Tuesday October 3, 2023 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated 5:03 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
This first day of the BC Legislative Assembly Fall 2023 session was also local MLA Ravi Parmar’s first day in the house in his new elected position.
Parmar was officially sworn in on July 28, but a mini version of that day’s drama was repeated today as Premier David Eby led Parmar (MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca) and the other new NDP MLA Joan Phillip (Vancouver-Mount Pleasant) into the chamber at the start of the 10 morning session.
He also attended his first NDP caucus meeting as an MLA today, emerging from that meeting with a big smile.
Parmar was elected as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca on June 24 in a by-election which saw him emerge in the NDP path forged over many years in the footsteps of former BC Premier and Langford-Juan de Fuca MLA John Horgan.
Parmar has a seat near the back of the NDP side of the house. Having been a BC government ministry employee for many years, he was no stranger to the territory, but this was his first day in his governance role.
His riding includes Langford, Highlands, Sooke and the Juan de Fuca electoral area. For the October 2024 provincial election the riding will include only Langford and Highlands (due to new boundaries).
Parmar was 28 years old when elected. That makes him the youngest MLA in the BC Legislature.
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends reports on news of the day through a socioeconomic lens, with an eye to how politics shapes the lives of individuals and households and how it impacts businesses and communities — with the aim to create an archive of both highlights and key points in detail.
Created in mid-2020 by Editor and Publisher Mary P Brooke, Island Social Trends is available at IslandSocialTrends.ca for anyone to read — as part of Ms Brooke’s philosophy that citizen discourse should be available to all.
Mary P Brooke launched Island Social Trends after creating, editing and publishing three print publications on the west shore of south Vancouver Island which are now archived in the Sooke Region Museum permanent collections: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), and West Shore Voice News (2014-2020).
Mary P Brooke was nominated for a Jack Webster Award in 2023 to recognize her contribution to community through journalism. She reports with the BC Legislative Press Gallery.
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