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Petition filed to recall Surrey MLA

Anti-SOGI group says education minister sa国际传媒榤ust be accountable to parentssa国际传媒

A petition has been filed with Elections BC to recall Surrey-Green Timbers MLA Rachna Singh.

Amrit Birring has posted several videos on social media talking about the recall petition, but by press time he had not responded to the 狈辞飞-尝别补诲别谤sa国际传媒s requests to confirm that he was the one who filed it.

Birring is the leader of the Freedom Party of B.C., which has organized marches in Surrey throughout the year to campaign to sa国际传媒渂oot SOGI123 from BC Schoolssa国际传媒 and has called on Singh to resign multiple times.

In a video posted on several social media websites under the username @recallrachna, Birring said they want Singh, B.C.sa国际传媒檚 minister of education, recalled because he believes children are being sexualized in B.C. schools sa国际传媒渦nder her watch.sa国际传媒

Birring is said to have contacted Singh numerous times expressing his concerns but says there has been no response.

sa国际传媒淭his isnsa国际传媒檛 acceptable, the education minister must be accountable to parents,sa国际传媒 reads a post on the Recall Rachna website.

Birring says the Freedom Party of B.C. is advocating for parental rights.

sa国际传媒淲e are anti-SOGI123 because it infringes on the parentssa国际传媒 and childrensa国际传媒檚 rights without their permission,sa国际传媒 Birring stated.

Elections BC states there are sa国际传媒渘o set criteriasa国际传媒 to recall an MLA.

sa国际传媒淭he only requirement is that the applicant provide a statement of 200 words or less of why, in the opinion of the applicant, the MLA should be recalled,sa国际传媒 reads a post on Elections BCsa国际传媒檚 website.

If the recall petition is approved, the proponent has 60 days to collect signatures from more than 40 per cent of the eligible voters registered in the riding.

Volunteers can help the proponent when gathering signatures, but there are strict rules that canvassers must follow when collecting signatures. To be eligible to sign, the individual must be registered to vote and have been registered to vote in Surrey-Green Timbers on the final voting day Singh was elected.

According to Elections BC, the proponent and Singh will be given a list of people who are eligible to sign the recall petition. The list shows the addresses where the voters are currently registered. There are strict rules around who can access this list.

The petition was filed on Oct. 24 and has yet to be approved.

The Chief Electoral Officer at Elections BC has approved 29 recall petitions since 1995, all of which failed to meet one or more of the requirements.

If Birringsa国际传媒檚 petition is given the green light, this will be the first time a petition to recall a Surrey MLA has been approved since the Recall and Initiative Act came into effect in 1995.

After the petition has been filled with all of the signatures, the chief electoral officer has 42 days to finalize a decision.

sa国际传媒淚f the required signature threshold is met, the MLA is removed and a by-election is held,sa国际传媒 reads a post on Elections BC website.

For its part, the province says there is no SOGI curriculum. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, or SOGI, is described as an inclusive term that applies to everyone, since every person has a sexual orientation and a gender identity.

Instead, the province says a SOGI framework was implemented by the Ministry of Education and Child Care to promote inclusive classrooms, where human rights are discussed, along with the topics of diversity, anti-bullying, respect and discrimination.

Singh did not respond to requests for comment by press time but BC NDP director of communications Ed May emailed a statement he said sa国际传媒渃an be attributedsa国际传媒 to Singh.

sa国际传媒淎s the MLA for Surrey-Green Timbers, my focus will continue to be working hard every day to help make life better for people,sa国际传媒 Singh stated.

sa国际传媒淭hat includes tackling housing costs, building more schools, and moving forward on the second Surrey Hospital and the expansion to Surrey Memorial.sa国际传媒

sa国际传媒 With files from Sobia Moman



Anna Burns

About the Author: Anna Burns

I cover breaking news, health care, non-profits and social issues-related topics for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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