Photos: Politicians at the Vancouver Vaisakhi parade

by Charlie Smith on Apr 14, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Premier Christy Clark praised the entrepreneurial savvy of the South Asian community.
Charlie Smith

At last year's Vaisakhi parade, you didn't have to go very far before you would bump into someone who was on city council.

But at today's event—in a nonelection year—there were not as many municipal politicians in sight. I spotted Vision Vancouver councillor Raymond Louie, a perennial attendee, as well as Burnaby councillor Sav Dhaliwal.

Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer has informed me that she and fellow councillor Tony Tang were also there, as was Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed up at last year's Vancouver Vaisakhi parade, which fell in the middle of a federal election campaign.

This time, he was nowhere to be seen.

There was no shortage of federal and provincial politicians, as demonstrated by the photos below. One noticeable absence on the stage at the end of the parade, however, was Kash Heed, the B.C. Liberal MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview. His constituency includes the Ross Street Sikh Temple.

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There were lots of NDP politicians at the Vaisakhi parade, including (left to right): Kennedy Stewart, Jagrup Brar, Mable Elmore, Gabriel Yiu, Adrian Dix, Raj Hundal, Judy Darcy, and Raj Chouhan.Charlie Smith
NDP MP Jasbir Sandhu, Burnaby councillor Sav Dhaliwal, and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart pose for a photo near the Ross Street Temple.Charlie Smith
Sanj Hayer, an aide to NDP MP Jinny Sims, joins the NDP's former candidate in Vancouver South, Meena Wong.Charlie Smith
NDP Leader Adrian Dix joined Surrey-Panorama NDP candidate Amrik Mahil (centre) for part of the parade. (The man on the right is Sikh community leader Amarjit Toor.)Charlie Smith
Christopher Richardson (left) was an NPA park commissioner; Raj Hundal is a former Vision Vancouver park commissioner who's running for the NDP in Surrey-Tynehead.Charlie Smith
NDP Leader Adrian Dix, New Westminster NDP candidate Judy Darcy, Newton–North Delta NDP MP Jinny Sims, and Surrey-Panorama NDP candidate Amrik Mahil all dressed for the occasion.Charlie Smith
Premier Christy Clark told the crowd that she donned the same outfit that she wore to the Golden Temple when she visited Amritsar in the Indian state of Punjab.Charlie Smith
Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray attended Vaisakhi.Charlie Smith
Amrik Mahil hopes to join Surrey-Newton NDP MLA Harry Bains in the NDP caucus after the 2013 provincial election.Charlie Smith
Former Newton-North Delta Conservative MP Gurmant Grewal attended Vaisakhi, but didn't get on stage with current Conservative MPs.Charlie Smith

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Comments (12) Add New Comment
Pat Crowe
Apr 14, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Charlie, over at Alex's blog he called you a left wing nutjob after someone posted one of your stories on his site.
Gonna let him get away with that?!
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Charlie Smith
Apr 14, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Hi Pat,

The Conservative party and its supporters have a history of smearing people by trying to paint them as extremists. The real extremists are those who deny the science on supervised-injection sites, climate change, criminal-justice research, and numerous other topics.

Charlie
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Pat Crowe
Apr 14, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Thank you, Charlie.
Keep on fighting the good fight.
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JJD
Apr 14, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Charlie's comment is a complete cheapshot. Am I supposed to believe the NDP/Liberals and left-wingers don't have a history of "smearing" other people? Canadians aren't dumb, sir. Harper and the Conservatives are called extremists and are smeared ALL the time.
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Edward Conservativehands
Apr 14, 2012 at 11:10 pm
Hi JJD,
Can you post a link to an example of a left winger smearing someone?

Thanks,
Edward Conservativehands
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Smear Jobs
Apr 15, 2012 at 3:47 am
Flip through the raving rants by home-dwelling posters on this blog and you'll see left wing smears about Libs and Cons a la carte.
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Sheeple
Apr 15, 2012 at 11:36 am
Cultural events should be free from Political whores of all stripes.

When will people stop being Sheep for Politicians?

How about doing the right + moral things helping Canadians of all income levels develop a better Country leading in things instead of ideological nut bars from both the left & right?

I know what a concept do good for Canada & Canadians...the idea seems to be lost on the Politicians & the people who repeatedly elect these idiots.

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JJD
Apr 15, 2012 at 11:37 am
Well, Edward, that's not difficult to do - put down your partisanship and try some soul-searching. Let me gives you some hints though: How many times have the left pulled the socon boogeyman on conservative leaders? What about robocalls? Even now, the left have zero shred of evidence Harper and the party were involved, and yet they persisted in smearing.

Conservatives are far from perfect. But before Charlie criticizes others for smearing, he should deal with the own plank in his party's eye. Afterall, left-wingers always preach hope and pretend to be on the moral high-ground. Truth is - and many Canadians know this - when it comes down to cynicism and negativity, it is often the left which is MOST guilty of it.
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Pat Crowe
Apr 15, 2012 at 12:33 pm
JJD. Post your proof.
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your doing good Charlie
Apr 15, 2012 at 6:55 pm
Trust me, I know and calling you a nutjob says it all because when ever the Conservatives feel threatened or someone is holding them accountable name calling is what they come armed with and eventually it is coming back to hurt.
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jenise lee
Apr 16, 2012 at 3:43 am
In total agreement with Sheeple.

What should be a day of celebration, politicians and wannabes will always find a cheap way to get the photo-op. Not surprisingly, I saw Meena Wong lead a group away from the party to stage a mini-protest against bill C-31 at Wai Young's office. I thought it was pretty tacky and pathetic that Wong can't even let a Conservative to have a day of fun and celebration without turning it into her own political pow-wow. Also using bill C-31 as yet another vehicle for ethnic pandering is beyond sickening.
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Edward Conservativehands
Apr 16, 2012 at 8:24 pm
Hi JJD,
Can you post a link to an example of a left winger smearing someone?

Thanks,
Edward Conservativehands
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