6 days Ago By Jess Balzer
The NOW sent questionnaires out to candidates running in Burnaby Central, Burnaby North-Seymour and Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby. The New West Record completed questionnaires for the candidates in New Westminster-Burnaby-Maillardville. We've also put together a complete voting guide with all the information you need in one place.
Vancouver Fraserview-South Burnaby candidate Manoj Bhangu, NDP Question: What made you decide to run for federal government? Answer: As a family man living and working in this area where my wife and I raised our three children, I appreciate what makes this community special — its diversity, interconnected cultures, and the range of voices that deserve fair, honest representation. I also understand the struggles my neighbours face: rising violent crime, housing shortages, inaccessible health care, and skyrocketing grocery bills. That’s why I decided to run for federal NDP — and support the fight for stronger public health care, affordable housing, safer streets, and better working conditions.
Question: Do you live in the riding that you are running in? Answer: I live in South Vancouver. Question: What is your occupation outside of federal politics? Answer: I presently own and operate a small business, Young Driving Academy. Prior to that, I was a cab owner-operator, and board member of Black Top Taxi.
Question: What do you think are the biggest concerns that British Columbians are facing that can be addressed by the federal government? Answer: Affordability, jobs, climate disasters. Health care and housing are the essential needs of all Canadians and families. The rising costs of living is hurting families: rents, groceries, and medications are skyrocketing.
Wildfires and floods demand urgent action. Pensions are not keeping in pace with the inflation. Truth and reconciliation is still quite far from being implemented.
The federal NDP can be a catalyst for addressing these concerns by tackling corporate greed that drives inflation, fund renewable energy projects, and expand health care to include dental, pharmacare, and mental health coverage. Question: Burnaby has some of the highest rent and housing prices in Canada. What would you do to help control prices? Answer: Burnaby is a wonderful city that has been recognized as the most inclusive city in the past.
However, the high housing cost has now made it less affordable for families to sustain their living in this beautiful city. Strong and fast actions are needed to address housing shortage by increasing supply of affordable housing. The NDP's plan is to set aside 100% of suitable federal crown land to build over 100,000 rent-controlled and affordable homes nationwide, implement national rent control and crack down on real estate speculation.
The NDP will ban rent price-fixing and corporate landlords, including the use of shared data platforms and coordinated pricing tools, and recognize the right of tenant unions to negotiate with landlords. Question: With the ongoing tariff concerns, what would you and your government do to protect Canadian jobs and ease the financial burden on consumers? Answer: Better trade deals are needed that prioritize and protect Canadian workers. We’ll renegotiate trade deals to prioritize Canadian workers, impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on imports, and invest in domestic manufacturing.
The NDP will expand Buy Canadian policies and support sectors like clean energy to create stable, unionized jobs. Question: The NOW will be closing no later than April 21. How will you and your party work to strengthen or change the Online News Act to ensure Canadians in communities of all sizes continue to have access to independent, trustworthy local information? Answer: Firstly, I am very sorry to hear this.
Community papers as the NOW newspaper have played a very important role in keeping the neighbourhoods connected and informed. We also appreciate that online content is now a part of our daily lives. This is why The NDP supports the Online News Act (Bill C-18) while advocating for safeguards to protect freedom of expression and ensure fairness between tech giants and Canadian media.
We’ll ensure tech giants pay their fair share to local news outlets, including independent media. We believe the law is vital to protect reliable journalism in an era of misinformation, while the Conservatives continue to prioritize “super-rich web giants” over local media. The NDP will create a dedicated fund for community journalism and enforce strict penalties for platforms that undermine Canadian content.
Question: Many Canadians are deeply concerned about the ongoing threats of annexation and tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.
How would you and your party deal with this situation? Answer: Workers and families on both the Canadian and the U.S. soils are being impacted by the tariffs.
The NDP stands firm on sovereignty, diversified trade partnerships, and greater investments in Canadian industries to reduce reliance on the U.S. We will defend supply management and retaliate strategically against unfair tariffs while protecting and prioritizing Canadian workers.
Editor's note: The Burnaby NOW sent this questionnaire to all candidates in all of Burnaby's four ridings. Candidates were given an April 9 submission deadline..
