Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No8 | Page 11

April 16 - 30, 2017 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY 11 BC NDP commits to a better future for newcomers Vancouver – Filipino- Canadian BC NDP Candidate and twice-elected MLA for Vancouver-Kensington says a BC NDP provincial government means greater protection and increased services for immigrants, temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and other newcomers to the province. “I’m proud of the commitments that John Horgan and the BC NDP are making to immigrant communities like ours. As Premier, he will create a Centre for Newcomers that will help coordinate and educate skilled newcomers in their field,” says Mable Elmore, who was the Official Opposition Spokesperson for Immigration and TFWs in the legislature. “We’ll break down the barriers to success by improving the process used to assess and recognize the credentials of foreign professionals. And we’ll restore funding to eliminate fees for Adult Basic Education and English language courses for immigrants so they can acquire the skills needed to succeed,” she added. As an MLA and long- time advocate for immigrant rights, Elmore said many TFWs came to her for help. But the lack of provincial support for their issues by Christy Clark and the BC Liberal government meant many could not get the justice they deserved. “To address this, we’ll create a TFW Registry so that we have the information we need to protect them and we’ll end the collection of illegal recruitment fees,” said Elmore. She explained that, “the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must ensure the interests of BC workers have priority, while considering the needs of employers facing legitimate worker shortages. For that to happen we need to know how many Temporary Foreign Workers are employed in the province and in what sectors they are working in.” “We also recognize that many who come here have much to contribute to our province. To help them make BC their permanent home, we’ll work with the federal government to increase BC’s quota under the Provincial Nominee Program and to increase the province’s control over the terms of qualification,” she said. Other commitments that the BC NDP have made including raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour; building a sustainable economy; and creating thousands of good jobs with better wages in every corner of BC. “J o h n Horgan and our BC NDP team have a proven track record of advocating for the rights of ordinary B r i t i s h Columbians. I’ve seen in the legislature how the rich and the wealthy have had their Premier. It’s time for one that’s on our side,” she concluded. # For more info: Mable WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM Elmore Campaign 604-428-9033. Office