NDP hopeful identifies with average people
[attach]4763[/attach]Gerti Dervishi knows what it’s like to be a newcomer with a university degree and be forced to work minimum wage jobs serving food or washing dishes.
He saw firsthand his parents struggle in gaining recognition for their foreign credentials when they first immigrated to Canada from Albania in 1999.
“My mother was a senior electrical engineer with the Ministry of Transportation in Albania,” said the 30-year-old NDP candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence. “But she wasn’t able to find a job in her field here.”
If elected Dervishi would like to change all of that.
“We require them to be skilled (to come to Canada) in the first place,” he said. “Then they come here and their experience is worthless.”
He already dedicates his time to helping new immigrants adjust to life in Canada and is often invited to speak to groups of newcomers.
“Internationally trained individuals find substantial difficulty when moving here,” he said.
He would like to set up a bridging program between the community and businesses.
“We need to provide an avenue to leverage these skills,” he said.
Dervishi would also like to see the government extend a hand to the little guys. He said the government needs to focus more on helping small businesses rather than large corporations, since they’re the real job creators, he said.
Dervishi also disagrees with cutting government services to save money. He said his experience as a former senior project manager for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, taught him to improve service without spending unnecessarily.
“It’s about making them efficient and sustainable in a cost-effective way,” he said.
Although Dervishi is not a resident in the riding, he said he maintains strong ties with the community.
“My dentist, doctor and mechanic are all in the riding,” he said.
He regularly visits the riding and speaks to residents about their concerns and problems. A reoccurring theme from his conversations centres on the issues of affordable daycare and education, he said.
He said it’s these sorts of regular interactions with the average residents that would make him an ideal candidate.
“There’s no way you can make things better from 10,000 feet above,” he said. “You have to be there.”