Sunday February 23, 2025 | SOOKE, BC [Updated February 24, 2025 at 3:28 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Juan de Fuca MLA Dana Lajeunesse is the new Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility.
Lajeunesse won the newly boundaried riding for the BC NDP in October 2024 by a very small margin, determined in the end by recount.
Like all the other brand-new MLAs from the fall election, in that period between the November 13 MLA swearing-in (and November 18 cabinet appointments) and the first day in the BC Legislative Assembly chamber on February 18 (for the Throne Speech) Lajeunesse was learning the ropes of being an MLA.
Training sessions were held in November, and some earlier this month. “New MLAs from both sides of the aisle were in for some training. It sounds very complicated but speaking with the people who’ve been at it longer, it’s not as daunting as it seems. There’s a lot to learn.”
“There is no shortage of documentation to get through,” he told Island Social Trends earlier this month.
“When people say to me it must be like drinking from a fire hose, well that was local government. This is more like drinking from a water cannon,” says Lajeunesse with an illustrative metaphor.
Lajeunesse attended the swearing in of the new BC Lieutenant Governor on January 30 and after chatting with Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia at the reception says he feels she is a good choice for the position.
Knows the Sooke region:
Due to the shift away from resource industries in Sooke many years ago now (forestry and fishing in particular), the region depends on tourism as a local economic driver. Otherwise, people need to head into Langford, Saanich, Victoria and beyond for daily employment.
Because Lajenuesee has lived in the Sooke region all his life and was a District of Sooke municipal councillor for five years, he knows the region well.
“Economic development is the big issue for us,” he says about the Juan de Fuca-Malahat region. He wants to see the means in place for people to work closer to home or at least have better public transit between Sooke and core areas of Greater Victoria, and similarly from the east side of the island (Cowichan/Shawnigan/Cobble Hill etc) into town.
Lajeunesse would like to see more right-turn lanes on Highway 14 and looks forward to a successful start on the intersection safety improvements at Idlemore Road across from Saseenos Elementary which fronts onto Highway 14. This would ease up traffic flow and provide more safety.
He is also familiar with the food sustainability needs of Vancouver Island that the Sooke region has made advancements in food-growing initiatives over the past several years.
On February 7, Lajeunesse attended the long-awaited celebration of a new walking trail in Sooke that will reduce travel times for students getting to Journey Middle School and Ecole Poirier Elementary.
Improving Highway 14:
Lajeunesse hopes to initiate a paradigm shift with the Ministry of Transportation and Transit with regard to improvements on Highway 14.
He says he will be inviting the Minister of Transportation and Transit, Mike Farnworth, to come to Sooke to travel Highway 14 and experience it for himself. Lajeunesse will point out where improvements are needed.
Finding an office:
Lajeunesse has also had to deal with the organizational challenge of finding a office space that can be leased within the riding, using temporary locations in the meantime.
He will likley end up with two offices in the large riding — one in the Cobble Hill area and one in Sooke. The office arrangements are still taking a while because it goes through a separate leasing company. Most other constituencies have offices already in place, but his riding is new.
For now, he’s been meeting constituents in the board room at the Langford-Highlands constituency office and at the library in Sooke where people can make a booking to meet in person with their MLA.
Lajeunesse has recently travelled to the northern end of the riding in the Juan de Fuca area and has tried to get to as many events as possible ahead of the legislative session which is now underway.
Accessibility responsibilities:
As the Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility, Lajeunesse will lead government’s work on accessibility initiatives. He reports to the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Sheila Malcolmson.
Lajeunesse has first-hand experience in dealing with accessibility challenges. He has been in a wheelchair since the age of 26, following a life-altering accident.
He outlines the range of accessibility challenges that people deal with in BC including mobility, visual, hearing and cognitive.
Ahead of the start of the legislative session he’s been working hard on getting to know the various groups and organizations that deal with accessibility issues. He has connected with Rick Hansen of the Rick Hansen Foundation as well as Metis Nation BC.
He says he wants to see more accessible workplaces for all types of disabilities.
“I’m looking forward to serving the people and that I can make people’s lives better,” says Lajeunesse.
Climate adaptation:
Lajeuesse recently congratulated the District of Sooke on the $150,000 grant their recently received for climate adaptation and natural hazard-risk assessment.
“Sooke will be more resilient to climate change, with provincial funding that will better prepare the community to withstand emergencies,” said Lajeunesse.
He points out that 86% of the carbon emissions in the Sooke area are due to commuter traffic on Highway 14 — people who are coming and going for employment beyond the area where his constituents reside.
===== RELATED:
- Juan de Fuca Active Transportation survey to March 9 (February 24, 2025)
- MLA-elect Dana Lajeunesse resigns from District of Sooke council (November 8, 2024)
- Many possibilities for Dana Lajeunesse as a brand new MLA (November 2, 2024)
- Dana Lajeunesse pulls it off for BC NDP in Juan de Fuca-Malahat (October 28, 2024)
NEWS SECTIONS: 43rd BC PARLIAMENT | SOOKE