A whirlwind month has come and gone for Harwinder Sandhu, and she is now ready to get to work once again.
The newly re-elected MLA for the Vernon-Lumby riding has acknowledged that the past few weeks have been "challenging."
"Former Premier John Horgan passed away, along with former colleague and minister, Dan Coulter, so it was one after another," Sandhu said. "But work continues, and we hope that 2025 will be a kinder year for everyone."
New for Sandhu this term is the riding's boundary, as Coldstream is no longer under her constituency. The 91大黄鸭-Lake Country-Coldstream electoral district is represented by Conservative Tara Armstrong.
"My office is getting tons of emails and calls from Coldstream residents, who are people I had been serving and helping the last four years," Sandhu said. "We were able to contact (Tara) Armstrong's staff and we were able to build a plan to navigate this and offer them more time to familiarize themselves with the casework. We have sorted out what we needed to do, and my willingness to work with all MLAs across party lines, in my eyes, produces better results for people."
As part of Premier David Eby's new cabinet, Sandhu was named the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, an apt fit, considering she grew up on a farm.
"I come from a multi-generational farming family so this is something very near and dear to me," she said. "The goal is always to support the agricultural sector, and we are aware of the current challenges like climate change, food inflation and rising costs. This portfolio entails so much and we are focused on finding ways to best support the sector."
Sandhu sees housing, health care, and affordability as the three main issues within the North Okanagan community, acknowledging that they are "intertwined."
"We will continue to address the housing challenges, and we are always advocating for more affordable homes in the riding," Sandhu explained. "Affordable child care, we have made significant strides as well, but it is all intertwined with affordability, housing and health care. We are also addressing mental health challenges as we bring projects to the finish line."
Those projects include the and funding for , which Sandhu touted.
"Bringing these projects to completion helps to fill the gaps in the health care sector, along with supporting the backbone of the sector, the nurses, doctors and all health care professionals."
So far, Sandhu has been happy with the positive feedback she has received since being re-elected.
"It was heartwarming to see how grateful and how welcoming people are. We are building on the progress we have made so far in my last term, and addressing the gaps that still exist is the key," Sandhu said.
"There are challenges, but those with different political stripes have acknowledged that I have been there. I always want to be better and I can only do that by continuing to be accessible, approachable and be there on the ground."
