Gurratan Singh, brother of federal NDP party leader Jagmeet Singh, will run for the Ontario NDP party in Brampton East. Hundreds gathered at the Brampton Civic Hospital on April 2 to celebrate Singh’s nomination to run for the party in the newly redrawn riding of Brampton East.
BRAMPTON – Gurratan Singh has been nominated as a candidate for the New Democratic Party in Brampton East.
Hundreds gathered at the Brampton Civic Hospital on April 2 to celebrate Singh’s nomination to run for the party in the newly redrawn riding of Brampton East.
“Gurratan will be a fantastic representative for this riding and the people of Brampton, and I’m proud to have his voice be a part of our movement for change for the better in Ontario,” said Andrea Horwath, Ontario NDP leader, in a statement.
Singh, 33, is an accomplished criminal defence lawyer and younger brother of federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.
The riding he will be running in, Brampton East, was formed in 2015 from two Brampton constituencies: Bramalea-Gore-Malton, which was represented by Jagmeet for six years, as well as Brampton-Springdale.
“I love this riding, I love the people in the riding, and I’ve been connected to it for so long,” Gurratan told the Toronto Star in a previous interview.
Skyrocketing hydro costs and automobile insurance rates are among the issues Gurratan has committed to addressing if he wins a seat at Queen’s Park.
He has also vowed to tackle overcrowding at Brampton Civic Hospital. Between 2016 and 2017, more than 4,300 patients were treated in the hospital’s hallways, a situation referred to internally as “Code Gridlock.”
“I launched this campaign at Brampton Civic Hospital because we’re going to take on hallway medicine – and Andrea Horwath’s vision for better health care is inspiring,” noted Singh. “Decades of Conservative and Liberal governments have slashed hospital funding, closed hospital beds and fired front-line health care providers. And I know it doesn’t have to be that way.”
The NDPs have committed to lowering hospital wait times and ensuring annual funding for hospitals will keep up with the rate of inflation and population growth. The party is also campaigning on the implementation of a universal pharmacare program and dental coverage for all Ontario residents.
“It’s time for universal pharmacare and dental care for everyone – and a premier that will deliver,” he said.
Gurratan ran for Peel Regional Council in Brampton in 2014, losing to John Sprovieri. He is chair of the City of Brampton’s Inclusion and Equity Committee and sits on the Peel Art Gallery advisory board.
The Ontario provincial election is set for June 7, 2018.
