Jinny Sims

Jinny Jogindera Sims (born June 7, 1952) is an Indian-born Canadian politician, who was elected as a New Democratic Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election in Surrey-Panorama. She previously was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election.[1] She represented the electoral district of Newton—North Delta as a member of the New Democratic Party.

Jinny Sims

MLA
Minister for Citizens' Services of British Columbia
In office
July 18, 2017 – October 4, 2019
PremierJohn Horgan
Preceded byJas Johal (As Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services)
Succeeded bySelina Robinson
Critic for Employment
In office
August 13, 2013 – November 19, 2015
LeaderThomas Mulcair
Preceded byChris Charlton
Succeeded byKaren Vecchio
Critic for Immigration
In office
April 19, 2012 – August 13, 2013
LeaderThomas Mulcair
Preceded byDon Davies
Succeeded byLysane Blanchette-Lamothe
Critic for International Cooperation
In office
October 3, 2011 – April 18, 2012
LeaderNycole Turmel
Preceded byHélène Laverdière
Succeeded byRomeo Saganash
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Surrey-Panorama
Assumed office
May 9, 2017
Preceded byMarvin Hunt
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Newton—North Delta
In office
May 30, 2011 – August 4, 2015
Preceded bySukh Dhaliwal
Succeeded bySukh Dhaliwal
(Surrey—Newton)
Personal details
Born (1952-06-07) June 7, 1952
Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Political partyNew Democratic Party
Spouse(s)Stephen Sims
ResidenceSurrey, British Columbia
ProfessionTeacher, union leader

Early life

Sims emigrated to England from Punjab, India, at the age of nine. She earned a Bachelor of Education degree at the Victoria University of Manchester (now the University of Manchester). Sims and her husband moved to Canada in 1975,[2] spending two years in Quebec before moving to Nanaimo where she was a high school teacher until the early 2000s.[3]

BCTF president

She was elected president of the BC Teachers' Federation in 2004[4] and served in that role until 2007. In her role as president of the BCTF, she was involved in the May 2005 provincial election when the BC Liberal Party, a week before the election, accused the BCTF of having a "secret plan" to strike two days after the election;[5] the organization subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit.[6] When the teachers, who had been working for over a year without a contract, did provide strike notice in September 2005, the provincial government immediately extended, by legislation, the last contract to June 2006 and made a potential strike illegal.[7] Regardless, Sims led the teachers in job action, culminating in a two-week strike. The Labour Relations Board determined the strike illegal and the BC Supreme Court found the BCTF in civil contempt of court, fined the BCTF $500,000 and ordered the BCTF not pay the teachers a strike pay.[8][9][10] The strike ended when the membership voted to accept a $150-million mediated settlement which both the government and the BCTF executive had endorsed.[11] Sims's BCTF successfully negotiated a five-year contract in June 2006.[12]

Accusations

In October, 2019 allegations of misconduct were made against Sims, resulting in her resignation as Minister of Citizens Services. A special prosecutor, Richard Peck, was appointed to investigate the charges. Sims was accused of writing support letters for travel visas and of telling her staff to bypass freedom of information laws by using personal email and WhatsApp rather than official email addresses. In April, 2020 the special prosecutor reported that he and the RCMP had found no evidence to support the charges against her and had cleared her of any wrongdoing.[13]

Electoral record

Provincial elections
2020 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Panorama
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticJinny Sims12,33655.07+4.22
LiberalGulzar Cheema9,60742.89+1.03
VisionSophie Shrestha4582.04–
Total valid votes 22,401100.00–
Total rejected ballots   
Turnout   
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC[14]
2017 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Panorama
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticJinny Sims12,22750.85+15.11$64,840
LiberalPuneet Sandhar10,06441.86−12.43$66,078
GreenVeronica Laurel Greer1,6206.74+1.06$0
RefederationLiz Galenzoski1320.55–$250
Total valid votes 24,043100.00–
Total rejected ballots 1920.79+0.14
Turnout 24,23561.04+3.32
Registered voters 39,701
Source: Elections BC[15][16]

Federal elections
2015 Canadian federal election: Surrey—Newton
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal24,86955.98+21.90–
New DemocraticJinny Sims11,60426.12-9.17–
ConservativeHarpreet Singh6,97615.70-11.72–
GreenPamela Sangha9752.2-0.40–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 44,424100.0   $197,640.76
Total rejected ballots –––
Turnout 44,42468.55–
Eligible voters 64,798
Liberal notional gain from New Democratic Swing +15.54
Source: Elections Canada[17][18]
2011 Canadian federal election: Newton—North Delta
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticJinny Sims15,41333.42+7.29
LiberalSukh Dhaliwal14,51031.46-4.96
ConservativeMani Kaur Fallon14,43731.30+0.39
GreenLiz Walker1,5203.30-2.30
IndependentRavi S. Gill1230.27–
CommunistSam Hammond1160.25-0.02
Total valid votes/Expense limit 46,119100.00
Total rejected ballots 2940.63 +0.07
Turnout 46,41362.59+0.52
New Democratic gain from Liberal Swing +5.79

References
  1. "Election 2011: Newton—North Delta". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  2. "About Jinny Sims". jinnysims.ndp.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-01-20.
  3. Cordery, Walter (February 12, 2004). "Jinny Sims seeking B.C. union's top job". Nanaimo Daily News. Nanaimo, British Columbia. p. A5.
  4. "Teachers elect Jinny Sims as new president". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. 17 Mar 2004. p. A7.
  5. Mason, Chris (May 20, 2005). "Liberals, BCTF ready to bury ill will from election campaign". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. A6.
  6. Bellett, Gerry (May 27, 2005). "B.C. teachers take Premier to court: Campbell 'defamed' union". National Post. p. A7.
  7. Bailey, Ian; Jack Keating (October 4, 2005). "Teachers contract legislated: Imposed deal offers no salary increase, blocks job action". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. A3.
  8. Mickleburgh, Rod (October 10, 2005). "Teachers guilty of contempt, B.C. judge concludes". The Globe and Mail. p. A4.
  9. Bridge, Maurice (October 22, 2005). "Judge slaps $500,000 fine on teachers: Penalty for illegal strike may yet be increased". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. A3.
  10. Mickleburgh, Rod (October 14, 2005). "B.C. court orders halt to teachers' strike pay". The Globe and Mail. p. A1.
  11. Shaw, Rob; Darah Hansen; Janet Steffenhagen; Jonathan Fowlie (October 24, 2005). "Teachers back at work but fight far from over". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. A2.
  12. Chung, Emily (July 3, 2006). "Pressure from public hastened teachers' deal". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. A3.
  13. Zussman, Richard (2020-04-03). "Former B.C. cabinet minister Jinny Sims cleared of all criminal wrongdoing". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  14. "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  15. "2017 Provincial General Election - Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  16. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  17. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Surrey—Newton, 30 September 2015
  18. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2015-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
British Columbia provincial government of John Horgan
Cabinet post (1)
Predecessor Office Successor
Jas Johal Minister of Citizens' Services
July 18, 2017 – October 4, 2019		 Selina Robinson
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