My Vote, My Future: Taran Ghatrora on BC Election 2017
Ahead of the BC election, Daily Hive is profiling young voters from across the province.
Who are you?
Taran Ghatrora.
How old are you?
25.
What do you do?
Law student, small business owner.
Where do you live?
Surrey, BC.
Have you voted before?
Yes.
Do you plan on voting this time?
Yes.
Does your family influence how you vote?
No.
How closely do you follow BC politics?
I lived in the UK for the past few years, so not very closely. Now that I’m back, I try to stay informed at a high level.
Do you know who your local candidates are?
Yes.
Can you name the three party leaders?
Yes.
Would you ever consider running for office?
Probably not, but never say never!
What issues do you care most about?
The tech sector
I work in the tech sector despite the fact that I never predicted or planned to.
As I’ve become more immersed in this space, I’ve grown to believe that tech is the epicentre of research, development and innovation as it effects almost every field, including medicine, agriculture, transportation, entertainment and even white collar professions like law.
I love the tech sector because there’s a vast variety of work to be done and Vancouver has so much talent.
What I’d like to see are programs to help close the gender gap in the tech sector–women are grossly underrepresented.
Also, current graduation rates project we will only have enough college graduates to fill 30-40% of necessary computing job openings.
I believe we need STEM programs in schools and more initiatives like Innovation Boulevard and Girls Who Code – for both boys and girls – empowering youth to build and not just consume technology.
The environment
Why is it important? Only because the survival and well-being of all human beings depends on it.
I’d like to see more honest education aimed at reducing our power consumption, reducing packaging and food waste and more renewable power sources in homes and businesses.
Also, initiatives to encourage ridesharing, biking and walking as well as better public transportation.
Jobs and the economy
I’m affected by both as a recent graduate and a small business owner.
I think encouraging entrepreneurship helps to stimulate jobs as well as educating students about new and growing sectors (rather than archaic professions that won’t exist in a few years).
Programs like The Next Big Thing are really important. I would love to see more support for such programs and also internship programs to match recent graduates with local companies.
To find more guides to all the issues, interviews with the BC party leaders, and plenty of opinions, check out our full BC Election coverage here: Battleground BC.
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