Education concerns motivate Nagra

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This article was published 27/08/2019 (2563 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former student leader at the University of Manitoba is wading into provincial politics to keep an eye on imminent changes to Manitoba’s education system.

Tanjit Nagra is running for MLA in Fort Richmond with the Manitoba Liberal Party. The 23-year-old graduated from the U of M in 2018 with a degree in political science, serving two terms as the president of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union while studying. The young politician, perhaps the youngest candidate running for election in this campaign, also serves as vice-chair of the Fort Richmond-University Heights Neighbourhood Association and worked for a term with the U of M in governmental relations. She currently works with the national non-profit youth organization TakingITGlobal and is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration.

“A big part of the reason why I’m running is because of the changes that I’ve seen to the health care and education system and I’m hearing it from residents in the Fort Richmond area as well,” Nagra said. “A lot of folks are upset about the changes to the Victoria Hospital… and we’ve seen cuts over the years by both governments, the PCs and NDP.

“We’ve already started to see changes to education in terms of the tuition cap increasing as well as the operating grants starting to slowly decrease,” she said.

“Now there’s an education review going on for the K to 12 level, and I’m worried what we saw in the healthcare system is also going to transfer over to the education system.”

Nagra, who grew up in River Park South and recently moved to Fort Richmond, said her involvement with the Liberal Party began at the federal level, working with Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid during his campaign. She became a member of the Manitoba Liberal Party in 2018 and said she was impressed by the party’s leader, Dougald Lamont.

Nagra said she’s most enthusiastic about the Liberal party’s plan for education, which had yet to be revealed at press time. 

“I think there’s going to be a lot of things in there that young people like and a lot of what we might see in there will include things that were cut under the current government,” Nagra said. “I’m very excited about our plan.”

Supporting the “aging community” in Fort Richmond is also a priority, Nagra said, and restoring coverage for CPAP machines and advocating for a national pharmacare program are Liberal priorities she said. 

“We’re advocating to bring back the life saving drugs program which would help a lot of folks with those types of medical needs and ensure that it’s accessible and affordable for all,” Nagra said.

If elected, Nagra said she’d like to spend her time on education, health care, young people, and equity.

“We want to ensure that we’re an inclusive province and ensure that all voices are heard. I’m excited to be running in this upcoming election, and regardless of party lines I’m so excited to see the amount of diversity amongst the candidates within all parties. I think that it’s more reflective of the people of Manitoba,” Nagra said.

Also running in Fort Richmond is NDP candidate George Wong and PC candidate Sarah Guillemard. The Green Party of Manitoba candidate Cameron Proulx was announced after press time. The provincial election is Sept. 10.