The Langford women who first entered the public spotlight by petitioning the provincial legislature over health care now wants to take a seat in it.

Camille Currie, founder and organizer of BC Health Care Matters, will be running for the BC Greens in the impending by-election for the now-vacant riding once held by former B.C. NDP premier John Horgan. The party made the announcement Thursday (April 6) at a news conference in a hotel not far from the legislature.

Currie is the first to declare candidacy.

Horgan stepped down as MLA for Langford Juan-de Fuca on March 31 after a long career in elected politics, including more than five years as B.C.B次元官网网址檚 premier.

Horgan represented the riding and its predecessors from 2005 until last month, having won almost 68 per cent of the vote in 2020. The riding has predominently leaned New Democratic over the years.

But Currie sounded unfazed by the task ahead in stressing her local roots as a long-time resident of Langford, who has made the riding the centre of her personal and professional life.

Currie said residents of the riding B次元官网网址渘eed and deserveB次元官网网址� a member in the Legislative Assembly who puts constituents first.

B次元官网网址淚 can be that MLA,B次元官网网址� she told Black Press Media.

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Currie also stressed her credentials as an advocate for health care, pointing to her role in the creation of BC Health Care Matters.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 an individual who faces challenges head on, jumps to action and perseveres to bring about change,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hat is why I am running.B次元官网网址�

Currie started the organization after her family lost their family physician in January 2022. This loss led to a petition to the provincial legislature and the founding of the advocacy group.

While health care is a right for all, it has become a privilege of the few, Currie said Experts estimate one-in-five British Columbians lack access to a family doctor of their own.

BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau said she cannot wait to work with Currie in the legislature.

CurrieB次元官网网址檚 appointment is the latest in a series of candidate announcements for the Greens. On April 4, the party announced Jeremy Valeriote as its candidate in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky. Valeriote would have nearly joined Furstenau and BC Green House Leader Adam Olsen in the legislature following the 2020 provincial election. While he had initially won the riding, a judicial recount found him 60 votes behind Jordan Stourdy of the BC Liberals.

On March 30, the BC Greens announced Christina Winter as the candidate for Victoria Swan-Lake.

In January, deputy-leader Dr. Lisa Gunderson became the partyB次元官网网址檚 nominee for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, a riding previously held by former BC Green Leader Andrew Weaver, who helped to negotiate the confidence-and-supply agreement that made Horgan premier in 2017 as head of a minority government. Weaver has since publicly broken with the BC Greens.

Currie becomes the latest BC Green with a background in health care to publicly represent the party. Dr. Sanjiv Gandhi, a long-time surgeon with B.C. ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Hospital, became the partyB次元官网网址檚 second deputy leader on Jan. 23, joining Gunderson, a clinical psychologist.

If personnel is policy, it raises the question of whether the BC Greens are heading in a different direction. Furstenau said the partyB次元官网网址檚 platform has always been well-rounded. While she acknowledged the medical background of Gunderson and Gandhi as well as CurrieB次元官网网址檚 involvement as a health care advocate, they cannot be reduced to specific issues. They are instead proven change-makers, she said.

wolfgang.depner@blackpress.ca
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