A Riverside secondary graduate, Amritpal Gill is full of enthusiasm about running for political office in his hometown. He wanted to run for a city council seat earlier but having two young children has kept the West Vancouver firefighter extra busy.
His kids are what's driving his campaign agenda. "I have an investment in Port Coquitlam," he said. "I want it to be a good place where you can raise your family. I don't want to see it grow in to a big city and lose our community values."
A 31-year southside resident, he's an active user of Port Coquitlam's parks and recreation programs with his children - be it at the Hyde Creek or PoCo rec centres, or the Terry Fox Library. And he is calling for expansion of all three facilities to accommodate future families, saying, "We need to cater to them."
Gill, who is currently building a house in PoCo, believes the city's infrastructure needs to be looked at and public transit has to be improved to get cars off the roads. When the Evergreen Line opens in two years, Gill wants to see a direct bus route from PoCo to the rapid transit system.
If elected, he promised to ensure the new rec centre is built "on budget and on time" and a tourism plan is put in place to attract visitors and shoppers to the area. He sees the Dominion Triangle shaping into a kind of Morgan Crossing development in south Surrey, with seasonal festivals and celebrations.
As for the downtown retailers, "I'll always have a look out for the little guys, too. The key question is how do we attract business and how do they grow? There should be incentives for small businesses to stay like with taxes or more affordable office space."
Website: amritgill.ca
