Surrey seniors and farm-workers rally for economic justice
A rally in a Surrey seniors facility yesterday brought together demands for increased social safety net for the elderly with the rights of migrant farm workers.
Calling for a $12 minimum wage – applied equally to all B.C. workers, including temporary foreign workers – increased social security payments for seniors, and an end to a $15 BC Hydro levy, the protest packed a room at Surrey's Assisted Living Centre.
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Organized by Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS), an agency serving the immigrant community in Surrey, including operating the seniors facility for elderly immigrants. The rally was addressed by Jagrup Brar, MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood – who is spending a month living on welfare to learn about the experiences of people in poverty – as well as Newton-North Delta MLA Jinny Sims.
“To me, you always judge a society by how well we look after our old, our young and our most vulnerable," said Sims. "Something is wrong with our priorities."