Local Union Advocate Steps Forward as NDP Candidate for Langley Township-Fraser Heights
In a political landscape increasingly dominated by candidates who seem disconnected from the everyday struggles of working people, Holly Isaac brings a refreshingly authentic perspective to her campaign as the New Democratic Party candidate for Langley Township-Fraser Heights.
With deep roots in the community and hands-on experience in labor advocacy, Isaac represents a voice for those often overlooked in political discourse – the working class.
From Letter Carrier to Political Candidate
Isaac's journey to candidacy is rooted in Langley itself, where her family has lived in the northern part of the township for 32 years.
Her professional background spans multiple working-class occupations, including retail, banking, office assistance, and telecommunications. Most recently, she has served the community as a letter carrier.
"I've worked in retail, banking, office assistance, telecommunications, and, most recently, as a letter carrier," Isaac explains, describing her diverse employment history that has connected her with various sectors of the local economy.
It was in her role with Canada Post that Isaac found her political voice, becoming deeply involved in her local union as both a shop steward and the local 1st vice president. This experience proved transformative, particularly during recent labor disputes that thrust her into the public spotlight.
"I had the opportunity to represent my local with the media during the most recent labour disruption, which galvanized me to want to work toward real change where workers and society at large aren't forced to bear the brunt of the cost while the government doesn't hold large corporations accountable for bad faith negotiations," she says.
This front-line experience with labor relations and corporate accountability became a catalyst for her political aspirations. Isaac credits her union involvement with giving her the confidence and tools to seek elected office.
"It is precisely because of the investment my union and other workers have made in me that I believe I could run in the first place," she states, highlighting the critical role that collective worker power plays in developing new political leadership.
Standing Up for Labor in an Era of Corporate Power
While Isaac's formal political experience has been primarily through union advocacy and labor council work, she brings a wealth of practical knowledge about the challenges facing working families.
Her decision to affiliate with the NDP came through labor education and a careful study of policy positions. "Through experiences in labour education and reading up on policy and values, I chose to become a member of the NDP party," Isaac explains.
Her motivation for seeking federal office stems from a desire to bring authentic working-class representation to Parliament. "I'm running to become an MP because I believe decisions should be made for the people by people who can represent them. As a worker, I can relate to and represent workers."
Isaac identifies a troubling pattern in Canadian politics: "I believe in holding the people in power to account and ensuring that average everyday citizens are not paying the cost of poor policy-making decisions that help out the rich and powerful while at the same time everybody else struggles to get by."
Key Issues: Housing, Healthcare, and Economic Fairness
For Isaac, the upcoming election centers on several interconnected issues that directly impact Langley residents.
Housing Affordability
Housing affordability ranks among her top priorities, particularly relevant in Langley's increasingly expensive real estate market.
"Affordability is top of mind for a lot of us here in Langley. I believe housing is a human right," Isaac states firmly, before outlining the NDP's comprehensive approach to address the crisis.
She explains that an NDP government would "fight soaring rents by requiring strong tenant protection measures from other levels of government as a condition for accessing federal housing funding." These measures would include rent control and prohibitions on renovictions, demovictions, and predatory landlord practices.
Isaac highlights plans to utilize federal lands for affordable housing: "We will also set aside all suitable federal crown land to build rent-controlled homes by 2035, as well as redesigning and expanding the Public Land Acquisition Fund to acquire even more public land to build on."
The NDP housing plan also includes measures to prevent financial speculation in housing markets. "We're also committed to banning predatory financial landlords from buying up any of our existing social housing units," Isaac notes, specifying that this would target "corporate entities like REITs, Hedge Funds, and private equity funds" rather than "legitimate private landlords and property managers."
Healthcare Defense and Expansion
Isaac speaks passionately about defending Canada's public healthcare system, which she describes as "something we're proud of as Canadians and something I and the NDP team are prepared to defend."
She points to critical shortages in Langley's healthcare infrastructure: "Right now, 1 in 5 British Columbians don't have access to a family doctor. In Langley, our emergency room wait times are unacceptable, through no fault of the team working tirelessly there."
To address these challenges, Isaac outlines an ambitious NDP plan to "hire more doctors and nurses so every Canadian can have a family doctor by 2030." This includes implementing pan-Canadian licensure to allow medical professionals to practice where needed and creating residencies for qualified, internationally trained doctors already living in Canada.
Isaac takes a firm stance against privatized healthcare, stating, "Private for profit health care statistically increases wait times in the public system and prioritizes those who can afford it. New Democrats would put a stop to this US-style privatization and ban American corporations from buying Canadian Healthcare facilities, blocking any trade deals from putting health care on the trading table."
Mental health receives specific attention in Isaac's platform. "Mental Health care is healthcare," she asserts, noting that "over half of young people say the cost of professional help is what stops them from getting the help they need." The NDP proposes launching "a new plan to cover these services for those currently not covered by a work plan" and expanding "funding for crisis and addiction care."
Economic Justice and Affordability
Addressing the cost-of-living crisis affecting Langley residents, Isaac proposes concrete measures to tackle rising grocery prices and essential bills.
"We're looking to put a price cap on basic food items to keep food costs down," she explains. "We already have price regulations in place in Canada for things like electricity, natural gas, and certain medicines so it makes sense to implement this with food prices."
Isaac challenges the power of corporate grocery chains, supporting a "mandatory Grocery Code of Conduct" and strengthening the Competition Bureau to act as a "grocery price watchdog with the power to impose serious penalties on those who don't comply and practice price gouging, price surging, price fixing, and shrinkflation."
For vulnerable populations, Isaac advocates boosting income supports, including "doubling the Canada Disability Benefit and providing up to an additional $2400 a year per person" and raising "the Guaranteed Income Supplement to lift all seniors out of poverty."
From Postal Worker to Parliament?
Isaac's experience as a postal worker during the recent strike action has profoundly shaped her political outlook and campaign priorities.
"As a postal worker I love being able to meet the people in my community, especially in the areas where we still have door to door delivery," she shares, emphasizing the connection postal workers maintain with their communities.
"Posties have long kept Canadians connected, delivering the last mile (even when you send it through somebody else, because for profit companies won't go to rural areas because it isn't profitable) and checking in on our neighbours."
The postal strike revealed to Isaac fundamental problems in how labor disputes are handled at the federal level. "We didn't want to go on strike, but our hand was forced. It was extremely frustrating to watch as the government enforced no real pressure to negotiate in good faith," she recounts.
She points to a disconnect between political rhetoric and action: "It's one thing to say you support workers' right to strike, but another entirely to send them back to work using section 107 of the Canada labour code without binding arbitration, leaving their livelihood and stability hanging in the balance."
This experience motivated Isaac to take direct political action: "I decided I didn't have to feel helpless and that I could do more for my union siblings and the broader labour movement by going to Ottawa to hold people in power to account, making sure the average worker isn't taken advantage of or pushed aside in the name of record-breaking profits and shareholder payouts."
Accountability and Community Values
Isaac emphasizes that her candidacy represents a commitment to holding powerful interests accountable for their impact on ordinary Canadians.
"Too often, people who don't struggle to get by make decisions that harm those who do," she observes. "I decided to run with the NDP because they are the party that stands behind workers and values people over profit."
She speaks from personal experience about the financial struggles many residents face: "I've been on the ground, taken phone calls, and cried with people. I know what it's like to be anxious about how to pay for things."
To those considering "strategic voting" against the Conservatives rather than supporting the NDP, Isaac has a straightforward message: "The strategic vote to beat the Conservatives in BC is NDP." She points to the NDP's record during the last Parliament, where the party "hold the government to account and make sure that Canadians got dental care and the start of Pharmacare."
Isaac concludes with a vision of Canadian solidarity that transcends partisan divides: "Now we have a threat knocking at our door, and we're going to hold the line because, as Canadians, that's what we do. We stick together, and we take care of each other."
As the election approaches, Isaac offers Langley Township-Fraser Heights voters a candidate deeply connected to working-class concerns and committed to community representation.
With her background in labor advocacy and firsthand experience with economic struggles, she represents a voice seldom heard in Parliament – one that speaks directly from the front lines of working-class Canada.
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