for the second time in less than a year.
And now even Canada’s PM John Horgan has been caught up in the Brexit fiasco.
The 42-year-old, who became Canadian Prime Minister in a snap election last year, is currently undergoing surgery after being diagnosed with an inoperable growth in his throat, a tumor that was found in his biopsy.
“I wish to thank my family and the experts at the University of British Columbia who performed the biopsy, and, more importantly, those colleagues who have offered the support and concern that I have received over these last weeks,” Horgan said in a statement.
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“I look forward to returning to the work of premiering our government’s progressive agenda, delivering on my commitments, protecting the environment and ensuring the prosperity of the people of British Columbia,” he added.
It’s not clear whether Horgan will be able to return to office after surgery, which is expected to take place on Tuesday. He remains on doctor’s orders to refrain from speaking publicly for the next month and a half, his office said.
B.C. Premier John Horgan said he will undergo surgery this week for an inoperable growth in his throat. Credit: Courtesy BC government
Horgan is serving his first term as premier after becoming the leader of the B.C. New Democratic Party (NDP) in a much-contested election in 2017.
His party unseated the long-serving and wildly popular B.C. Liberal Party. Horgan, along with First Nations leaders, vowed to serve all British Columbians in a bid to woo voters in the province’s increasingly diverse and urbanized population.
Story originally published at CNN.
