Mel Pickings

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1926–2019)}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

|honorific-prefix=The Honourable

|honorific-suffix= ECNS

| name = Mel Pickings

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|08|19}}

| birth_place = Halifax, Nova Scotia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|02|01|1926|08|19}}

| death_place =

| residence = Bridgewater, Nova Scotia

| office = MLA for Lunenburg West

| term_start = 1978

| term_end = 1988

| predecessor = Maurice DeLory

| successor = Marie Dechman

| party = Progressive Conservative

| occupation =

}}

Milne Charles "Mel" Pickings (August 19, 1926 – February 1, 2019) was a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Lunenburg West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1978 to 1988. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.{{cite web|url=https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/constituencies/pdfs/lunenburg%20west.pdf|title=Electoral History for Lunenburg West|publisher=Nova Scotia Legislative Library|accessdate=2018-04-23}}

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1926{{cite book|last1=Elliott|first1=Shirley B.|title=The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758–1983 : a biographical directory|url=https://archive.org/details/legislativeassem0000unse/page/176|accessdate=2018-04-23|year=1984|publisher=Public Archives of Nova Scotia|isbn=0-88871-050-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/legislativeassem0000unse/page/176 176]}} Pickings entered provincial politics in the 1978 election, defeating Liberal incumbent Maurice DeLory by 1116 votes in the Lunenburg West riding.{{cite web|url=http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201978.pdf|title=Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1978|publisher=Elections Nova Scotia|year=1978|accessdate=2014-11-11}} He was re-elected in the 1981 election.{{cite web|url=http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201981.pdf |title=Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1981 |publisher=Elections Nova Scotia |year=1981 |accessdate=2014-11-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310212300/http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201981.pdf |archivedate=2014-03-10 }} On November 9, 1983, Pickings was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister responsible for the Emergency Measures Organization, and Minister responsible for the Purchasing Act. He was re-elected in the 1984 election.{{cite web|url=http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201984.pdf |title=Returns of General Election for the House of Assembly 1984 |publisher=Elections Nova Scotia |year=1984 |accessdate=2014-11-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021932/http://electionsnovascotia.ca/sites/default/files/General%20Election%201984.pdf |archivedate=2013-10-05 }} In November 1985, Pickings was named Minister of Housing.{{cite news|title=Minister quits on eve of cabinet swearing-in|work=The Globe and Mail|date=November 27, 1967}} On July 21, 1988, Pickings resigned from cabinet and announced he was not running in the next election.{{cite news|title=Resignations add to election speculation in Nova Scotia|work=The Globe and Mail|date=July 22, 1988}}

Pickings died on February 1, 2019.{{cite web|url=http://www.ckbw.ca/news/554679307/former-pc-mla-remembered-party-leader-colleague|title=Former PC MLA Pickings passes away|publisher=CKBW|date=February 4, 2019|accessdate=2019-02-10}}