Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Randene Neill has been sworn in as this constituency’s legislative representative and she is looking forward to bringing forward important issues and carrying the voices of her constituents.
In an interview following the swearing-in ceremony in the BC Legislature on November 13, Neill said the swearing in was “a little bit surreal” but “very exciting.”
“I was also proud of everybody else who was sworn in today and all these incredible people who are serving in the NDP caucus,” said Neill. “It’s an amazing group of people.”
In an NDP media release issued after the swearing-in, premier David Eby said: “Our new government caucus represents one of the most diverse and qualified groups of MLAs that this legislature has ever seen.”
Neill told the Peak her caucus has great female representation, and after she was elected, she received a call or text or email from every single returning female MLA, congratulating her.
“They said: ‘let me know what you need, let me know how I can help you.’ Everyone wrapped their arms around us and it was the best feeling. It feels really good to be part of the majority female caucus.”
When Neill returns to the legislature to conduct government business, she has many issues to bring forward. She said that when she was campaigning and asking people about what was the most important issue to them, affordability is a big one, as is housing, health care, road safety, public transportation and ferries.
“These are issues that I want to work on because they are important to the people who live in our riding,” said Neill. “I want to tackle each of those things and make sure that we can work on making all these issues better for everyone who lives in our riding.”
Neill indicated that she will reach out to cabinet ministers, indicating what her constituents need, what the solutions are, and how, by working together, work can get done and issues can be solved.
In terms of two important issues to people living in Powell River, supportive housing and a possible name change, Neill said she has heard from many people about these issues.
“I have spoken with a lot of people about the second supporting housing complex that has been proposed for Powell River,” said Neill. “We understand that we need more homes for people, and that everybody who wants a home deserves a home. However, there are still some questions and there’s still some concerns, and there are still some fears that people have about bringing in a second complex housing unit. We need to talk to people as much as possible and work through the issues.”
Neill said the same goes for a possible name change for the City of Powell River.
“I decided to run in this election because I just realized that we’re becoming more polarized and more divisive, and I don’t think that’s our future,” said Neill. “Our future is finding common ground, finding our common goals, and working towards that together. That means we all have to sit down and have those really difficult conversations, and whatever choices we make, we have to do it as a community. We also have to actually learn how to listen to each other, how to build relationships with each other, and help us all move forward together in a really supportive way.
“That is what makes Powell River such a wonderful place.”
Neill, who spent many years as a broadcaster, said she is hoping to bring her communications skills to the equation.
“I look forward to using my voice in Victoria,” said Neill. “I love talking to people. I love listening to what their issues are, and I love trying to solve those issues together. That’s what I really want to work on.”
In terms of her local representation, Neill plans to continue to operate her Powell River office from the same facility on Marine Avenue that former MLA Nicholas Simons used as his base in this community. Neill said the plans are to have the office open from 10 am to 3 pm daily. She is working on getting her email and phone number set up, plus hiring staff to help constituents.
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