Peter A. Truch, the Green candidate in Kelowna West, believes we deserve better, balanced representation in Victoria.
With 20 years of developing his skills as a professional transportation engineer on projects at a local, national, and international level, Peter has extensive experience in reliable planning, community building and sustainable engineering that puts people first.
Peter loves learning new languages. He is fluent in English, French and German, and has begun learning the Syilx language as a way to honour living on the traditional and unceded territory of the Syilx First Nation.
Peter serves as a trusted advisor of many government agencies and small businesses. He has been elected to lead an international organization in his profession, worked within government as an employee, and runs his own consulting practice working with numerous B.C. and Alberta municipalities, the Port of Vancouver, several privately-owned businesses, and non-profit entities.
A proud, single father, Peter finds the motivation to run for MLA in his two young boys, working hard to provide them with the brightest future he can.
A future that stops looking back to the tired, old, left-right partisan paradigm, and instead moves forward to a collaborative, people-focused government for Kelowna West and all of British Columbia.
What is the most important issue in your riding?
Past Liberal MLAs in Kelowna West have been ineffective for so long, it is tough to narrow to just one. Here are the top issues I am hearing, which the BC Green Party offers solutions to:
• COVID-19 economic recovery, ensuring small and medium-sized businesses and their employees can thrive
• Bringing an urgent health care facility on the west side of the bridge
• Providing effective supports and treatment to those persons and their families who are struggling with mental health issues and addictions
• Eliminating temporary camps in parks and on city streets by bringing meaningful support to those who are without housing or nearing homelessness
• Eliminating traffic congestion and ensuring free flow of people across the bridge, and along Highway 97 throughout the Central Okanagan
• Providing financial and practical supports to families who are working hard, but still struggle to make ends meet on items like rent, hydro and Internet
• Keeping insurance affordable and ICBC sustainable
• Ensuring long-term care facilities provide a consistent and high level of care
What have you done to benefit your community in the past?
I have been blessed to lead, or work on teams responsible for many components of the transportation network in Kelowna. This work includes adding sidewalks to key locations, making roads safer, and creating ‘protected’ bike lanes that are safe for any age and ability. More recently, I’ve conceptualized and designed Phase 2 of Boucherie Road (the Wine Trail) in West Kelowna. By adding roundabouts so traffic flows, sidewalks and safe biking areas, we’ve transformed the wine route into a tourist destination. This is one of the many ways I believe sustainability is good for business and creates better and active neighbourhoods for residents.
More importantly, I have actively worked on the ground for 20 years to bring policy into action.
Outside of my work, I volunteer my time with coaching/managing minor hockey, helping support various charities and causes, such as the Central Okanagan Food Bank, and I volunteer at my sons’ school.
What will you do to represent your community in Victoria?
I am neither right nor left on the political spectrum, and as such, I can represent everybody from Kelowna West in Victoria without the political partisanship and power-grabbing demonstrated by the other main parties.
Inspired by wanting to provide a future for my children, as well as your kids and grandkids, I will work to create evidence-based policies and legislation that will help improve people’s lives and livelihoods.
However, creating policy and legislation alone is no longer enough: true action is needed in the legislature. My 20 plus years’ experience of bringing policy into action will be invaluable in solving the list of issues above.
READ MORE: B.C. VOTES 2020: Advance voting begins today in West Kelowna
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: phil.mclachlan@kelownacapnews.com
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