Current occupation?
I am a small business owner. I have a childcare center and I am working as a host discussing social issues on TV and radio programs.
Why are you running? Why would you make a good representative for your constituents in the legislature?
I am running for election with BC Greens North Delta to make the difference in the community.
I am a daughter, a mother and a small business owner. As a daughter I feel my parents who worked hard their whole life to raise their kids in adverse weather conditions and during odd hours, they deserve better care and services. Because of this I want to bring positive changes in long-term care homes so that they can give better services and good care to our elderly people. Also as a mother, I feel along my daughter and other children in the community deserves better education, so I want to bring the positive changes in the education system. As a small business owner, I can understand the problems and how they are being affected because of COVID-19, mostly women and single parents have to quit their work because their children have to stay at home for six months and I do not want the business owner to close their business. I am in support of BC Greens because they care for small business owners as they are giving 25 per cent rent subsidy.
These are the reasons that prove that I am a strong representative.
What are the three most pressing issues facing North Delta residents and how will you address them?
Lack of public transportation, particularly in Sunshine Hills: Cars are single major cause of pollution and destruction of our natural environment. Therefore, we wish to encourage people to rely more and more on public transportation. We cannot expect people to give up their cars unless we have green alternatives available. Currently, North Delta has only one bus which runs on 64th Avenue. People residing in the interior of North Delta have to walk quite a bit of distance to catch the bus on 64th. I would consult the residents of North Delta and take their concerns to the Transport Minister so that more buses run covering the entire area of North Delta. Further, we must ensure that their frequency is enough to meet the demand of peak hours. In addition, we would advocate running electric buses as against diesel buses.
Bike and walk lanes: As we move towards eco-friendly pollution free modes of transportation in terms of bikes, we must allocate more space for bike lanes. Currently, bike riders are sharing space with cars. That is not only very inconvenient, it is dangerous as well. There is also need to have several electric and regular bike rental stations spread all across the North Delta region. Convenience of bike rental stations spread throughout North Delta will encourage people to give up cars and adopt bikes. Government must allocate funds in this project so that rental is within reach of common man. The long term returns on this investment would be great in terms of ease of transportation, reduced pollution, better physical health, and reduced accidents. We also need to pay attention to walk lanes, which are currently very few and very narrow. We also need to build speed breakers for the safety of pedestrians.
Long-term care centres: With aging population, we need to pay more attention and allocate more funds for long term care centres. We must create more and more not-for-profit centres. The need for this got further noticed during COVID-19. It is very important that these centres are regularly checked and upgraded.
What specific cause(s)/project(s) are you personally hoping to champion if elected?
I would like to establish a full fledged long-term care home in North Delta with full services; separate bike lanes and electric bike stations for the internal use of the city; more speed breakers in the residential areas to protect our children from being accidentally hit by the fast driven vehicles.
I want to improve the school system by giving them extra funding and free food. There are no transportation facilities in the Sunshine Hills internal areas. Installation of the electric bike stations in the internal areas is the better choice for our environment as well. Growing plants and preserving the forests so that we can handover our beautiful British Columbia to the coming generations.
Notable past achievements/titles/jobs?
– Gold medallist from Mumbai University, Mumbai (India) in public speaking.
– Strong Women Award from Women Association Mumbai
– Best Student Award from Mumbai University
– Friends of Canada India spokesperson
– BuzzaBee Childcare Owner
– Radio and TV host
Where were you born/raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Uttaranchal near the Himalayas. My Village is Bhandari Dhar in the city of Almora, India. I went to Oman as a teacher and then to Dubai where I worked in the Real State Industry.
Tell us a surprising or interesting fact or story about yourself.
When I was in New Delhi, I applied for a job as a teacher in Oman through a newspaper. One day later, I got a letter from the company stating that the interview was in Madras, Chennai, which is too far from Delhi and takes two and a half hours through the flight. I made up my mind and the next day early morning, I took my flight early morning and reached Madras. My returned ticket was in the evening at 4 p.m. I found that there was only one vacancy for the language teacher and there were around 300 people for the interview. My tickets cost was around $500 that time. It was quite a big amount for me at that time as there were hundreds of candidates for the one position.
I felt like crying but I made up my mind and I went straight for the interview room. There were eight interviewers in the room. I requested they take my interview so that I could reach back to the airport on time to take my flight back to Delhi. They were so surprised when I told them my situation, that I took a flight that was beyond my affordability. They told me that they would take my interview right away. I said yes to them and started giving answers to their questions by keeping in my mind that I had to crack this interview. I did so well that they stood up and clapped for me.
At last, they asked about my expectation if I got selected. My son was seven at that time so I requested them to bring my son with me to Oman. Without asking about my salary, I stepped out from the room. While returning I came to know that the people waiting for the interview had a lot of experience. I was upset on the flight, thinking of losing the only $500 that I had just for an interview. I was sure that I would not get this job, as there were hundreds of people just for one job vacancy.
After a few days, I forgot about the money I spent on the interview. One day, during the winter while sitting outside in the sun, I heard my cell phone ringing with an unknown number. When I picked up the call there was a woman stating that I got selected for the job to teach in Oman. I was surprised as I had forgot about that interview. After that call I was really happy that I got selected and did not waste my $500.
See how the other candidates in Delta North answered these questions here.
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