Eileen Clarke, who quit cabinet over a Manitoba premier's comments, plans to retire

A Manitoba politician who resigned from cabinet over controversial remarks by former premier Brian Pallister says she is planning to retire.

A Manitoba politician who resigned from cabinet over controversial remarks by former premier Brian Pallister says she is planning to retire.

   Eileen Clarke, 68, said Sunday she will serve out her term but will not seek re-election when the next vote -- currently scheduled for Oct. 3 of next year -- is held.

   "It's a very full life. I find most weeks, I work seven days a week, and there comes a time when one has to think about the future," Clarke said.

   "I just feel that I have to look at life from a different side other than full-scale work."

   Splitting time between her rural Agassiz constituency and her duties in Winnipeg has also been demanding, she added.

   Clarke resigned from the Indigenous relations portfolio last year, days after Pallister made controversial remarks about Canadian history.

   Pallister condemned the actions of demonstrators who had toppled two statues on the legislature grounds to protest the deaths of Indigenous children at residential schools.