RICK GLUMAC, BC NDP: PORT MOODY-COQUITLAM
Rick Glumac says he looks forward to holding a job — just one. About six months ago, the 46-year-old said he took a leave of absence from his high-tech company to campaign full-time for a provincial seat after he clinched the NDP nomination.
Last month, Glumac also took a leave from his Port Moody councillor position to focus on the race against BC Liberal incumbent Linda Reimer and the Greens’ Don Barthel.
Glumac said he believes he will have more time on his hands to spend with his young family and friends if elected MLA, despite Reimer’s warning that it’s a 24/7 job. “I’m a bit of a busy body,” Glumac admits during an interview at his Burquitlam campaign office last Friday, noting he’ll enjoy the slower pace.
Provincial politics weren’t in the cards, he says, “but the opportunity came up and it took me some time to come to a conclusion because I care a lot about this community. It wasn’t an easy decision. It wasn’t my goal.”
It was seeing the impact at the civic level — and how decisions were made at Port Moody city council — that prompted Glumac to seek a municipal seat. He wanted to continue the conversation with the community on such topics as zero waste.
"I want to help make sure that people are empowered and have a voice and I feel that if more people feel like that then they will get involved in politics, too.”
Asked how he will feel about leaving city council if elected MLA, Glumac said he doesn’t want his departure to prompt a byelection. “It’s something I hope to avoid at all costs.”
THE ISSUES
• On healthcare and ERH ER wait times, Glumac stands in opposition to Reimer and condemns privatization. The Port Moody hospital is under-utilized — with vacant wards being used to generate film business revenue — and demands on practitioners are on the rise, especially with more violent patients (on drugs, with dementia) being admitted, he says. What’s missing is a long-term vision for the community hospital to address its needs. Glumac says more family urgent care centres are required so a team can assist patients immediately rather than clogging up hospital waiting rooms and hallways. Surgical times also need to be prompt, Glumac says. Under the NDP, the Port Moody hospital “would be fully utilized. It wouldn’t have empty wards. We would have it properly staffed,” Glumac says.
• On care to help drug addicts, Glumac says an NDP government would create opportunities at Riverview and a new ministry for mental health and addictions. “That, I think, is critical because we don’t have anyone responsible at this point to co-ordinate all the different aspects of this,” he says. Asked about an immediate solution for families, with the Riverview plans years away, Glumac says an NDP government “can’t fix everything overnight but we certainly can prioritize these things because right now they’re certainly not being prioritized.” Glumac also rejects BC Housing’s break-even mandate for Riverview.
• On ICBC rates, Glumac charges the BC Liberals are using Crown corporations to boost general revenue. Crown agencies “should be self-sufficient. I remember in the late ’90s, ICBC wrote a rebate cheque [because it had a surplus]. That would be a better system to me.” Asked about a claims cap, Glumac says the NDP has no policy to adjust payouts. Rather than impose settlement limits on injured drivers, he believes there are other ways to fix ICBC. “Taking people through a certain [legal] process isn’t necessary,” he says. “There are things that we can tighten up.”
To contact Rick Glumac, call 778-355-7425 or visit rickglumac.bcndp.ca.
