Candidate: Dickens Cheung
Riding: Richmond Centre
Party: Independent
Occupation: Natural Health Products Consultant
Where do you live (city)? Richmond Centre
Top priorities for Richmond
Public Safety so that families can feel safe walking the streets at night; Lowering the Cost of Living so that people can afford to put food on the table; Mitigating the Drug Crisis compassionately to not only save lives but to restore them.
Past achievements
Having graduated from the Sauder School of Business with a Bachelor’s Degree Specializing in Finance, and having worked in the Health Foods industry for 15 years, I have contributed to Canada’s food safety by participating in Public Consultations and feedback, which helps to shape food safety policy at Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. I have also created a prototype line of herbal tea products that helps to improve gut health and to help the body to detox. I take great joy in helping to improve the health of Canadians.
Yes/no questionnaire (candidate can give 150-word answers to three questions)
1. Do you support a provincial carbon tax? NO
2. Do you support Bill 44/47 to increase density in residential areas and near rapid transit? NO
3. Are you committed to keeping SOGI policies in B.C.’s Education system?
I fully support educational policies that strongly promote love, respect, acceptance, and unity for everyone regardless of their sex, gender, race, religion, political affiliation, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, or whatever people identify themselves by. However, we should not so much focus on identity politics as we do on the fact that we’re all human beings and are all worthy of love, respect, acceptance, with an equal opportunity to have our voices heard. I strongly condemn discrimination and bullying of any sort and B.C.’s education system should set the standard for the rest of the world when it comes to combatting those. We need to implement policies that respect everyone, and also policies that promote the use of educational materials that are age-appropriate for children’s development. Parents should be fully informed and on-board (give consent) when it comes to teaching any topics related to sex.
4. Do you support Truth and Reconciliation with B.C.’s Indigenous population? YES
5. Do you support lower taxes for B.C. businesses? YES
6. Should the provincial government do more to protect businesses from vandalism and other crimes? YES
7. Do you think the province should lobby the federal government for bail reform? YES
8. Do you support privatization of health care in B.C.?
I believe that a two-tier hybrid system would best serve British Columbians because giving an option for those who can afford to pay for private healthcare out-of-pocket would keep the revenue in British Columbia instead of having it go to other countries. We should have a very strong public healthcare system that puts patients’ well-being first, without all of the bureaucracy which usually weighs down the entire system. We need to fully and sufficiently fund B.C.’s healthcare system and make sure we have sufficient capacity to meet the healthcare needs of those who cannot afford to pay for healthcare out of pocket.
9. Should health-care workers who lost their jobs for not being vaccinated be compensated? YES
10. Do you support a safe supply of drugs for people with a severe substance-use disorder? NO
11. Do you support a safe drug injection/consumption site in Richmond? NO
12. Do you believe in mandatory (involuntary) care for people with a severe substance-use disorder? YES
13. Do you think there should be more supportive housing in Richmond?
We need to have housing where mental health, addictions treatment, recovery, and social reintegration are all a core mandate because we need to compassionately help people who are suffering from drug addictions, mental health issues, and homelessness. We can’t leave people to their own devices when they can’t even take proper care of themselves.
14. Should the province be building more subsidized housing to combat the housing crisis? YES
15. Should the market be allowed to determine rents? NO
16. Do you support reverting to a bridge plan to replace the George Massey Tunnel? YES
**Editor's note: The News will be publishing profiles of candidates who submitted them before our deadline. They will be published between Monday, Oct. 7 and Thursday, Oct. 10.
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