NDP picks Willingdon runner

By Dan Hilborn
Published Feb. 19, 2005


Gabriel Yiu, the owner of a small chain of flower shops and a commentator on local Chinese-language television, will carry the NDP banner in Burnaby-Willingdon for the upcoming provincial election.

Yiu won the nomination by acclamation after the last of his five potential rivals - Indo-Canadian newspaper editor Umendra Singh - dropped out of the race on Thursday afternoon.

"First of all, I'm glad the other nominees thought that I'd be the best candidate for the riding," Yiu said. "Since the Liberals have taken over the government, I've been watching their policies and politics and I've been quite unhappy with what they do, especially compared to what they promise."

Yiu, who only formally joined the party on the night before he filed his nomination papers, said he initially approached the NDP about becoming a candidate last year after he heard MLA Jenny Kwan on a Chinese open-line radio program.

"All the people on the phone were hostile to her (Kwan). They were criticizing the party, and almost all the callers were subjective and prejudiced," he said. "I was feeling very bad at that time and thought this is a very unhealthy situation."

Yiu said he was instrumental in convincing the NDP to hire its first Chinese-language organizer last year, and he intends to work with other candidates to show that the NDP has core values that are shared by most newcomers to the country.

"When people ask why is Canada great, I say it's not because of the money or because we have a wealthy country or a great city. What makes Canada great is that we care for each other," he said. "We care for the community, we care for the environment and we care about social justice."

"What the Campbell government, the right-wing government, is promoting is a kind of self-interest or selfishness," he said. "They worship the market. But, in reality, on many many issues it is proven that the market is not always right."

Yiu pointed to the recent decision to contract out immigrant services contracts to low bidders. The ensuing uproar forced the government to provide bridge funding between the old contractors and the new contractors, meaning the taxpayers are on the hook for the extra costs.

"They're not saving money at all," Yiu said. "This is part of the pathetic Liberal policies. They promised the most open and accountable government in Canada, and what we see is a joke. They cut funding for the auditor general's office, they limit freedom of information services and they even limit question period to a ridiculous time frame."