May 03, 2011: Jasbir Sandhu of New Democratic Party beat Conservative candidate Dona Cadman in Surrey North
NRI
Jasbir Sandhu in Surrey-North, will run for federal NDP
Vancouver, Sep. 27, 2009
Munish Arora/Vancouver
Raj/Los Angeles
New Democrat Party (NDP), has nominated a well-known businessman,
community leader and Komagata Maru activist Jasbir Sandhu to run
in Surrey North in the next federal election.
He lived in North Surrey for 29 years and made efforts to gain
a federal apology in Parliament for the 1914 Komagata
Maru incident.
He also wrote e-mail and warned Prime Minister Stephen Harper
hat there would be a backlash if he issued an apology outside
of Parliament but Harper ignored the warning, issuing the apology
in Surrey on August 3, 2008.
Surrey North:
- The riding is currently held by Conservative Dona Cadman who
defeated NDP Penny Priddy, a retired from federal politics.
- The riding has 55% visible minorities out of a population
of 111,965.
- About 33% South Asian community and median family income is
$50,000
Mr. Sandhu, 43, an active member of the party for more than two
decades, was endorsed by NDP MLAs Sue Hammell (Surrey-Green Timbers)
and Bruce Ralston (Surrey-Whalley), as well as former Surrey-North
MP Penny Priddy. He won the riding candidacy by acclamation on
Sunday at the Surrey Conference Center. Sandhu said he was “honored
when prominent New Democrats asked me to stand for nomination
Penny Priddy said, “Jasbir brings the right mix of youth,
maturity and experience. This will make him a strong candidate
and the right person to advance our NDP goals of justice, fairness
and equality.”
Mr. Sandhu said:
- He would continue Priddy's efforts to bring Canada a national
prescription drug plan.
- We need a national prescription drug plan so that drug costs
are affordable for those who need it the most. One of the ways
we can reduce drug cost is by government purchasing in bulk
- All of us have seen MP Jim Karpoff speak out and act decisively
on immigration issues.
- We heard and watched MP Penny Priddy speak out for more affordable
housing and for more resources for post secondary education.
- He credited NDP MPs and MLAs for making a difference in Surrey
North
He is a board member of the Vancity Community Foundation, supporting
affordable housing and homeless shelters, and a volunteer for
the United Way at the Justice Institute. He is also a spokesperson
for the Professor Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation, which promotes
Asian cultural
Mr. Sandhu is presently employed as a program manager and coordinator
at the Justice Institute of B.C. to provide training for police
officers, firefighters, sheriffs, taxicab drivers, security guards
and paramedics.
He received BA from Simon Fraser University and MBA from Royal
Roads University. He is married to Simi and they have two children.
He was 2 years old when immigrated to Canada with his family.
He also own the Restaurant called " My Village Restaurant"