Sahota gets a new job

By Dan Hilborn
Published Feb. 5, 2005


Burnaby has its own cabinet minister after Edmonds MLA Patty Sahota was appointed the Minister of State for Resort Development by Premier Gordon Campbell on Tuesday afternoon.

"I'm very excited," said Sahota. "The good news is this is an economic portfolio with over $2 billion in direct revenue to the province," Sahota said. "Basically, it was created to make sure we diversify the rural communities as much as possible."

According to information on the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management website, the secretary of state for resort development is responsible for B.C.'s 700 resorts, which provided governments with $178 million in tax revenue in 2002 and employed approximately 26,000 people.

Her promotion to the junior cabinet post was greeted with derision by her opponent, NDP candidate Raj Chouhan, a negotiator for the Hospital Employees' Union.

"This is a desperate measure on the part of Gordon Campbell to shore up his support in the community, which he has lost over the past four years because he was pushing his reckless agenda," Chouhan said. "Patty sat there and didn't do anything. Now he's trying to reward her for being silent."

In a press release, Chouhan rattled off a long list of complaints about the rookie Liberal MLA.

"Ms. Sahota did not oppose Campbell's decision to close women's resource centres; she said nothing to oppose the 40 per cent cuts to legal aid funding; and she remained silent with the closure of St. Mary's Hospital and the Burnaby courthouse," said the release. "When the Liberals closed a safe house for adolescent sex trade workers, Patty Sahota again said nothing."

In the government press release making the announcement, Sahota is described as having worked in the forestry industry and for a commercial development realty firm prior to becoming an organizer and then a candidate for the B.C. Liberals. She also serves on the government caucus committee for communities and safety, the women's caucus and the Asian economic development committee, and she is a member of the legislative standing committees on aboriginal affairs and finance.

A government bacgrounder also notes that Sahota was instrumental in bringing the 2009 World Police and Fire Games to Burnaby and has served as a member of the MLA task force on the results-based forest practices code.