1 00:00:00,029 --> 00:00:02,104 "I said, if you're not going to speak Chinese, 2 00:00:02,138 --> 00:00:04,138 I won't open an account here. I'm leaving." 3 00:00:04,271 --> 00:00:05,938 Fluent spoken English, an IELTS 4 00:00:05,972 --> 00:00:07,961 score of 7 — and he still couldn't stay. 5 00:00:10,417 --> 00:00:12,346 Friends from the community, good evening, 6 00:00:12,379 --> 00:00:13,766 and welcome to tonight's 7 00:00:13,799 --> 00:00:15,381 CanWest Party press conference. 8 00:00:15,414 --> 00:00:17,229 I'm your host tonight, Sarah. 9 00:00:17,361 --> 00:00:19,586 What's your campaign slogan this time? 10 00:00:19,652 --> 00:00:22,717 "When the people call, we answer." In English, 11 00:00:22,750 --> 00:00:24,011 "Your voice, our action." 12 00:00:24,078 --> 00:00:26,611 And I've seen City Hall improving, 13 00:00:26,644 --> 00:00:28,122 taking our concerns into account. 14 00:00:28,155 --> 00:00:29,660 Because when you're running, they know 15 00:00:29,693 --> 00:00:32,817 you've got voters behind you, so they listen. And the media 16 00:00:32,850 --> 00:00:35,354 listen too. At election time, they ask 17 00:00:35,388 --> 00:00:37,261 what my platform is, why I'm running. 18 00:00:37,294 --> 00:00:38,944 They amplify my voice enormously. 19 00:00:38,978 --> 00:00:40,855 Without an election, they'd ignore 20 00:00:40,888 --> 00:00:42,808 me. Out on the street, nobody listens 21 00:00:42,842 --> 00:00:44,528 to you. Only at election time. 22 00:00:44,561 --> 00:00:46,082 Our English wasn't good, and we 23 00:00:46,116 --> 00:00:47,962 skilled immigrants couldn't find work. 24 00:00:47,996 --> 00:00:49,216 So we launched 25 00:00:49,249 --> 00:00:51,100 a campaign to get jobs for our own people: 26 00:00:51,133 --> 00:00:53,284 when spending money, we'd speak only 27 00:00:53,318 --> 00:00:55,436 Chinese, not English. Nothing wrong with that, 28 00:00:55,469 --> 00:00:56,777 nothing illegal. 29 00:00:57,253 --> 00:01:00,302 One example: I went to a bank to open an account. 30 00:01:00,336 --> 00:01:01,823 I brought $5,000. When I got 31 00:01:01,857 --> 00:01:03,769 to the bank and said I wanted an account, 32 00:01:03,802 --> 00:01:05,969 someone came to help me — Taylor, I think. 33 00:01:06,486 --> 00:01:07,866 He rattled away in English. I said, 34 00:01:07,899 --> 00:01:10,792 "English, no. Can't speak it." I said, 35 00:01:10,825 --> 00:01:12,671 "If you're not going to speak Chinese, 36 00:01:12,704 --> 00:01:14,311 I won't open an account here. I'm leaving." 37 00:01:14,444 --> 00:01:16,403 And not long after, 38 00:01:16,437 --> 00:01:18,181 I found that every 39 00:01:18,214 --> 00:01:19,993 bank's front counter had 40 00:01:20,027 --> 00:01:21,947 Mandarin-speaking staff. 41 00:01:22,014 --> 00:01:22,677 Great! 42 00:01:23,352 --> 00:01:26,402 Lao Chen gives us a story — and lessons too. 43 00:01:26,468 --> 00:01:27,310 Lessons too. 44 00:01:27,465 --> 00:01:29,014 Keenan, I'd also like to ask: 45 00:01:29,048 --> 00:01:31,562 just now — our 46 00:01:31,596 --> 00:01:33,258 CanWest Party is also pushing 47 00:01:33,291 --> 00:01:35,375 a policy, right? That our 48 00:01:35,408 --> 00:01:37,298 permanent residents, PR card holders, 49 00:01:37,573 --> 00:01:40,468 could one day get the right to vote. 50 00:01:40,535 --> 00:01:42,923 Everyone pays taxes into this community and this society, 51 00:01:42,957 --> 00:01:44,933 contributes, works here, 52 00:01:44,967 --> 00:01:47,031 holds jobs here, starts businesses here. Their contributions 53 00:01:47,064 --> 00:01:48,794 are really equal. PR holders 54 00:01:48,828 --> 00:01:50,868 may, for various other reasons, 55 00:01:50,902 --> 00:01:53,902 not be able to become citizens yet, 56 00:01:53,935 --> 00:01:55,424 but just like passport holders, 57 00:01:55,458 --> 00:01:57,121 they love this land just as much. 58 00:01:57,188 --> 00:01:59,099 We can start pushing from today. 59 00:01:59,133 --> 00:02:01,675 Without a first step, nothing comes after. 60 00:02:01,815 --> 00:02:04,035 Let's talk about everyday issues, 61 00:02:04,068 --> 00:02:05,857 like housing affordability, 62 00:02:06,265 --> 00:02:07,760 and how hard it is to see a doctor — 63 00:02:07,793 --> 00:02:09,413 the long wait times. 64 00:02:09,479 --> 00:02:11,629 I went to every clinic in Richmond; 65 00:02:11,663 --> 00:02:14,345 not one took new patients. In the end, 66 00:02:14,378 --> 00:02:16,808 I went nearly three years without a family doctor. 67 00:02:16,875 --> 00:02:19,177 I really want to speak up for family doctors. 68 00:02:19,210 --> 00:02:21,286 A few days ago I went to my family doctor 69 00:02:21,319 --> 00:02:22,910 and saw on his computer 70 00:02:22,943 --> 00:02:25,002 he had 49 patients to see that day. 71 00:02:25,460 --> 00:02:27,218 At 15 minutes per patient, 72 00:02:27,251 --> 00:02:29,481 his workday runs far past eight hours. 73 00:02:29,514 --> 00:02:30,969 I once referred a local 74 00:02:31,002 --> 00:02:32,408 graduate, an international student, 75 00:02:32,442 --> 00:02:34,003 to our firm. After graduating, he got 76 00:02:34,037 --> 00:02:35,382 a 3-year post-grad work permit 77 00:02:35,673 --> 00:02:38,573 and worked with us for three years. But in that time, 78 00:02:38,607 --> 00:02:41,668 once in the pool, his score never got drawn. 79 00:02:41,701 --> 00:02:43,198 Think about it: a local bachelor's degree, 80 00:02:43,507 --> 00:02:46,140 three years' experience at a Western company — that's already 81 00:02:46,207 --> 00:02:47,557 Great credentials. 82 00:02:47,623 --> 00:02:49,608 Excellent credentials. But this gave 83 00:02:49,641 --> 00:02:51,798 me a huge shock: someone with a local 84 00:02:51,832 --> 00:02:53,866 bachelor's degree, three years of local work experience, 85 00:02:53,899 --> 00:02:55,888 fluent spoken English, an IELTS 86 00:02:55,922 --> 00:02:57,990 score of 7 — and he still couldn't stay. 87 00:02:58,298 --> 00:02:59,586 He still hasn't come back. 88 00:02:59,652 --> 00:03:01,610 That's a federal-level issue. 89 00:03:01,677 --> 00:03:02,377 Right, immigration policy. 90 00:03:02,443 --> 00:03:03,677 Yes, immigration is federal. 91 00:03:03,710 --> 00:03:05,952 We need to raise it with federal MPs.