Rachna Singh Appointed as First South Asian Female Minister of Education in BC

Rachna Singh, an Indian-origin Punjabi woman has been appointed as the Minister of Education and Child Care for British Columbia, Canada. She is the first South Asian woman to take on the role. The new BC Cabinet ministers were announced on Wednesday and Singh was among five South Asian origin members inducted to the cabinet.

Rachna Singh moved to Canada in March 2001 with her husband and child. For several years, Singh worked as a drug and alcohol counselor before becoming the National Representative (staff) for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. She was then elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election. Living in Surrey, BC, she represents the electoral district of Surrey-Green Timbers.

On Wednesday, Singh was appointed as the Minister of Education and Child Care for BC. She is the first South Asian woman to have this position. Moe Sihota was the first Punjabi to take on this position. Rachna was joined by four other ministers of South Asian origin namely, Harry Bains as the Minister of Labour, Ravi Kahlon as Minister of Housing, Niki Sharma as the Attorney General, and Jagrup Brar as Minister of State for Trade.

In an interview with IANS, the new Minister of Education and Child Care said, “I am proud to be a part of the government that listens and care for the people. We are committed to free and accessible education to everyone. Our government has invested a lot of resources on education since 2017 and will continue to do the same in the coming years.”

Both her parents are teachers and Singh believes she can see the problems that children of working parents face. “Since I come from a family of educators and have worked on anti-racism in the past, I have a lens to see the problems of the children of working people and those belonging to visible minority communities,” Singh shared.

On November 1, Singh made headlines when she addressed the legislature in Punjabi.

Vineet Washington