She was first elected as a lawmaker in 2017 from Surrey-Greentimbers and re-elected in October 2020. She has worked as a drug and alcohol counselor, a support worker for women facing domestic violence, and a community activist
Rachna Singh created history of sorts when she was sworn in as Minister of Education and Child Care of British Columbia, Canada.
A postgraduate in psychology from Panjab University, she is the second Punjabi after Moe Sihota to handle the portfolio, but the first South Asian woman to be appointed to such an important position.
“I am proud to be a part of the government that listens and cares for the people. We are committed to free and accessible education to everyone,” Rachna Singh told IANS in a phone interview on December 8.
“Our government has invested a lot of resources in education since 2017 and will continue to do the same in the coming years. 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,” she added.
“I am proud to be a part of the government that listens and cares for the people. We are committed to free and accessible education to everyone.”
Both her parents — father Raghbir Singh and mother Sulekha, along with sister Sirjana — are teachers by profession. So, Rachna Singh becoming an education minister overseas is significant for the family.
She had previously served the British Columbia government as Parliamentary Secretary for anti-racism initiatives. She hit the headlines after making a brief address in the provincial legislature on November 1 in Punjabi.
Singh had immigrated to Canada with her husband and a two-and-a-half-year-old son in 2001. She joined Information Services Vancouver as a referral agent to help the victims of substance and domestic abuse. She later joined the Canadian Union of Public Employees and became an active trade unionist and political activist associated with the currently ruling NDP.
She was first elected as a lawmaker in 2017 from Surrey-Greentimbers and re-elected in October 2020. She has worked as a drug and alcohol counselor, a support worker for women facing domestic violence, and a community activist.
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