Dave Hayer

After defeating Doug McCallum, the Mayor of Surrey, for the BC Liberal party nomination, Hayer competed for and was elected as the first Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the riding of Surrey-Tynehead. The riding includes Guildford, Fraser Heights, Fleetwood, Port Kells and Tynehead areas. Hayer was first elected in the 2001 provincial general election and was re-elected in 2005 and 2009.

The new riding of Surrey-Guildford created in 2017, takes in a large part of the former riding of Surrey-Tynehead, a provincial riding that was held by the B.C. Liberals since Dave Hayer was first elected in 2001, re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009. [2]

Hayer served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism and Immigration from 2005 to 2011.[3] Hayer was noted as a voice for moderate Sikhs in Greater Vancouver and as a consistent critic of terrorism and Sikh extremism.[4][5] In 2010, an official with the Dashmesh Darbar Gurdwara (Sikh temple) that is extremely vocal in their support for the Khalistani separatist movement, advised Hayer and moderate Federal Sikh politician Ujjal Dosanjh that their attendance at an annual Sikh religious parade would be at their own risk; this prompted a police investigation, and prompted then-Premier Gordon Campbell to ask temple officials to apologize and Surrey mayor Dianne Watts to consider a review of the status of the following year’s parade.[4]

On July 7, 2012, Hayer announced that he would not seek re-election in the May 2013 provincial election. "Part of that decision was that if re-elected as MLA in May 2013, and then leave to run as an MP in 2015, it would have triggered an expensive by-election which would be costly for my constituents & that would have been the wrong thing to do for my community," noted Hayer.

In 2013, Hayer criticized the Liberal government's Quick Wins ethnic outreach scandal.[6]

Hayer's attempt to be nominated by the Conservative Party of Canada for the 2015 federal election in the riding of Cloverdale—Langley City was defeated in November 2014 by Dean Drysdale.[7]

Dave Hayer and his wife Isabelle Martinez Hayer accepted in 2000, a award for his late father Tara Singh Hayer as one of International Press Institute’s 50 World Press Freedom Heroes's of the past 50 years, One of the presenters of the Award for Late Tara Singh Hayer as “World Press Freedom Hero” in May 2000 was USA Senator Ted Kennedy in Boston, USA and Award was accepted by Dave Hayer & Isabelle Martinez Hayer on behalf of the Hayer family[8]

In 2002, Hayer was a recipient of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee medal to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Her Majesty's Reign as Queen of Canada.

Hayer was an advocate for accountability for terrorists.[9]

In 2007, Hayer received a Pravasi Bharatia Samman Award from the Government of India, which is annually given to people of Indian heritage that no longer live in India, who have achieved excellence in their chosen fields of endeavour.[10] The award was presented by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the President of India, at a ceremony in New Delhi, India for Hayer's "active leadership in the community, his contributions to public service and for his achievements in government." Hayer was the second Canadian to be presented with this honour.[11]

In 2008, Hayer was included by the Vancouver Sun in its list of the 100 top most influential Canadians of South Asian descent making a difference in BC.[12]

On February 10, 2013, Hayer was presented with a Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Canadian Coalition Against Terror (C-CAT) for contribution to the advancement of sound public policy on terrorism issues in Canada.

In 2017, Dave Hayer was honoured with the presentation of his 3rd Paul Harris Award on July 10, 2017 by Surrey Rotary Officers.[13]

Hayer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser University (1979–1982) and completed Strategic Leadership Certificate from University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, Executive Management (2013–2014). He also attended Douglas College from 1977 to 1979 and completed the Tax Course at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).

Hayer served as the general manager of the Canadian Accounting Aggregates Public Accountants from 1983 to 1988, following which he joined the Indo-Canadian Times. Before his election to public office, Hayer was a Surrey businessperson, Assistant Publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times, Kwantlen University College Governor, real estate agent, and worked in the restaurant, newspaper, construction, transportation and forestry industries. In addition, Hayer has worked as a labourer in a steel factory and during his teenage years worked on farms, in greenhouses, in a grocery store and even delivered both the Sun and Province newspapers.

Hayer's memberships have included the Rotary Club of Surrey, Cloverdale Royal Canadian Legion, Surrey Board of Trade, the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, Langley Salvation Army Gateway of Hope, Cloverdale Community Association, Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition Association. He is also a member of Simon Fraser University’s India Advisory Council, which supports SFU's strategic initiatives in India and engagement with BC's Indo-Canadian diaspora.

in July 2019, Dave Hayer and Isabelle Martinez Hayer were elected as Co-presidents of Rotary Club of Surrey. Both took the oath from Brad Whittaker, Governor of the Rotary International District 5050.[14]

In October 2018 Dave Hayer was elected Vice President of the Association of Former MLAs of BC (formerly Association of Ex-MLAs of B.C.) a non partisan association of former MLAs founded in 1987 [15]

Some previous community and business involvements include the Rotary Club of Surrey president (1999–2000); Surrey Community Crime Prevention Society president (1995–96); Surrey Chamber of Commerce president (1996–97); Surrey Board of Trade Governor since 1997; BC Chamber of Commerce District director (1999–2001) for Langley to Vancouver region; Vancouver Board of Trade Small Business Council member (1995–2000); Indo-Canadian Business Association vice-president (1993–2000); Ethnic Press Association of BC director & vice-president (1991–99); City of Surrey Economic Development Strategy Advisory Committee member (1995–2000); South Fraser Child Development Centre Christmas Party chair (1988–2001); and Surrey & White Rock Home Support Association director (1994–95). As well, Hayer created the Surrey Police Officer of the Year Awards and initiated the building of the Surrey Chamber of Commerce (now Surrey Board of Trade) Building.

Dave Hayer currently works with the Dominion Lending Centres. He previously worked with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) as a mortgage advisor.

Hayer has lived in Surrey since 1972. He married Isabelle Martinez Hayer in 1981. They have four children: Alexander, Sonia, Anthony and Katrina.

Tara Singh Hayer and the 'incentive to kill' - Twenty years ago, a journalist's death helped push Canada's biggest terrorism case into a ditch.[16]

Journalist Tara Singh Hayer's assassination still unresolved 20 years after fatal shooting.[17]

Tara Singh Hayer (Nov. 15, 1936 - Nov. 18, 1998) was an Indo-Canadian Times newspaper editor and publisher, who was assassinated in Surrey Canada on November 18, 1998 after reporting about terrorism. He was recognized with hundreds of local, provincial, federal and international awards.[18]

• Official web site
• MLA Legislative Assembly of BC Website