B.C. ELECTION 2017:
Campaigns converge colourfully in Vancouver as Liberal and NDP leaders attend Vaisakhi celebration
The Vancouver Vaisakhi celebration brought many thousands of British Columbians to the same temple Saturday — including B.C.’s Liberal and NDP leaders, who first crossed paths after kicking off their campaigns earlier this week.
B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark and B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan both attended the celebration and parade in South Vancouver, flanked by local candidates and supporters from the Sikh community.
With their branded tour buses parked across the street, both leaders and staff kept their distance from each other, but supporters wearing Liberal or NDP buttons mingled at the event.
Vaisakhi, which fell on Friday this year, marks the birth the Khalsa — the Sikh brotherhood — and pays tribute to the start of the Punjabi harvest.
Malkiat Dhami, president of the Khalsa Diwan Society, said the event has grown beyond a celebration for B.C.’s Indo-Canadian community and said organizers are noticing more non-Indo-Canadian people revelling in its festival atmosphere and tasty food.
Dhami couldn’t confirm attendance by Saturday afternoon, but said it felt like the crowd was even bigger than the approximately 125,000-150,000 people who showed up last year. He praised the hard work of volunteers and organizers who helped the event thrive in its 39th year.
Asked whether the presence of Clark and Horgan changed the nature of this year’s celebration, Dhami said politicians always like to come, no matter what party or level of government.
“Sometimes people are mistaken — they say, ‘Maybe it’s an election year,’” Dhami said.
“It gives them the platform to say whatever they want to say to the congregation. They’re seeking help from the people. It’s good for them, it’s good for us.”
At the Ross Street Temple event, Clark mostly kept politics out of her speech.
In the parking lot outside, she appeared to randomly meet Avneet Gill, an 11-year-old girl who asked for a picture. Clark obliged, inviting Gill to sit with her inside the temple and stand with her during her speech.
“She reminds me of why we all work so hard every day,” Clark said at the podium, alongside Gill. “All of us, whatever party we come from, whatever community we come from, wherever we come from in the world, we are here in British Columbia, we have chosen this beautiful place because we want something better for our kids, kids like Avneet.”
Clark said that’s one reason why her government provided a grant recently to help the Khalsa Diwan Society rebuild its kitchen after a fire. The kitchen serves 500 people daily, of all faiths, seven days a week.
She then left the temple to meet members of the Sikh community, but not before saying goodbye to Gill outside — telling her that she thinks she’d be an excellent premier of the province when she grows up and giving her a hug.
It was Horgan’s second South Vancouver trip in as many days, after he visited supporters Friday at a dim sum restaurant and spoke about affordability — one of three focuses of the B.C. NDP’s platform, which was released Thursday.
At the Vaisakhi celebration, Horgan took photos with attendees, spoke a bit of Punjabi and sampled from the abundant spread of curries and sweets offered by local businesses and families, before he helped kick off the parade at 11 a.m.
In a short speech at the event, Horgan offered warm words about the inclusiveness demonstrated by the Sikh faith, which he said shares many of the fundamental tenets of his party.
“It’s great to feel the power at this time of year in British Columbia and around the world,” Horgan said.
“We have Passover, we have Easter, we have Vaisakhi, and it’s all happening in British Columbia, it’s all happening in Vancouver — with love and harmony and togetherness.”
Horgan brought up his platform’s promise to re-establish the B.C. Human Rights Commission, which was abolished by the B.C. Liberal government in 2003, making B.C. the only province without one.
Horgan said it would be brought back to help educate the intolerant and combat discrimination in B.C.
Outside the temple, Clark briefly made herself available to the media. She said human rights must be protected in B.C., referencing existing anti-bullying programs in schools and recent legal amendments to enshrine specific protection for transgender people in human rights legislation.
Clark said the most important thing to her is creating a society that offers equality, respect and prosperity.
“And so we’re going to work toward that, so there are fewer people marginalized and more people who are able to fully participate in our society,” she said.
Vaisakhi celebrations will continue next Saturday in Surrey, where a parade will begin around 9 a.m. at the Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar at 12885 85th Ave. Last year the event drew around 350,000 people.
Voters go to the polls for the provincial election on May 9.