Brian Albert Charlton (born May 22, 1947) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1977 to 1995 who represented the riding of Hamilton Mountain. He served as a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae. He serves on the board of directors of a sustainable living non-profit called Green Venture. Background Charlton worked as a property assessor before entering political life. His father, John Charlton, was a candidate for the Ontario NDP in the 1963 provincial election in the riding of Wentworth. His wife Chris Charlton has campaigned for federal, provincial and municipal office numerous times since 1997, being elected in 2006 and re-elected since as Federal NDP Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain. Politics In opposition Charlton ran for the Ontario legislature in the provincial election of 1975, but lost to Progressive Conservative John Smith by 1,667 votes in Hamilton Mountain. He ran again in the 1977 provincial election, and defeated Smith by 373 votes. In 1979, Charlton sponsored a private member's bill that would have given domestic workers the same protection as regular workers including a minimum wage of $3. At the time domestic workers were excluded form such protections as human rights, worker's compensation and minimum pay. The governing Tories killed the bill saying that many people could not afford to pay these workers such a high wage. In 1980, he proposed an affirmative action bill that would have promoted equal pay for women and other job protections. The bill was blocked by the Tories. He was re-elected over Progressive Conservative Duncan Beattie in the 1981 provincial election by 197 votes. He was appointed as the party's environment critic. In 1982, Charlton proposed a bill called the Safe Drinking Water Act that would have protected water sources for human consumption. The bill was never passed but was a forerunner for legislation passed twenty years later in response to the Walkerton Inquiry. Charlton supported Bob Rae for the provincial NDP leadership in 1982. He was re-elected by a greater margin in the 1985 provincial election, and defeated Liberal Jane Milanetti by 1,632 votes in the 1987 election. After the election he was appointed as the party's energy critic. In government The NDP won a majority government in the 1990 provincial election, and Charlton was re-elected by a landslide. After the election he was named