Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Vernon-Monashee

Year in review: New role with seniors and local investments highlight 2023 for MLA Sandhu

Dec 28, 2023 | 7:30 AM

The MLA for Vernon-Monashee had a lot of highlights to reflect on in 2023.

Speaking with Vernon Matters, Harwinder Sandhu said one of the top accomplishments of her year was being named the Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors Services and Long Term Care in 2023.

“It’s been an excellent journey, a great opportunity to not only talk to seniors and work for them from our constituency, also I’ve been able to go talk to seniors from the Lower Mainland to [Vancouver] Island to different senior centres as well as day centres where they do activities from different, diverse backgrounds,” Sandhu said.

“We had great conversations [about] the great work we’re doing and I was able to develop very good working relationships with Isobelle MacKenzie, senior’s advocate for the province, and we work together very well. It’s been a very rewarding journey and I’m thrilled to share that since I got the portfolio I’ve been able to apply the perspective I bring from my experience in health care, almost two decades, to my work with seniors.”

Sandhu, who was a nurse prior to being elected as MLA in 2020, added she was part of the team developing the Dementia Care Strategy as well as the Care Quality Framework in 2023, but the most exciting part of her new role was working directly with two seniors organizations to help guide the work.

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“One is the Seniors Council where seniors themselves from across the province in different regions, including someone from Vernon, and we meet a few times a year where we discuss ideas and get the guidance to move in the right direction,” Sandhu said.

“And now, very recently, we also created the Council for Senior Family Members. We all know loved ones and family members witness and help seniors directly. We had our first meeting June 20 and [in early December] we had another meeting. Very productive and we’re moving forward together to create initiatives.”

Among that work was creating a 10 year strategy to invest $10-billion in long term care improvements, and a $70-million partnership with United Way to support seniors in their homes.

The local MLA went on to acknowledge that there were challenges people in her riding, and in all of B.C., were facing, such as housing, the cost of living and health care, but said the NDP government was working at resolving those issues and improve services for people in 2023.

Sandhu said the province was making “historic investments” to improve the health care system. She also said work was being done to attract and retain more health care workers and to provide better mental health care to British Columbians, including those living in the North Okanagan.

On the housing front, Sandhu said the province invested in over 100 affordable units in Vernon this past year, played a key role in getting shovels in the ground for the first student housing project at the Okanagan College Vernon campus, and that the Growing Communities Fund’s one time grant provided municipalities, including Vernon and the Regional District of North Okanagan, with funding to undertake key infrastructure upgrades and projects.

Child care was also a key point for 2023, with Sandhu saying investments led to the opening of hundreds of affordable child care spaces for British Columbians and work was ongoing to provide even more of those spaces.

Environmental work and investing in communities to be prepared for natural disasters was another key point the MLA reflected on from the year.

“We’ve done so much this year through the advocacy, government’s work, and putting serious money into our constituency,” Sandhu told Vernon Matters, noting several ministers and the Premier visited the riding through the year to meet with residents, business owners, and stakeholders to learn more about the riding and what work was required to meet the local needs.

“Our riding has been highlighted very well and my colleagues know the priorities and we’ll continue to invest and make sure people have the best community to live.”