Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, November 27

Re-elected British Columbia Premier John Horgan on Thursday included four Punjabi Indo-Canadian MLAs out of total nine, who won the Assembly polls in Canada.

Two MLAs Harry Bains and Ravi Kahlon have been made Ministers while Rachna Singh and Niki Sharma have been made Parliamentary Secretary.

Harry Bains has been reappointed as the Minister of Labour in British Columbia. He has been the NDP MLA for Surrey-Newton since 2005. Bains tweeted: “I am so humbled and honoured to have the privilege to serve as your Minister of Labour once again-to continue the work of making British Columbia’s workplaces the safest in the country. I look forward to getting back to work! Thank you once again.”

Delta North MLA Ravi Kahlon has been appointed as the Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. Kahlon in his first term as an MLA served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Sports and Multiculturalism and then for Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.

Kahlon tweeted: “Today, Premier John Horgan named me the Minister for Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. I’m honoured and look forward to working with our amazing team. Thank you to my family and friends..thinking of my dad today”.

Another Punjabi who will feature in the government will be Rachna Singh, who has been named the Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-racism Initiatives.

Talking to The Tribune over phone, Rachna said: “I am so honoured to be appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-racism Initiatives, something which has always been close to my heart. Looking forward to work with Attorney General David Eby on this important profile”.

She said: “She will continue her fight against racism in Canada and work for Surrey to make life better and more affordable here.”

Meanwhile, Indian-origin NDP MLA Niki Sharma has been named the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-profits. She is lawyer by profession and has been elected as MLA from Vancouver-Hastings. Niki tweeted: “Congratulations to the new Cabinet. Thanks John Horgan for the opportunity to be the first ever Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-profits. Such an important sector in BC that makes a difference to many. Looking forward to representing it in Victoria.”

However, veteran Jinny Sims, who had been a Cabinet minister when the first Horgan government was formed, has been dropped.