Horgan targets crime, gang violence
B.C.’s NDP leader says there needs to be financial support to address concerns in Surrey
The B.C. NDP are making it clear that Surrey will be a key battleground in this year’s election, beating the Liberals to the punch with a campaign promise targeting crime and gang violence in the city.
Opposition leader John Horgan pledged Monday to give ongoing financial support for a program that provides at-risk kids with mentorship at school and with police officers. He promised that an NDP government would provide $500,000 a year for Surrey’s Wraparound program, a partnership between the Surrey School District, RCMP and the City of Surrey.
“That’s the least that we can do ... to start our way out of the violence that we’ve seen in this community for so long,” Horgan told reporters Monday, saying that teachers and other mentors helped get him on the right path when he was a troubled teen. “There’s not one quick solution to this problem, but starting by making sure we’re stemming the flow of kids into the gang life is the way you squeeze this out.”
He spoke in front of Fleetwood Park secondary, inside the Surrey-Fleetwood riding, where New Democrat Jagrup Brar lost his seat to Liberal Peter Fassbender by just 200 votes in the last election. Brar started campaigning months ago to retake his seat and was front and centre at Monday’s announcement, telling reporters that public safety is a key concern for the riding.
“People are really concerned with ongoing street shooting and killing. They’re concerned the young kids are becoming victims to drug gangs because they don’t have the support they deserve,” Brar said.
Just last week, 29-year-old Birinderjeet Justin Bhangu was gunned down while parked in an SUV outside the Comfort Inn on Fraser Highway.
Transit, traffic and education are also shaping up to be key issues in Surrey during this campaign. In January, Education Minister Mike Bernier pledged $217 million to build new schools and additions in the overcrowded district, an infusion that he described as “the single largest investment in a school district in recent memory.”
As the two parties ramp up their campaigns, the NDP are hoping to gain some of the ground lost in the 2013 election, and improve on their three seats in the province’s second-largest city.
“I think that we are going to win and increase our seats in Surrey. I’m confident of that,” Horgan said.
Riding boundaries have shifted in the city ahead of the 2017 election, and a ninth riding has opened up in the community. The battle for Surrey South will see Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux facing off against realtor Jonathan Silveira, who ran an unsuccessful campaign to become a Surrey school trustee in the 2014 municipal election.
Technology Minister Amrik Virk may also be up for a tougher fight in Surrey-Guildford thanks to the change in boundaries. He’s facing retired RCMP inspector Garry Begg, who also spoke Monday in support of the NDP’s approach to crime.