The first of a series: Starting Sept. 25 and for the next five print editions, The Leader will shine a spotlight on candidates in each of this area’s six federal ridings: Surrey-Newton, Fleetwood-Port Kells, Surrey-Centre, Cloverdale-Langley City, South Surrey-White Rock and Delta. The stories can also be read online at surreyleader.com
Few places in Surrey can claim crime as an issue with the same authority as Newton.
The community has been embattled with a level of violent crime the likes of which has been seen nowhere else in the city.
From the brutal murder of a hockey mom outside a civic arena in 2013, to multiple mid-day gun fights between two groups warring for drug turf in recent months – Newton has seen it all.
It’s no surprise that candidates heading into this upcoming federal election see public safety as the most important issue facing the riding of Surrey-Newton.
Conservative candidate for Surrey-Newton Harpreet Singh says crime is far and away the top issue being discussed on the doorstep. The 47-year-old radio and TV host says he’s been to more than 18,000 homes in the riding.
“Prevention of crime is on everybody’s list,” Singh says. “Especially the increasing use of drugs.”
Singh says he would take a three-pronged approach to solving the problem in Newton.
More police officers are coming, he notes, adding that out of the 100 officers requested by Surrey this year, “43 are on the ground.”
He would also initiate additional education programs for parents and youth.
“And the third prong is going to be involving the community in decision making,” Singh says. “I’m going to divide this riding into four parts, and each two months we will have town hall meetings.”
Singh says the number-two issue in the riding is “integration.”
Surrey is growing at a breakneck pace and people of all nationalities are being added to the mix.
He says that while multicultural programs exist, most new immigrants remain clustered amongst themselves, rather than mixing with others of different nationalities.
“We are living in our own cocoons,” Singh says. “We are not integrating in the community.”
Multicultural societies which receive federal funding could better be serving their expressed purpose, he believes.
“These groups, which claim to be representing different ethnic groups, they get funding from the government but they just spend it on their own.”
Singh vows he would ensure that funding received would not just be spent on one ethnic group, but would be used to help people of different ethnic origins get to know one another.
Separation breeds fear, he says, causing some to act out. If fear is reduced, he reasons, crime would drop.
The economy is also high on people’s minds, according to those banging on doors looking for votes.
Singh says the Conservatives are doing well at responding to the global economic downturn.
Locally, Singh wants to organize meetings between youth and elders, where the latter can help younger people with their trades.
“We hear that our youngsters are not getting good jobs,” he says. “My office will be a hub, where we will be guiding the youngsters… let’s work together with the elders who have the experience and try to create jobs.”
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Liberal candidate Sukh Dhaliwal agrees with Singh that crime is the number-one issue in the riding.
“Newton has been one of the hardest-hit communities as far as safety and security on the streets is concerned,” Dhaliwal says. “Every day we see a shooting going on.”
The 55-year-old engineer and surveyor says he would ensure delivery of the 100 officers requested by Surrey by this time next year.
“My first priority will be to see that Surrey gets 100 officers,” Dhaliwal says. “I have to make sure we can deliver – that this is not just the talk.”
He also believes courts need to focus on those who are causing the real trouble on our streets.
“We’ve got to lock up the real criminals, not the first-time minor crimes… those that pose little safety risk to the society.”
Dhaliwal, who lives just outside the riding, was the Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2011 in Newton-North Delta (the riding before the boundaries were re-drawn).
“My record on crime is pretty clear. It doesn’t matter which party brought in a bill on crime, I always supported that bill,” Dhaliwal says.
He also plans to bolster funding for community-based programming that would keep kids away from criminal activity.
As for the city’s rapid growth, Dhaliwal says the federal government needs to do more, including delivering funds for Surrey’s LRT (Light Rail Transit) project.
The Liberals are promising $125 billion for transportation over the next 10 years, with $20 billion of that earmarked specifically for public transit.
“That is going to benefit municipalities like Surrey right away,” Dhaliwal says.
Noting there are 170,000 fewer younger people (aged 25 years or younger) working today in Canada than prior to 2008, Dhaliwal says the Liberal plan is to provide $500 million in annual funding for labour market agreements with the provinces.
“So, making sure that all technical tradespeople have the essential tools and resources that we can (give) them.”
In addition, he says the Liberals would put $300 million toward youth employment strategies.
He also wants to take measures to support the middle-class, including a seven-per-cent tax cut for families earning between $44,701 and $89,401 annually.
“It means a couple would get $1,350 (on average) more into their pockets (annually),” Dhaliwal says, noting to achieve that, an increase for high-income earners is required.
“We will increase the taxes for those earning $200,000 or more (annually).”
A family earning less than $150,000 a year will receive more child tax benefits, he says.
“For example, a family with two children, earning $90,000 per year, will receive $2,500 more per year, and it will be tax-free,” Dhaliwal says.
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NDP MP Jinny Sims, who took the riding from Dhaliwal in 2011, says the top issue in the riding is affordability.
The former high school teacher, 63, says there are families struggling to make ends meet.
“For me, it’s about good-paying jobs,” Sims says, adding people are also talking about child care, and how expensive it is.
“That’s why I’m proud we have announced $15 a day for child care.”
She says that for every dollar spent on child care, two additional dollars come back into the economy.
As well as being home to thousands of families, Surrey-Newton is dense with small businesses.
Being the engine of the economy, Sims says the NDP will lower the tax rate for small business.
“The other thing is we seem to be losing the decent-paying jobs in Canada. We seem to be shipping out our resources, whether that’s logs or other resources,” she says.
Even people who have a well-paying job right now are worried about their children, Sims points out.
“Where are the jobs going to be for them?”
Major investment in manufacturing will be key in addressing that, she believes. She also adds the NDP has vowed to return one per cent of the federal gas tax to municipalities.
“Municipalities know they need investment in infrastructure, that’s been one of their loudest demands.”
Transit funding is also a perennial issue with Surrey that needs to be addressed.
“We have committed to investing $1.3 billion per year, over 20 years, to support the municipal needs,” Sims says.
Add to that a direct transfer to municipalities to build and repair roads, with an additional $1.5 billion annually until the next election.
“By year four, the NDP’s plan will create 54,000 construction, manufacturing and transit operation jobs across the country and add $4.5 billion to Canada’s GDP,” Sims says.
Also on her radar is the fact that two out of three working Canadians do not have a pension.
The NDP vows to return the eligibility of the Old Age Security to 65 years of age from 67. The party will also boost Canada Pension Plan allowances.
The NDP also plans to cap ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) fees at 50 cents and will work with banks to get them to offer a no-frills credit card with an interest rate of just five per cent over prime rate.
She also says the NDP has committed to create a national housing strategy, “otherwise you are just flying in the dark.”
Next in order of importance for Sims is public safety.
The gun violence in Newton has affected nearly everyone.
“Either they are a neighbour, or they know a witness, or they’ve lost a relative, or they relive a trauma associated with a previous shooting,” Sims says. “I’m worried about the toll this is taking on this community that seems to be living on the edge.”
The NDP has announced a national plan for safer communities through investment in more front-line police officers.
The NDP will re-establish the federal Police Officer Recruitment Fund that was cancelled, and will invest $250 million over the next four years to attract new RCMP recruits.
After that, the party will invest $100 million annually in the federal police force.
“It has to be sustainable,” Sims says. “You don’t just recruit new officers and then stop doing that.”
And while more resources for are needed, that’s only part of the solution, she says.
“We’ve also got to look at serious investment in education, early intervention, rehabilitation and mental health issues,” Sims says. “Because if we don’t do that, then we really are not helping the most vulnerable out there.”
She also favours the so-called “broken-window theory” to crime reduction. That is, making sure the riding has an infrastructure that’s clean and functional, and then petty crime is less likely to occur. When petty crime fails to take root, serious crime also fails to get a foothold.
Sims said the third most important issue in Surrey-Newton is the state of health care.
“Five million Canadians don’t have a family doctor. That is a huge number,” Sims says.
The NDP has promised it will provide long-term stable funding and will focus on doctor recruitment and training.
“Right now, we have people who want to go into medicine who have to go overseas, because we don’t have spaces here,” Sims says.
She ads the party also wants to help the provinces hire 7,000 doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and other health care workers.
The NDP has also announced investment in home care for an additional 41,000 seniors, along with another 5,000 nursing home beds and an investment of $300 million to help build 200 clinics across the country.
“We have committed to launching a $40-million National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Strategy,” she says, bringing more screening, early detection and treatment.
To ensure its effectiveness, the NDP would create a “Canadian Alzheimer’s and Dementia Partnership,” which would put the provinces and specialists in the same room to find solutions.
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Green party candidate for the riding, Pamela Sangha, feels the top issue facing Surrey-Newton is guns, gangs and violence.
She points to the number of shootings in recent months as proof that the problem is out of control.
She’s says more than just police boots on the ground is needed.
She wants to see more early intervention and mentoring programs for youth to stem the tide of violence before it starts.
The 26-year-old salesperson has lived in Newton all her life.
“We need to get into elementary schools and high schools and implement mentorship programs,” Sangha says.
She wants “community heroes” to come into the schools and work with kids.
She says the Green party wants to abolish tuition fees, so students from all walks of life can continue their schooling.
Sangha also wants to also implement a “return-a-gun” program that is consequence-free.
Her second-tier issue is the cost of pharmaceuticals.
“If we implemented a pharmacare strategy (which would pay for all drugs), it would save country $11 billion a year,” Sangha says. “Newton is full of a lot of seniors and I just think it’s important that they have access to the medication they need.”
Her third most-important issue is affordability in general.
“I understand… it’s difficult to come out of a four-year degree and not have any experience to get an entry-level position,” she says, adding paying down student debt becomes a “huge issue.”
“The Green party platform talks about sustainable jobs, abolishing tuition fees, and I think it’s really important that these things get implemented.”
She noted it’s crucial to have young voices in Ottawa.
“We just need to have people our age represented in the House of Commons, because we’re going to see the ramifications of the decisions that are made today.”
The election will be held on Monday, Oct. 19.
These were the confirmed candidates for the Surrey-Newton riding at The Leader’s press deadline.
