NDP candidate for Vernon-Monashee has health care on her agenda

Sep 29, 2020 | 12:29 PM

Harwinder Sandhu, a nurse at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, is the B.C. NDP candidate for Vernon-Monashee.

Sandhu said running in the provincial election is a natural extension of the work she is currently doing at Vernon Jubilee.

“When deciding to run, I had to ask myself ‘Do I try to improve health care by working at the hospital or should I go to Victoria to join John Horgan’s government and work for better health care for all British Columbians?’” Sandhu said.

“As a patient care coordinator in one of the COVID wards at the hospital, I am well aware that the NDP government has earned top marks for how it handled the pandemic,” she said. “I’m eager to join the team to do my part.”

As part of her role as a regional lobby coordinator for the B.C. Nurses Union, she addressed a number of issues pertinent to health care, including patient safety and the safety of health care workers, given the violence and trauma they are exposed to on a daily basis.

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Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson has indicated he will cut taxes which Sandhu said can only lead to more service cuts.

“Our local Liberal MLA, Mr. Foster, was one of the few elected officials who couldn’t spare even 15 minutes of his time over the past four years to hear our concerns, despite the multiple calls and emails I sent as both a nurse and constituent,” Sandhu said.

No stranger to politics, Sandhu last ran for the NDP in the federal riding of North Okanagan-Shuswap. She also ran in the 2017 B.C. election in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding.

“She has a history here of community advocacy through the BCNU, with various charities such as the Vernon Food Bank, Sock it to Poverty, Coldest Night of the Year, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Other issues that dominate her concerns are decent wages, the environment and especially clean water, climate change and support for small business,” a release from the NDP said.

“I know the John Horgan government that all along, has listened to science, will continue to protect our province through COVID-19 and will look out for me and my family as the economy recovers,” Sandhu said.

by Pete McIntyre

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