Another By-Election In Surrey As BC Liberal MLA Stephanie Cadieux Announces She Is Resigning!

NDP has nominated a well known advocate Jeanette Ashe to take on BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon in Vancouver-Quilchena Byelection. On Friday, Premier John Horgan announced the by-election date of April 30th for the seat vacated by former BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson. Ashe and NDP are going hard at Falcon and pointed to his record of making life harder for people as a key factor in her decision to run. Aside from this by-election, there will be another one in Surrey as the sitting BC Liberal MLA MLA Stephanie Cadieux announced that she will be resigning her seat in the Legislature at the end of April. So who will run in the supposed safe Liberal seat? Many rumours say former MLA Dianne Watts may run as she is expected to take a senior organizational role in the Falcon regime, already serving as his campaign co-chair and is expected to be named party president at the June convention. There are also rumours that Falcon’s other campaign co-chair Puneet Sandhar maty run in the seat vacated by Cadieux.

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada

VANCOUVER – NDP has nominated a well known advocate Jeanette Ashe to take on BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon in Vancouver-Quilchena Byelection.

On Friday, Premier John Horgan announced the by-election date of April 30th for the seat vacated by former BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson.

Ashe and NDP are going hard at Falcon and pointed to his record of making life harder for people as a key factor in her decision to run.

Ashe says she’s ready to take on Falcon and shed light on the fact that he’s only looking out for big corporations and the wealthiest British Columbians. 

“In government, Kevin Falcon gave big tax breaks to corporations and the richest 1% of British Columbians while cutting funding for schools and hospitals,” said Ashe. “Now he’s planning new giveaways to profitable corporations and housing speculators, who don’t need it. Kevin Falcon only works for those at the top.”

During her campaign, Ashe, who is chair of the Political Science department at Douglas College, Phd, and an advocate for increasing diversity in government by helping women get elected, plans to highlight the results that John Horgan’s BC NDP government continues to achieve for people since 2017, including: 

*Fixing ICBC and reducing car insurance by $500 a year;

*Investing in schools and better healthcare close to home;

*Reducing childcare fees and creating more spaces; and 

*Building more housing and taking on real estate speculators.

Ashe is an educator and an advocate who has dedicated her professional career to increasing diversity in government by helping women get elected to public office. 

A visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London, and the Chair of the Political Science department at Douglas College, she is a champion for equality, justice, and a better, more inclusive British Columbia. She holds a Ph.D. in Politics and Government. She lives in Vancouver with her husband Kennedy Stewart and their dog Fergus.

Jeanette knows that this pandemic has brought huge challenges and massive change to all our lives. As part of John Horgan’s BC NDP she will fight hard every day for what matters the most to people. That means cutting childcare bills by 50% and funding more childcare spaces in your community, better, faster access to healthcare, and tackling climate change through CleanBC.  

The Vancouver-Quilchena by-election will take place on Saturday April 30. Aside from this by-election, there will be another one in Surrey as the sitting BC Liberal MLA MLA Stephanie Cadieux announced that she will be resigning her seat in the Legislature at the end of April.

“I have been proud to serve the constituents of Surrey in Surrey-Panorama, Surrey-Cloverdale and most recently, Surrey South for the last 13 years. It is with gratitude that I reflect on what has been an immense honour, not only to serve my community as an MLA in both government and opposition, but also my Province as a member of cabinet. This role has been exciting, challenging, and exasperating, often at the same time, but I whole-heartedly believe in our democratic system, and in our collective ability to build a better tomorrow, step-by-step,” Cadieux said Monday in a press release.

“I leave behind a record of service to my community and a legacy as the first woman with a disability to serve in the Legislature and executive council. I am happy to leave that legacy, with high hopes that I will have inspired others to public service.”

So who will run in the supposed safe Liberal seat? Many rumours say former MLA Dianne Watts may run as she is expected to take a senior organizational role in the Falcon regime, already serving as his campaign co-chair and is expected to be named party president at the June convention. There are also rumours that Falcon’s other campaign co-chair Puneet Sandhar may run in the seat vacated by Cadieux.